I went today, to Gilstead to see the American robin - a mega rarity for the UK and a first for Yorkshire. Like the twist, a trans-Atlantic import causing consternation among the reticent denizens of this sceptred isle. Apologies to Mr C. Checker.
Around one hundred dedicated birders can't be wrong and the striking (gaudily ostentatious, if you ask me) looking bird, showing well but sporadically in the area was, indeed, a large colonial thrush on the wrong side of the Atlantic.
One local mistook this rabble for paparazzi. However, the celebrity we had in mind was rather more impressive than those currently demonstrating their cognitive short-comings on Big Brother.Although these birds migrate seasonally within the USA only 22 individuals have been recorded in the UK since 1950. It must have been blown off course by the recent gales and the chances of the bird making the return trip across the pond are slim to non-existent. Now it must get used to "tom ah to" not "tom ay to" until it is inevitably devoured by a Sparrowhawk (the traditional fate of vagrant rarities reaching our shores). In the meantime the bird seemed surprisingly chipper after a journey which would leave most humans feeling a little jaded. Even with the benefit of pressurised cabins and airline food.
The Gilstead American robin, asking, "fancy some gum, chum?" and seeking to impress English, lady thrushes with nylons and chocolates in a cottoneaster bush near you! Except it's a first-winter female, apparently.Photo by John Cope from the BOG website - please visit for more Bradford Birding info.
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