Hundreds of birdwatchers descend on Essex village in pursuit of rare northern waterthrush

Birdwatchers flock to try to spot the rare northern waterthrush in Heybridge in Essex. aNGLIA 050124 rare bird Credit: ITV News Anglia
Scores of bird watchers have arrived at Heybridge in search of the rare northern waterthrush. Credit: ITV News Anglia

More than a hundred birdwatchers have descended on a village in search of a rare American warbler seen nearby.

The birders set up cameras and binoculars overlooking an area of scrub in Heybridge near Maldon.

They braved the damp and dreary weather hoping to get a glimpse of the northern waterthrush after it was seen in the area on Wednesday.

Eddie Aldridge was one of the first to see the bird when he captured it on a wildlife camera in his back garden and showed it to a man walking nearby.

Then people started turning up to try and see the bird.

He said: "I didn't think it was a rare bird until somebody told me and then I was like 'oh my goodness - that's it'. I just felt great. It's lucky I told someone and word got out."

Eddie Aldridge was the first person to see the northern waterthrush, in his back garden Credit: ITV News Anglia

Factfile: Northern waterthrush

  • Extremely rare visitor to UK

  • Likes to be on the ground near streams

  • Is not a thrush but from the family of American warblers

  • First recorded in the Isles of Scilly 1958

Source: British Trust for Ornithology

The suitably-named Les Bird, a twitcher for 47 years, arrived on Thursday and was spending a second day in pursuit of the American visitor.

The northern waterthrush snapped by Nick Bristow in Heybridge. Credit: Nick Bristow

Neil Davies and his friend Andrew Lipczynsky had travelled from Kent after hearing about the bird.

Mr Davies said: "We travelled up first thing, left at 6.30am and arrived at 8.30am but we've yet to see it."

He said it was enjoyable to come away and see something different but that they seemed to have missed the bird.

Birdwatchers trying to spot the northern waterthrush Credit: ITV News Anglia

The pair said there were fewer than 20 records of the bird being seen in Great Britain and none in Essex.

Mr Davies said: "The last one I saw was in 1982 on the Isles of Scilly and I just thought I might come and reset, and see what one actually looks like as I've forgotten."

The two friends said it was "bad news" to miss their quarry.

Mr Lipczynsky said: "You win some and you lose some but you've got to take the rough with the smooth because otherwise your life would be full of disappointments."

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