Delight for bird watchers as hundreds flock to catch glimpse of rare blue rock thrush

HUNDREDS of bird watchers today flocked to a village to catch a glimpse of a rare bird which was last spotted in the UK a decade ago.

Rare blue rock thrushDAVE MORGAN

A rare blue rock thrush appeared in a residential village

Only seven times in history has one of these southern European mountain birds been spotted in the United Kingdom.

As soon as news of the bird’s arrival in Stow-on-the-Wold began to circulate late on Tuesday, a small army of keen twitchers were making plans to travel to Gloucestershire to see the species with its striking indigo plumage.

An autumn that has seen an unprecedented host of rare birds arriving from the far reaches of Siberia as well as North America now appears to be producing sightings from southern climes.

By rights, the blue rock thrush should be wintering among the rocky crags and lower slopes of mountain ranges skirting the Mediterranean and North Africa.

The bird is believed to have arrived in Fisher Close two weeks ago and seems well at home, feeding alongside the neighbourhood blackbirds and robins.

To a casual observer, a male blue rock thrush  appears smaller but more upright than a blackbird, with a relatively longer bill and dark blue colouring across its head and body.

Birdwatchers DAVE MORGAN

Excited birdwatchers gathered at the sight where the avian creature was spotted

As soon as the news broke on the Rare Bird Alert information service, with the thrush getting a “mega rarity” billing, twitchers from as far as Scotland were making plans to travel, with a plea not to create parking problems for residents.

It's a memorable day, this is one of the most important sightings for years

Garry Bognell, birdwatcher

To show their gratitude to the townsfolk, twitchers are arranging a collection for a nearby hospice.

Stunned residents have been overwhelmed by the sight of so many twitchers but say they respect their good behaviour.

Resident Keith Neville, 50, said: “My neighbour spotted the bird around two weeks ago and it was only after they put it online when people started to come. There's about 200 of them milling around the street.”

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “It came into our garden about two weeks ago and we started to feed it alongside the other birds but didn't know what it was.

blue rock thrushDAVE MORGAN

The blue rock thrush purched on a chimney in Stow on the Wold

“We posted a picture of it on social media and then it just went completely viral. I'm absolutely stunned by the reaction. I wasn't expecting anything like it.

“We're absolutely fine with it, people are just milling around outside trying to a catch a glimpse. As long as they behave and don't try to come in the house, we're happy for people to come and look.”

The last blue rock thrush to be seen on British soil was in Radnorshire nine years ago. The first ever sighting was in 1985 in Argyll with subsequent records in Cornwall and Caernarfonshire.

For dedicated twitchers, seeing the blue rock thrush is a real red letter day.

Garry Bagnell, 49, from Sussex, likened the sighting to "winning the lottery".

The accountant said: "I've been here from about 7.30am and there's around 200 bird watchers here, possibly more.

ornithologists DAVE MORGAN

Twitchers have called it an important day in the ornithological world

"We've all squished into a tiny close to catch a sight of it, apparently it's been here for a week now.

"People have travelled from up and down the country. I heard people have come from Lincolnshire and Scotland.

"As far as I know there's only been about six sightings of the bird, so seeing it today is like winning the lottery for me.

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"It's a memorable day, this is one of the most important sightings for years.

"There will probably be around 1,000 people gathering around the bird at some point today, then a few hundred more will see it in the lead up to the weekend.

"The neighbours are quite excited by the amount of people that have come to see the bird and we've arranged a charity collection for a local hospice." 

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