MOCKINGBIRDS have not been spotted in Britain for some 30 years but one lucky Devon man was delighted to have had the chance to catch a glimpse of the North American bird. But mockingbirds aren’t the only rare birds you can spot in the UK – here’s a full list.

The last time a mockingbird was spotted in the UK was in the 1980s – the first in 1982 at Saltash, Cornwall, and the second in 1988 at Horsey Island, in Essex. Northern mockingbirds are the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. While they’re predominantly a ‘home bird’, some may move south in the harsh winters – so been spotted as far away as Europe is a pretty huge feat. But now Chris Biddle, from Devon, claims to have made an incredible sighting at the weekend in Exmouth, Devon.

Posting images of the bird on Twitter, he questioned whether he had in fact spotted a northern mockingbird. Continue reading →