A very rare sighting of a Sandhill Crane at Boyton in Suffolk. Photo: David Hermon

HUNDREDS of bird watchers flocked to a Suffolk village after reports a rare bird was spotted in the skies above the county.

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Boyton village, near Orford was flooded with twitchers yesterday, eager to get a glimpse of the Sandhill Crane, only ever seen in the British Isles four times before – including sightings in Cork, Ireland in 1905 and Faroe in the Shetland Islands, Scotland in 1981.

A native of northern Canada, the large grey bird with its distinctive red forehead migrates to Florida and other southern American states during the winter.

But the recent Hurricane Katia, which hit the eastern coast of America last month, is believed to have knocked the migrating bird off course, dragging it across the Atlantic.

The frenzy of excitement in Boyton yesterday was sparked by rumours of sightings at about 10.30am over Kessingland. From there the rare bird was spotted at the RSPB reserve in North Warren and it was viewed flying close to Orford Ness at about 12.30pm by bird spotters from the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group (SOG), before it settled in Boyton for the night.

Steve Piotrowski, president of SOG, and a bird watcher for the last 50 years, said he counts himself lucky to be one of the people who spotted the “magnificent” creature.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would see such a rare bird. It is very exciting for us, I count myself very lucky.”

Ian Barthorpe, spokesman for RSPB Minsmere, added: “It’s a pretty exciting sight because it should be migrating from the Canadian plains down to New Mexico, but instead it’s within sight of Hollesley and the marshes near Shingle Street.”