Fishmoor Reservoir site guide. 

(including Whinney Hill Tip, Altham). 

by Bill Aspin.

Double-click on the map to view larger image

Fishmoor Reservoir is situated at the SE side of Blackburn, barely 2 miles from the town centre. Locally, the site is best-known for the Gull roost, which offers birders the best chance of connecting with Iceland Gull than  perhaps any other Gull roost in Lancashire. Amongst twitchers, it is probably best known for the American Golden Plover in 1995.

Access.

The grid reference for the site is SD697260. 

The site can be easily accessed via junction 5 of the M65. 

Site Access/viewing update: 28/11/04.

The development of a JJB store (and car park) at the eastern side of Fishmoor has made the reservoir easier to check than ever before. This is particularly relevant during winter when the Gulls pre-roosting on Fishmoor, prior to actually roosting on the roof of Corus, can be viewed from the car park. This ease that the Reservoir can now be viewed/accessed should hopefully greatly improve coverage at other times of year when the reservoir has been grossly under-watched.

Directions for the NW corner: From junction 5 of M65, follow signs for Shadsworth. At the roundabout adj to Guide Reservoir, turn left. At the first set of traffic lights, turn right along 'Roman Road' and continue until you see ' Sullivan Drive' on the right (just before the second of the two mini-roundabouts). Park at the end of Sullivan Drive and take the short walk across the field to Fishmoor Reservoir.

Gulls

11 full species of Gull and 2 sub-species have been recorded at the site since 1993. As well as Iceland Gull, the winter Gull roost also produces Glaucous Gull on an almost annual basis (just one blank year since 1994), regular Mediterranean Gulls as well as the occasional rarer Gull which have included 2 Ring-billed Gulls (Feb-March 1994 and 1st Jan 2002) and a 3rd winter Kumliens type Gull in December 1999. Yellow-legged Gulls are also recorded occasionally, including a french-ringed bird in 2001. Click here to view an article + photos of this bird. Black-legged Kittiwake has also been occasionally seen in the winter Gull roost, but the best chance of seeing this species at the site is probably during the late winter-spring, with several records of passage birds in April. Little Gulls have also been occasionally recorded.

The Gull roost.

Viewing the Gull roost at Fishmoor is not as straight-forward as most sites, in that the Gulls don't actually roost on the water, but on the roof of the adjacent Corus Steelworks (formerly Walkersteel). This, coupled with the fact that a proportion of mainly 'small'  Gulls also go onto the smaller of the two reservoirs (Guide Reservoir)  means that it is impossible for observers to confidently feel that they have 'grilled' every Gull, as birds have the choice of pre-roosting on Fishmoor, Guide Res or flying directly onto the roof of the Corus Steelworks.

From early afternoon, a gathering of mainly 'small' Gulls begins to form at the NW corner of Fishmoor. As the afternoon progresses and more Gulls come into roost, so the birds on the water gradually move towards the Southern end of the Reservoir, before eventually flying onto the roof at dusk. For the best overall view of the three main areas of the roost, I tend to sit on-top of the banking of Guide Reservoir (NW corner). This gives views looking down on Fishmoor, whilst keeping an eye on Guide Reservoir and the roof of the Corus Steelworks. This viewing position gives the best chance of locating a Glaucous or Iceland Gull. The downside of this viewpoint is that you are further away from a lot of the 'small' Gulls on Fishmoor.

The Gull 'season' at Fishmoor begins as early as mid-July, when the Gull's begin to disperse from the colonys. The period mid-July - October is the most reliable time to connect with Mediterranean Gull, though they can and are often picked out in winter. This period is also the best time to pick out the occasional Yellow-legged Gull. The earliest date for Iceland Gull was a 1stw bird on the exceptionally early date of 31st October 1995. Usually, and a feature of recent winters, the first appearance of this species has involved an adult which usually appears from mid-november and has then been seen intermittently throughout the early-mid winter period. It is generally thought that the same returning bird is involved. This theory can be supported by the 'bags under the eyes' appearance of this bird. Click here for a photo of this bird and click here to view a photo of a 2ndw Iceland Gull.

The Gull roost peaks at around Christmas time/new year period. The Gull watching at this time can be particularly good, especially after a few days of no-tipping at sites across the country, which can spark a cross-country movement of Gulls occasionally with excellent results - witness the 1st Jan 2002, when large numbers of Gulls could be seen moving towards the coast - The roost at Fishmoor that afternoon held Both Glaucous, Iceland and a ' one-day' adult Ring-billed Gull. Click here for a photo of the R.B. Gull.

By mid-march, the roost is usually very small, though there is always the chance of locating a summer plumage Mediterranean Gull or other White-winged Gull (or perhaps something better!) as they migrate northwards.

Associated sites.

Whinney Hill Tip, Altham (SD757305): A large proportion of the Gulls feed on Whinney Hill Tip, Altham during the day, so it is well worth visiting the tip before checking the roost. However, note that from early afternoon, the Gulls tend to begin to drift away from Whinney Hill towards Fishmoor, therefore, mid-morning - mid afternoon is the best time to go through the Gulls on the tip. Viewing here can vary, depending on where the refuse is being dumped, therefore views can be superbly close or frustratingly distant and largely out of sight, so time and patience is often required. A public footpath runs thru the quarry entrance and down the side of the tip. View from here, SD754305. Please note: It is the quarry entrance (SD754303) to Whinney Hill that you enter to access the public footpath and not the general entrance for dumping household rubbish. Parking outside the quarry entrance or along Whinney Hill Rd is entirely at your own risk. There is a heavy movement of Lorry traffic along the road during week-days. Alternatively, a much safer place to park on weekdays is on the A670, at grid ref: SD753310 and take the public footpath which leads up to and over the M65 via the footbridge to view the tip at SD754305. This involves a 10 minute walk. Both routes are usually muddy, especially the Quarry entrance route, so Boots/Wellies recommended. Click here to view an O.S. Map of Whinney Hill Tip.

Other species that have been recorded at Fishmoor Res.

At other times of year away from the winter Gull roost, the reservoir is very under-watched. This is probably due to the fact that the reservoir is concrete sided and is therefore not very conducive to producing passage waders, although on occasion, when maintenance work is carried out and the water level has been lowered enough to show mud,  has proved very productive with species such as Spotted Redshank, Little Stint, Sanderling, Turnstone, Knot, Whimbrel and Ruff all being recorded. However, low water levels at Fishmoor are very rare indeed!

1995 was one such year when wader mud was exposed. During this period, a large European Golden Plover flock was present for much of mid-late autumn and Lancashire's third (and first twitchable) juvenile American Golden Plover graced the site from 28th October - 11th November.

Other scarce water-birds that have been recorded at the site includes East Lancashires 1st record of Shag (6th-8th November 1996) and a Red-necked Grebe (Feb-March 1996). Smew have been recorded a couple of times, including a fine drake in April 1988. Common Scoter and Greater Scaup (click here and here for photos of Greater Scaup at Fishmoor) have also been occasionally found as well as small passage flocks of Whooper Swan. 13 Bewick Swans were present for one day on 5th January 2002.

Sadly, the area of green belt around the reservoir is rapidly being developed for Housing estates etc. This is a great pity as a walk around the reservoir in spring or autumn usually produces a few Northern Wheatear as well as the occasional Whinchat and/or passage Stonechat. During the autumn, The odd Sedge Warbler can be located amongst the sallows along the eastern side of Fishmoor or in the rank grasses that border the site. A female Black Redstart was located on a dry-stone wall bordering the reservoir in May 1996. 2 Short-eared Owls spent the winter of 2001/2002 in the fields on the eastern side of the reservoir, often giving amazing views. Sadly, for reasons stated at the start of this paragraph, the possibility of this species gracing the reservoir fields again for any length of time will shortly, sadly, become a thing of the past. Click here for a photo of one of the S.E. Owls.

Finally, If you do visit the site, remember that nothing in birding is guaranteed. Many hours have been put in by a small number of birders in the past 8 years and there is a fair share of blank visits as well as the good ones!

If you do see anything of note, please don't forget to email sightings via the report sightings facility on the homepage.

Bill Aspin (11.08.02)