Published1 hour ago
Hundreds of birdwatchers have turned out to get a glimpse of an “incredibly rare” bird spotted in a garden.
Simon Wood said he “nearly fell off my chair” when he saw the Northern Waterthrush – originally from North America – in his garden in Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex, on Wednesday.
Mr Wood, president of the Essex Birdwatching Society, said it had only been sighted eight times in the UK.
He said the chances of it landing in his garden were “remarkable”.
Mr Wood said: “I nearly fell off my chair because I knew what it was because I’d seen them in the Americas, and there was a lot of expletives.
“I rushed for my camera, rattled a few pictures and then it had gone. When the news had broken, all hell had let loose.”
On Thursday, the bird moved to an area of scrubland and reedbed nearby, and about 130 people turned up, hoping for a glimpse.
On Friday, about 200 birdwatchers arrived, their binoculars, telescopes and cameras trained on the area near Heybridge Creek.
Mr Wood said the bird had likely been knocked off course by bad weather while flying across the Atlantic.
“The chances of it getting across the Atlantic and it actually landing in the garden of someone who knows what they’re looking at – it’s remarkable,” he said.
He said this could be the first time a Northern Waterthrush had been
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