A woman has captured stunning shots of the ‘secretive’ bluethroat bird.
Jane Jeffrey had heard the elusive animal had been spotted in Tynemouth, North Shields, and took the opportunity to see them for herself.
The 67-year-old was thrilled to spot the bird, which has a distinctive bright blue plumage.
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The pictures show the robin-like bird perched on a patch of leaves, with its cobalt colouring on full display.
Jane identified it as a red spotted bluethroat – a bird known to be “secretive”, often darting away before viewers get a chance to fully appreciate them.
They are also lesser spotted in the UK, migrating through primarily in May, and settling in the Iberian Peninsula for winter.
Jane spotted this one near the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House Museum on Saturday (4 May).
“Having not seen one before I was keen to see it,” Jane, a retired canine massage practitioner from Newcastle upon Tyne, told Need To Know.
“A friend and I travelled to the location and eventually saw him hopping around on the grass, disappearing into bushes and generally being quite elusive as they are known to be.
“And being a small bird, about the size of a robin, made it more challenging, even with a zoom lens.
“It was so exciting to see this very pretty visitor to our shores during his stop off and to manage to capture some images as I may never see one again so it’s certainly a memory to treasure.”
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