Rare purple heron photographed at Willington Wetlands

A rare purple heron has been spotted by a birdwatcher at a Derbyshire nature reserve.

Ian Elliott said he was "chuffed to bits" to see the juvenile bird at Willington Wetlands on Thursday evening.

The RSPB said purple herons were usually sighted in southern Europe and some parts of northern Africa.

The local wildlife trust said it was only the eighth time a purple heron had been recorded in the county.

Mr Elliott - a keen birdwatcher - said he had never even heard of a purple heron until last week.

He said there had been a few reported sightings of one at Willington Wetlands, which is run by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, so he went to have a look.

"I just sat up for four or five hours - I was in the hide - and then all of a sudden it just flew from left to right, right along the length of the lake.

"Luckily I had my camera ready - I was chuffed to bits," he said.

Mr Elliott said the bird was very distinctive.

"It looked a lot darker and you can see it has got purple tinges to its wings and on its back.

"You could see straight away that it wasn't a normal grey heron," he said.

The RSPB said: "Purple herons are rare migrants to the UK, with around 20 records per year.

"Their normal breeding range is southern Europe, and some parts of northern Africa, but a pair bred successfully for the first time in England in 2010 at RSPB Dungeness.

"It's a bird likely to be seen more frequently in the UK in the future as climate change pushes their range further north."

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