This rare visitor has been seen in the Isle of Man for what’s thought to be only the third time ever.
The avocet, a graceful wader with black and white plumage and upturned bill, is instantly recognisable as the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
It was first spotted on November 5 at Manx BirdLife’s Point of Ayre National Reserve in Bride by site manager David Andrew.
Then on November 14 what was presumed to be the same bird was relocated on the Langness saltmarshes in the south of the island.
.jpeg?width=209&height=140&crop=209:145,smart&quality=75)
After this, the bird continued to show daily at various sites along the south coast – including Derbyhaven, Langness, Sandwick, Poillvaaish and Strandhall.
Following Storm Bert, there were no sightings of the avocet for a few day until Thursday this week when it was spotted at Derbyhaven.
The first Manx record of an avocet was only in May 2002 and until this month, there had been just one other sighting, in April 2004.
Having been lost as a British breeding bird, the avocet returned in 1947 to nest on the Suffolk coast.
Today, thanks to the efforts of the RSPB and others, there are now 1,950 pairs breeding along the east, south and north west coasts of England.
The avocet’s status as a flagship species for nature conservation is enshrined in the RSPB’s logo.
Manx Birdlife director Neil Morris said: ‘The species is now well and truly re-established as a British breeding bird.
‘It is hoped that the continued conservation and restoration of vital wetland habitats will see the species continue to flourish – and that the development of such habitats in the Isle of Man, for example at the Manx BirdLife Point of Ayre National Reserve, will see avocet being added to the island’s breeding bird list one day soon.
‘November’s Isle of Man avocet might well have started its journey to the island from one of the burgeoning populations in north west England just across the Irish Sea, perhaps RSPB’s Leighton Moss reserve or Burton Mere Wetlands.
‘These populations are readily placed to seed the first Manx population!’