Crowds flock to Halifax to spot rare bird

Crowds of birdwatchers have continued to flock to a quiet cul-de-sac for a second day after a uncommon sighting of a species perched on a backyard washing line.

The report of the scarlet tanager in Shelf, close to Halifax, is believed to be the primary time one of many birds has been sighted in Yorkshire.

The stocky songbird usually travels between the jap United States and lowland South American forests twice a yr.

One twitcher who made an early morning journey from London described catching a glimpse of the creature as “exhilarating”.

Dozens of birdwatchers assembled alongside the road after preliminary reviews that the chicken had been sighted had been shared on-line and on social media.

On Tuesday, the street continued to be full of crowds pointing cameras and binoculars in the direction of a selected suburban backyard.

Geoffrey Eager, who has been birdwatching for 15 years, made the 220-mile (354km) journey north from Weybridge in Surrey to West Yorkshire within the early hours of Monday.

He arrived on scene at 09:30 GMT but it surely was an extra 5 hours earlier than a hushed murmur rippled by way of the gang, signalling the chicken had grow to be seen.

“It was very exhilarating,” he mentioned.

Mr Eager, 67, had been packing up his tripod and was able to guide a resort when he noticed the chicken.

“I had principally given up. Someone known as and there it was on the prime of the tree! It was a terrific reduction to see it,” he enthused.

The scarlet tanager was Mr Eager’s 478th species noticed within the UK, he added.

One other avian aficionado, who gave his particulars merely as Paul from London, mentioned it had been an early begin to get to the location in good time.

“I obtained up at 5 o’clock this morning and was on the street for 05:30,” the 61-year-old mentioned.

“The older I get, the extra it blows my thoughts that one thing the dimensions of a sparrow can fly throughout the ocean, 3,000 miles (4,828km), to get right here. It is extraordinary.”

He mentioned it had been his first sighting of the species in almost 5 a long time of birdwatching.

In keeping with the American Fowl Conservancy, the scarlet tanager’s tune is usually described as “like a robin with a chilly”.

Additionally hoping to listen to it among the many assembled twitchers was Luke Nash, who made the journey from Durham.

“I noticed it on-line final evening and headed straight down,” the 22-year-old mentioned.

“That is completely unprecedented. The final sighting was one thing like 10 years in the past.

“I used to be a bit suspicious after I heard it was right here. I used to be dawdling and enjoying with my digital camera, taking a look at my telephone after which somebody shouted it was coming in after which the digital camera got here out of the bag and the binoculars had been up.”

The scarlet tanager is Mr Nash’s 435th species noticed in Britain.

One other birdwatcher, Matt O’Sullivan, mentioned the scarlet tanager’s look was the primary recorded on the UK mainland, as different sightings had been on “distant” islands.

He added: “This chicken could have been born late spring or early summer season within the jap United States or Canada and has someway discovered its method all the way in which to West Yorkshire. Most definitely it was carried throughout the Atlantic by a low strain system and has been right here ever since. Usually this species winters in Central America, migrating throughout the Gulf of Mexico or by way of Florida.

“There have solely been 13 earlier data of this species within the UK and Eire however they’ve virtually all the time been on distant islands so that is primarily the primary chicken that on a regular basis folks can go and see – therefore the huge crowd.”

Web site Fowl Guides said on X that the sighting was believed to be the primary in Yorkshire.

“By no means earlier than seen in Yorkshire, the first-winter male scarlet tanager is simply the eighth British file and the primary since 2014,” it mentioned.

In keeping with Cornell College’s All about Birds web site, the male breeding birds have a vibrant pink physique and black wings and tails, whereas females and juvenile birds have a yellowish-green physique.

It’s normally the duller yellowish birds that are noticed within the UK, having been swept off beam by storms as they migrate south within the autumn, the web site mentioned.

One man among the many throng had travelled rather less far than different fanatics – he had journeyed from just a few hundred metres away within the village.

The momentary twitcher had been strolling his canine when he noticed the crowds and determined to affix them, declaring that he can be “satisfied to bits” to see the American customer.

Take heed to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, meet up with the most recent episode of Look North or inform us a narrative you suppose we ought to be overlaying right here.