As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Saturday 22 December 2012

Gallery: Rare bird’s arrival sees twitchers flock to Aldeburgh


A NEW star has arrived in style on the Suffolk coast – and it has persuaded birdwatchers to spread their wings and visit Aldeburgh from many parts of the country.

First discovered earlier this month, the Hornemann’s Arctic redpoll has been attracting hundreds of twitchers to the town’s beach. The lone bird is from the circumpolar taiga zone of the far north. On the rare occasions it strays south to Britain it is more often than not to the northern isles, especially the Shetlands.

The Aldeburgh wanderer is the first of its kind to be seen in Suffolk and is so tame that it has proved easy for visitors to capture some fantastic photographs – as seen here, submitted by our iwitness24 contributors.

Steve Piotrowski, author of The Birds of Suffolk and ornithological consultant to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, said that up until the last few days 2012 had been a disappointing year for the county’s twitching scene but there was now a real buzz in the air – and online in the birdwatching forums – thanks to the Hornemann’s Arctic redpoll.

The redpoll’s arrival comes after a Spanish sparrow – another county ‘first’ – was found in September at Landguard nature reserve, near Felixstowe, and has proved a timely end-of-year boost to fans of feathered friends.

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