Crowds flock to quiet cul-de-sac after rare bird spotted on washing line

Crowds of birdwatchers flocked to a quiet cul-de-sac after a rare sighting of a species perched on a garden washing line.

The report of the scarlet tanager in Shelf, near Halifax, is believed to be the first time one of the birds has been sighted in Yorkshire.

The stocky songbird normally travels between the eastern United States and lowland South American forests twice a year.

One twitcher who made an early morning journey from London described catching a glimpse of the creature as "exhilarating".

Dozens of birdwatchers assembled along the street after initial reports that the bird had been sighted were shared online and on social media.

Geoffrey King, who has been birdwatching for 15 years, made the 220-mile (354km) trip north from Weybridge in Surrey to West Yorkshire in the early hours of Monday.

He arrived on scene at 09:30 GMT but it was a further five hours before a hushed murmur rippled through the crowd, signalling the bird had become visible.

"It was very exhilarating," he said.

Mr King, 67, had been packing up his tripod and was ready to book a hotel when he saw the bird.

"I had basically given up. Somebody called and there it was at the top of the tree! It was a great relief to see it," he enthused.

The scarlet tanager was Mr King's 478th species spotted in the UK, he added.

Another avian aficionado, who gave his details simply as Paul from London, said it had been an early start to get to the site in good time.

"I got up at five o'clock this morning and was on the road for 05:30," the 61-year-old said.

"The older I get, the more it blows my mind that something the size of a sparrow can fly across the ocean, 3,000 miles (4,828km), to get here. It's extraordinary."

He said it had been his first sighting of the species in nearly five decades of birdwatching.

According to the American Bird Conservancy, the scarlet tanager's song is often described as "like a robin with a cold".

Also hoping to hear it among the assembled twitchers was Luke Nash, who made the trip from Durham.

"I saw it online last night and headed straight down," the 22-year-old said.

"This is absolutely unprecedented. The last sighting was something like 10 years ago.

"I was a bit suspicious when I heard it was here. I was dawdling and playing with my camera, looking at my phone and then someone shouted it was coming in and then the camera came out of the bag and the binoculars were up."

The scarlet tanager is Mr Nash's 435th species spotted in Britain.