Rare American bird seen in Jersey for first time

Rare American bird seen in Jersey for first time

A North American wading bird has been spotted in Jersey for the first time.

The lesser yellowlegs was seen on Monday at The Scrape at St Ouen's Pond by members of Jersey Birds. Mick Dryden, from the group, said "it was special" to see it.

Birdwatcher Tony Paintin said: "It was quite a striking bird, about the size of a greenshank and it's got very long yellow legs."

He said the bird was feeding on the pond at about 09:00 BST when he saw it and it "only stayed a day" on the island. Jersey Birds said it was the first confirmed record for the island.

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Dryden said its visit was fleeting and the team checked records to see if it had visited Jersey before.

The bird has been spotted in Guernsey before.

The British Trust for Ornithology said there were a handful of sightings of the "slender and graceful" bird in the UK, mostly from August to October.

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