Rare white-throated needletail spotted in England for first time in 34 years

A rare white-throated needletail has been spotted at a Yorkshire nature reserve in the first sighting of the bird in England for 34 years.

Yorkshire Water said the bird, a native of East Asia and Australia and a relative of the UK’s native swift species, was seen at the company’s Tophill Low Nature Reserve in East Yorkshire.

It is the first time a white-throated needletail has been seen in England since 1991, and the second time it has appeared in Yorkshire after it was previously spotted near Ferrybridge, west Yorkshire, in 1985, the company said.

Richard Hampshire, lead nature reserve adviser, said the bird was first spotted by visitors to the reserve, Mandy Gregory and Ray Maddison, on Wednesday afternoon, adding they were “at first unsure of what it was, with its long sabre-shaped wings and bullet-shaped body”.

“They brought the images to me in the warden base and we quickly realised it was a very special and rare visitor for the UK.

“We got the news out on social media and became inundated with messages and calls. We had about 50 people turn up to the reserve within the hour,” he said.

It is “probably the second-rarest bird to appear in 60 years at Tophill Low”, after an Amur falcon was seen in 2008, he said.

The reserve, which is home to otters, barn owls, kingfishers, bitterns and grass snakes, was also visited last year by a pair of blue-winged teal – a species native to North America.

The white-throated needletail was also spotted at RSPB Bempton Cliffs in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, on Wednesday evening, where hundreds of people gathered to catch a glimpse of it.