The #AlstonReservoirs patch checked pre and post work. Zero. ☹️

Bit livelier than my 120 BHG and 12 Common Gulls at #AlstonReservoirs !

Spent much of 2024 fruitlessly thrashing the local patches of #AlstonReservoirs and #Seaforth but neither produced a rarity reward. So it was down to #Hodbarrow to scratch the BBRC rarity itch instead. This magnificent #CaspianTern was a brief but thrilling highlight of the year. #birds #ukbirding

Always on the radar for the #AlstonReservoirs patch at this time of year but always a nice surprise when they appear. It's the first for five years. Lovely juvenile #BlackNeckedGrebe adding a bit of class to the flotilla of Coots and Tufted Ducks.

A weekend spent hoping to get in on the #BlackTern action. Last minute winner with nose to beak views of this lovely moulting adult in the evening sunshine at the #AlstonReservoirs patch. 😍

Kept it local today. Early morning moth trap sesh, #CommonScoter made it on to the #AlstonReservoirs #WeBS whilst an #Osprey upset the local gulls and a mooch along a lovely peaceful stretch of the river #Ribble produced some riparian beauties.

Nice to get a share of the #BarTailedGodwit passage on patch. Thanks to low water levels and some mud edge, 8 appeared at #AlstonReservoirs yesterday and were still present today. Three of them absolutely stunning brick red full breeding plumage males. Oof. #waders #shorebirds

A lunchtime break on the #AlstonReservoirs patch was eagerly anticipated today as reports of local #LittleGulls flooded in. Was greeted with this joyous sight on arrival at no.1 reservoir. Nine exquisite treats that eventually towered off high to the north.

Lovely adult Russian White-fronted Goose brightened a grey day at the #AlstonReservoirs patch. Long-awaited reward after countless grillings of the local Greylags in recent winters & a goosey bonus on @WeBS_UK day. The first one to stick for the locals to catch up with too. Ace.

Long staying female #CommonScoter still at #AlstonReservoirs for the eleventh day. Must find the snowy #PendleHill backdrop to its liking.

The grass banks of #AlstonReservoirs #Longridge have a wonderfully diverse #flora having never been ploughed, fertilised or reseeded. #Fungi are equally impressive, but these Ballerina Waxcaps are the first I've seen here. Is it a good year for them?

Nice surprise on the #AlstonReservoirs local patch this morning. Big influx of Tufties, a Pochard, the first 3 Goldeneye of the winter and this! #LongTailedDuck

The juvenile #BlackTern was at #AlstonReservoirs #Longridge again today. A combination of some great light, wind direction and sussing out its feeding circuit resulted in the best views I've ever had of this delightful species on the patch. Stunner.

#CommonScoter on the move this morning. Flocks of 56 and 15 high west over #AlstonReservoirs #Longridge around 10am. @Alexander_Lees @BirdGuides

67 spp on the #AlstonReservoirs patch today. Highlights were a Hooded Crow west, 17 Whimbrel, 2 Common Sands, 2 Pintail, 2 Ringed Plover, a reeling Grasshopper Warbler & 2 White Wagtail. A return visit this evening produced a Common Scoter - first ever on the Wetland. #birding

Nice to confirm successful breeding of #GreyWagtails at #AlstonReservoirs #Longridge. Video from this morning with extra wagging.

Heavy rain and easterlies in May can often deliver on patch. Stunning tundra-bound #Turnstone at #AlstonReservoirs this morning in this case. 5 Dunlin on the Wetland, male Whinchat, Wheatear, plenty of hirundines and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were added value.

I can't fault this bird's ambition. #Turnstone #AlstonReservoirs

Lovely little ray of early sunshine on a cold, wet morning at the #AlstonReservoirs patch. Male Blue-headed Wagtail.

The skies just got classier. My first #Swift of the year over #AlstonReservoirs #Longridge this morning. Didn't linger long enough for a pic though so here's one from another day 🙌 #BestDayOfTheYear

Always a thrill, #Osprey over #AlstonReservoirs this evening then north over #Longridge. Quick scramble down to Alston from home in double quick time thanks to a call from @mikewatsonfoto!

Little Gull and Little Gull food at #AlstonReservoirs on Saturday. Big chironomid hatch saw an influx of small gulls making the most of the bounty in fine weather. That's two patch Little Gulls now this spring. Spoilt rotten I am.

As good as it gets locally at the moment. 1stW female #Scaup new in at #AlstonReservoirs yesterday relocated to Dilworth Reservoir today. Small numbers of #waders in the area inc 14 #Woodcock on #LongridgeFell where, after last winter's uber-spectacle, the Redwing count was zero.

The soundtrack on the local #AlstonReservoirs patch is getting better by the day, especially now the 'spring' movement of #curlew and #oystercatcher is underway. #Lapwings also chipping in and a single Green Sandpiper. #waders #shorebirds #shootingwithcamera

The #AlstonReservoirs patch has been bloody hard work this autumn, so this unit was a welcome patch tick this morning. Stonking juv Great Northern Diver in the murk on no.1 reservoir at 08:50 before it took flight and flew high west half an hour later. Brief Twite was a bonus!

Driving by #AlstonReservoirs yesterday morning en route to work when a neat tight line of dark duck on no.2 res necessitated a pit stop. The usual Coot and Tufties are always spread out & scattered. Sure enough 14 Common Scoter, peak on the deck patch count so far. #Scoterhead

Anyone still getting #NocMig scoters? They're still on the move. Two lovely drakes grounded on #AlstonReservoirs #Longridge #Lancashire this morning in low cloud and drizzle. #Scoterhead