American yellow warbler: Hundreds of birdwatchers descend on village after rare sighting
Share:
Hundreds of birdwatchers have descended on a sleepy Kent village after a rare sighting of an American bird. The 'twitchers' from across the country flocked from as far away as Yorkshire to catch sight of the 'extremely rare' American yellow warbler. The foreign visitor was first spotted in New Hythe, near Maidstone in Kent, on Christmas Eve. The bird last being sighted on British shores in 2017.
Since then, camera-clutching bird enthusiasts have travelled from far and wide to catch a glimpse of the vibrant yellow creature. The species, which is native to North America and the Caribbean, has been spotted in the UK on just a handful of occasions, although it is not listed as endangered in the wild.
This most recent yellow warbler was first spotted by local Glenn Honey, who says he was left 'shaking' with excitement after spotting the bird at around 11.20am on Christmas Eve. The 56-year-old said: “I've been birdwatching for about 12 years and had an inkling it was an American warbler.
"It was bright yellow and small like the size of a robin. It made me very excited and I was shaking - it was just different to anything I'd seen before. After I sent some pictures to a Kent bird WhatsApp group the area then became bombarded with people after that. We all think it came from North America and was assisted by the wind caused by some of the storms we've had in recent weeks.".
Neil Colgate, another keen local birdwatcher who came to see the warbler, said crowds of hundreds had come down to see the bird. Mr Colgate, who goes on bird-watching trips to Costa Rica and the Amazon rainforest, said: "We were 15 minutes away and out visiting friends.
