Belvide Reservoir

Birdwatching at Belvide Reservoir Staffordshire. Free birdwatching guide


Belvide Reservoir is in South Staffordshire, England. It was built in 1833 to supply the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, and has been managed as a nature reserve since 1977.

It is the site of a nature reserve, which has been operated by the West Midland Bird Club since January 1977, and is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The reserve is not open to the general public, and a permit is required to visit it.

The site has attracted interest from bird-watchers since the 1920s, when the ornithologist Arnold Boyd began visiting it and publishing reports in the magazine British Birds, although he did not reveal its location, as he called it "Bellfields" in the articles.The reservoir has been visited by many scarce and rare migrant birds, including white-winged black tern (1970, 1974, 1992, 1999), whiskered tern (1969), Caspian tern (1968, 1992), spotted crake and spotted sandpiper (1982).

Access to Belvide Reserve is by Inclusive Club membership only.

Visits can be made to this reserve by bona fide groups. Individual day permits are not issued.

Arrangements for group visits can be made using the Reserve Management Team contact address on this page.

To purchase your permit please contact the WMBC Permit Secretary: permits@westmidlandbirdclub.org.uk


We highly recommend the publications below to compliment your visit to this Region.


Back to Staffordshire Birdwatching sites



Share by: