Bird watchers flock to Halifax cul-de-sac in search of rare scarlet tanager

  • Video report by Sally Simpson

Crowds of nature enthusiasts have descended on a Yorkshire cul-de-sac for a second day in the hope of catching sight of a rare bird.

Hundreds of people armed with cameras and binoculars flocked to Bridle Dene, in Shelf, Halifax, on Tuesday to try to spot the scarlet tanager.

The bird - normally native to North America - is thought to have ended up in West Yorkshire after being blown off course by strong winds.

Some of those who went in search of the bird travelled for several hours, and waited for hours longer.

Simon Roberts was among those lucky enough to see it.

Posting on social media he said: "We English do, without question, happily queue. The crowd of probably 300 were well behaved."

Mark Boyett said he went to the scene after seeing "multiple reports" of sightings.

Posting on social media along with a picture of the crowds who had gathered, he said: "At the end of the road, someone had put up up a helpful sign saying 'bird this way'.

An estimated crowd of around 300 gathered on the cul-de-sac. Credit: ITV News

"Full of anticipation I hurried along. I never did see the scarlet tanager and on speaking to my fellow birders they hadn’t either. I did wonder what the occupants of the houses thought of us... Being deprived of an exotic bird to photograph, I photographed us lot instead."

The scarlet tanager is a medium-sized American songbird that is part of the cardinal family. It lives in woodlands and suburbs, normally along the east coast of the United States between Florida and Mexico.

Emma Tuckey of the RSPB said: "It's rarely found here so it's quite exciting for local birders to see this bird on their local patch in Yorkshire.

"It might be another ten years before it turns up again, or another bird just as rare turns up again. It's very much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Local resident Oliver Padgett was charging people £10 for access to a better vantage point in his garden, with the proceeds going to charity.

He said: "We thought we'd get a bucket out because there's so many people out. Let's hope it sticks around for a week and we might get even more donations."

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