RARE BLACK-THROATED THRUSH TURNS UP ON CAMPUS AT GRIMSBY INSTITUTE

Waiting for the bus to Cleethorpes? No, waiting for the rare thrush to reappear

A BUS stop outside Grimsby Institute was today providing an impromptu bird hide for twitchers on the look-out for a rare bird.

For the past couple of mornings, the campus has been providing feeding habitat for a black-throated thrush - the first ever to be recorded in Lincolnshire.

Somehow, it has ended up in this location when, at this time of year, it should be in Eastern Europe, the Middle East or Mongolia.

One theory is that it might have made the last part of its journey on a cargo vessel arriving in Grimsby or Immingham.

There are hopes that it might linger for a while in the same way as another black-throated thrush that has been in Bedfordshire since December 11.

The Grimsby bird was first detected on Thursday morning by expert birder Josh Forrester, a staff-member at the institute, who managed to take a photograph before putting out an alert via Twitter.

He was only able to watch it for a short while before it flew off in the direction of the nearby Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital off Scartho Road.

However, it was back on campus this morning up until soon after 11am, providing excellent views both on the grass and on the branches of tall trees, before flying off.

It is thought it has been probably spending the past two afternoons in gardens, feeding on cotoneaster and other berries.

However, its afternoon absence was a big disappointment for a score or so enthusiasts, some of whom had driven from as far way as South Yorkshire hoping to see such a rare bird.

Its throat is not as dark as its counterpart in Bedfordshire, suggesting that it may be a female or a juvenile.

If a return is reported tomorrow or over the rest of the weekend, many more birders are likely to be heading for Grimsby.

It is not the first rare member of the thrush family to have been reported in Grimsby.

Some 20 years ago, a longstaying American robin attracted hundreds of birdwatchers, some from as far away as Norway, to an industrial estate in the town.

Alas, this bird came to an unhappy end when it fell victim to a passing sparrowhawk.

How Josh Forrester broke the news, via Twitter, of his superb discovery

Black-throated thrush - the target of the Grimsby quest though this bird was photographed in the Himalayas by Soumyajit Nandy (Wikimedia Commons) 

Let's hope it shows up soon!

Eyes upwards for this quartet of birders 

Somehow, I don't think it's going to be our lucky day!

* Available, new on ebay (price £2 inc postage), A Birdwatching Guide to The Lincolnshire Coast, featuring on the front cover Grimsby's famous American robin