Rare bird sighting at nature reserve 'a real treat'

The Baird's sandpiper was spotted at Rutland Water over the weekend

A bird described as a "rare" visitor from North America was spotted at Rutland Water over the weekend.

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust said birdwatchers had been "flocking" to see the juvenile Baird's sandpiper that had been seen there, off the Whitwell Peninsula.

Will Bowell, 39, was one such birdwatcher who travelled to the nature reserve twice, both on Friday and Saturday, to photograph the bird, which he described as "a real treat".

Baird's sandpipers nest in northern North America and easternmost Siberia, and migrate to South America in winter, the trust said, but they occasionally make their way across the Atlantic to the UK as well.

Mr Bowell, of Market Deeping in Lincolnshire, said the sighting of the bird was reported in local WhatsApp groups and "on various bird apps".

He said: "Because of it being exceptionally dry this year, there's been a lot of exposed mud, which the waders like, and so the opportunity to get close, unusually close, meant that it was a great bird to go and see for close photography, really."

Mr Bowell said on Saturday, the bird walked up to him until it was less than 6.5ft (two metres) away.

"It's the first record for Rutland Water, so it is very rare for around here," he said.

"There's probably about one to six a year recorded in Britain, and they're usually on the West Coast.

"They're normally on the Hebrides, so to get one inland, so close to home, is just a real treat."

Mr Bowell said he had been birdwatching for all of his life, and the bird was "incredibly tame" and "just walked straight up to you, which is, from the photography point of view, really, really good".