HOW DID MAGNIFICENT VARIED THRUSH FIND ITS WAY FROM NORTH AMERICA'S WEST COAST TO ORKNEY?

Varied Thrush - photo by Walter Siegmund via Wikipedia 

RECENT excitement over the appearance of a Varied Thrush in Orkney would doubtless have been shared by Lincolnshire's pioneer-naturalist Sir Joseph Banks.

Back in the 18th Century, Banks - who, when not travelling, divided his time between Revesby Abbey, near Spilsby, and London -  was probably the first European to identify this beautiful bird as a unique species.

His encounter came when, as scientist on board one of Captain James Cook's epic voyages of exploration, he was captivated by the beauty of the bird, examples of which he saw during a stop-off at  Nootka Island off the west coast of Canada in April, 1778.

In 1841, American ornithologist and artist John James Audubon acknowledged the importance of Banks and Cook in the discovery of the species when he depicted it in one of his celebrated paintings.

The Orkney bird is only the second for the UK - the other bird was an aberrant-plumaged male that spent November 14-23, 1982, at  Nanquidno, near St Just in West Cornwall.

Since the Varied Thrush  was first reported by David Roche last Wednesday, hundreds of twitchers have made the trip to see it - typically paying £216 for a ferry return from the Scottish mainland to Orkney's main port, Kirkwall, then paying £170 each way for a charter boat (carrying up to 11) to the island of Papa Westray (population  just 90).

The bird, which is slightly larger than a Song Thrush, has mostly been very obliging, providing excellent views  as it  pecks for insects on a grass field. It is extremely lively and evidently in good health.

A bird of the west coast of Canada and North America where it favours moist coniferous forests, the Varied Thrush seems an unlikely vagrant to Europe. The route of this particular bird to Orkney can only be a matter of conjecture. 

Inevitably, some will suspect it might have been ship-assisted. Or, to put a real damper on things, might it be an escapee from a private aviary?

There is also one other Palearctic record for the Varied Thrush - a specimen that spent a few days in early May, 2004, feeding in the company of hundreds of redwings, on farmland in East Iceland.  

Orkney's current star attraction

Audubon's study of the species 

Sir Joseph Banks - pioneer birder