Birdwatchers flock to Tiree for rare sighting
● Yellow-bellied flycatcher thought to have been blown off course
D o z e n s o f b i r d w a t c h e r s arrived on a Scottish island by boat and plane to catch sight of a bird that has been recorded in Europe for the first time.
The yellow-bellied flycatcher has made a stop in Tiree in the Inner Hebrides after, it is b elieved, b eing blown off course on its winter journey from Canada to South America.
Twitchers hastily made their journeys to see the little bird, which had flown some 3,000 miles off course, as it rested in a garden at Balephuil on the south of the island.
Peter Stronach, a birdwatcher from Aviemore, posted on social media of the “sensational views” he got of the bird.
He said: “I can’t believe I have seen this species in the Western Palearctic, let alone Scotland.”
Birdwatchers gathered for three days to see the “elusive”
b i r d w i t h m o r e t h a n £ 70 0 raised for Tiree Communit y Trust in the process.
Clare Jones, who first spotted the bird in her garden last week, said birdwatchers had been queuing while socially
distancing at her garden gate for a glimpse of the bird.
She told a newspaper: “Some came on a flight from Oban, a n o t h e r g r o u p c a m e f r o m Glasgow and there was also a charter flight. Then on Thurs
day another group came by boat from Kilchoan.”
Ms Jones said she was not aware at first of how rare the bird was.
She added: “It’s the size of a small robin and I didn’t think there was anything exceptional about it.”
T h e r e i s n o w n o f u r t h e r a c c e s s t o t h e g a r d e n w i t h most of the birdwatchers off the island, it is understood.
A neighb our of Ms Jones, who is the RSPB officer for T i r e e , r e c o g n i s e d t h e b i r d straight away.
John Bowler then welcomed a number of visitors onto the island to see the bird.
He told the newspaper: “The majorit y of the visitors have come from England and there are one or two from Wales and some from Scotland.
“It has been difficult for them to get across here so they have u s e d a ny m e a n s t h e y c a n . There have been charter boats and two charter planes.”
Visitors to the island have b e e n p r a i s e d f o r o b s e r v - ing social distance although i t i s t h o u g h t t h e p a n d e mi c reduced the number of birdwatchers who would normally have made the journey.
The yellow-bellied flycatcher usually finds a perch low or in the middle of a tree from where it flies out at night to catch insects.
Sometimes berries and seeds are also taken.
It has a green upp er b o dy and yellow throat, as well as a white or yellow eye ring. Its lower beak is a shade of orangey pink.