Desert Wheatear

A first winter male Desert Wheatear has been hanging around the seafront of Severn Beach village near the new Severn bridge for a few days. It was seen by two people who didn't know what it was so they contacted a local birder and told him that they had seen a 'Wheatear-like bird'. On investigation he was surprised to find a Desert Wheatear feeding among the detritus on the beach.
Normally found in North Africa where they inhabit stony ground with scattered vegetation, just outside of the really sandy areas of desert. They are a short distance migrant usually just moving further south in winter, so what this bird is doing on a stony beach in Gloucestershire in December is anybody's guess. It has moved in the opposite direction to its usual migration pattern, probably blown northwards by the strong southerly winds we have been experiencing.
I have seen many of these lovely birds in Morocco but I was still keen to see another one, especially so close to home.
I traveled down on Saturday to see it and I was amazed to find it such a confiding bird, it had no fear of people whatsoever and at one stage was within six feet of the assembled birdwatchers. It wasn't a challenge to photograph so I just took a few shots and enjoyed the spectacle it provided. People concerned by reports of its welfare had been feeding it meal worms and it had also been observed eating earwigs, it spent a few periods of time just keeping still, probably stuffed by all the food on offer.
What a lovely little bird to see, an early Xmas present.
Please see Rare Birds, Desert Wheatear.