Drift Reservoir Claimed

Drift Reservoir just north of the village of Drift and west of Penzance. The reservoir is just over a kilometre long and covers 26 ha. The dam is at the southern end of the reservoir, and the northern end, splits into north-western and north-eastern shallow arms. There is public access to the dam and parking area only. Drift reservoir, due to its geographical location close to the sea, plus good areas of shallow water and exposed mud is an important landfall for migrating waders. The north-west arm of the reservoir is managed by the Cornwall Birdwatching and Preservation Society (CBWPS) and the bird hide, due to insurance considerations, is open to members of that organisation only.  Although generally hosting only small numbers of birds (244 species recorded), the reservoir has attracted a considerable number of North American vagrant shorebirds and wildfowl, including a number of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis). In May 2016 a Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) was seen in western Cornwall and was frequently seen on the reservoir. There are 5,000 year old fossil remains of this species from Somerset and this bird could be the first recorded in Britain since then. At the same