Chris Monk
Well-known member
From BBC web site:
Strong wind blows rare birds in
It is though the birds were blown off-course
Bird-watchers have been flocking to Gloucestershire to catch a glimpse of a pair of black-winged stilts thought to be looking for a place to build a nest.
The pair have arrived at a marsh in Frampton, near the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge.
If the birds breed they will become some of the few black-winged stilts to have raised chicks in this country.
The stilts boast striking black and white plumage with massive bright red legs and a needle-straight black bill.
'Real treat'
Dave Paynter, WWT reserve manager at Slimbridge, registered the first sighting of the rare visitors on 12 May.
"It was a real treat to see them, they are rare here, with about half-a-dozen being seen in Britain each year, so it's remarkable that they seem to be hanging around.
"It's the first time we've ever had them in this part of the country.
"They're very exotic-looking birds and very elegant with their long legs.
"They've certainly attracted the twitchers and there's been a few of them up at the marsh each day watching them."
Black-winged stilts winter in Africa before heading north to spend summer in the Mediterranean and other warm parts of the continent.
It is believed they were blown off-course after recent strong easterly winds.
Strong wind blows rare birds in
It is though the birds were blown off-course
Bird-watchers have been flocking to Gloucestershire to catch a glimpse of a pair of black-winged stilts thought to be looking for a place to build a nest.
The pair have arrived at a marsh in Frampton, near the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge.
If the birds breed they will become some of the few black-winged stilts to have raised chicks in this country.
The stilts boast striking black and white plumage with massive bright red legs and a needle-straight black bill.
'Real treat'
Dave Paynter, WWT reserve manager at Slimbridge, registered the first sighting of the rare visitors on 12 May.
"It was a real treat to see them, they are rare here, with about half-a-dozen being seen in Britain each year, so it's remarkable that they seem to be hanging around.
"It's the first time we've ever had them in this part of the country.
"They're very exotic-looking birds and very elegant with their long legs.
"They've certainly attracted the twitchers and there's been a few of them up at the marsh each day watching them."
Black-winged stilts winter in Africa before heading north to spend summer in the Mediterranean and other warm parts of the continent.
It is believed they were blown off-course after recent strong easterly winds.
