The unlikely location a flock of rare waxwings have taken roost in Hull

They've given Spurn Point a miss

Dan Kemp

18:46, 8 JAN 2019

When you think of birdwatching, you would imagine people dressed from head to toe in camouflage, staking out in the middle of woods or on cliff tops.

But birdwatchers from across East Yorkshire have decided against scenic trips to Spurn Point or Bempton Cliffs - instead opting to do their spotting in an altogether less likely place.

Men and women with their long lenses have been spotted focusing on a group of rare waxwings in Hessle , just yards from where hundreds of shoppers go about getting their groceries.

The birds have been spotted near Aldi and Sainsbury's car parks on either side of Priory Way.  A flock of more than a dozen of the rare birds have taken up residence in trees near the supermarkets.

Birdwatcher Michael Flowers says the birds were spotted as early as the end of November but that their numbers are now at a high for winter 2018/19.

He said: "The Waxwings first appeared at Hessle this season on November 28 when nine were seen. Numbers gradually dropped until there were only three on 23 December. Numbers rose again on 5 January when 13 were seen. There must have been another influx from Scandinavia."

Continued