Volcanic ash may have grounded transatlantic flights of the man-made variety but it has not deterred one rare American visitor from dropping in to see its English cousins.
A Bonaparte's Gull, or Chroicocephalus Philadelphia, has been seen at South east Water's Arlington Reservoir, near Berwick, Polegate. It arrived on Sunday and has decided to stay.
As a result, the site is being invaded by hordes of twitchers desperate to catch a glimpse of the bird.
Emma Goddard, environmental manager at South East Water, said: “The Bonaparte's Gull is the American equivalent of our own, more common black-head gull.
“This is the first time we have seen one at Arlington Reservoir and it's certainly caused a bit of a stir among the bird watching fraternity.
“We had up to 100 of them at one point all clamouring to catch a glimpse of this gull which, despite the problems of Mother nature has caused elsewhere with flights, seems to have decided to venture across the pond.”
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