A BIRD watcher is keen to find out whether the bird he has spotted in Furness is a rare visitor to these shores.

Jamie Greene (below) has had a keen interest in watching birds for 20 years and this week sighted a White Stork – which is very rare in the UK.

Mr Greene, from Backbarrow, hopes that he can tick-off the bird on the British Ornithologists' Union British List - the official list of birds recorded in Britain.

It currently has about 500 different species of rare birds on it and Mr Greene hopes he can take his tally to 28.

He saw the bird roosting on a lamp post along the Dalton by-pass and said: “I was really excited. We do get reports of genuine wild birds in the country each year but I wanted to check first that it was not an escapee from the zoo.”

Mr Greene said he was told by the zoo that none of their birds were missing and is hoping that it will be a first for Furness.

White Storks migrate from northern Europe to winter in Africa – but normally do not fly near Britain.

A spokesman for the RSPB told the Gazette that most White Storks spotted in the UK were escapees from zoos and parks.

No-one from the South Lakes Wild Animal Park was available for com-ment as the Gazette went to press.