Twitchers have been treated to a rare sight flitting between the trees along a Lincoln street.

Bird watchers descended on the city yesterday to catch a glimpse of between 30 and 40 plump waxwings spotted at the end of Tentercroft Street.

The distinctive birds are famed for their prominent crest and travel to Britain from Scandinavia during winter in search of food.

It is unusual to find the rare species in busy urban areas and bird enthusiast Freddy Johnson (75), from Bracebridge Heath, near Lincoln, said this was the first time he had seen the winter visitor.

"Waxwings are quite rare," he said.

"They are only winter birds and they have all flown across the North Sea from Scandinavia. In total there have been about 40 in the area.

"In the six years I've lived in the area these are the only waxwings that I have seen. They are so colourful."

Lincolnshire Echo wildlife expert Roger Goy said the birds will remain in the area until the food runs out.

"Last year was a very bad year for waxwings appearing in Britain but this seems to be an exceptional year so far," he said.

"They are lovely looking birds and they will not necessarily stay in one area. They will be there until the food runs out and they might move to supermarket car parks because they usually have some berry bushes planted."

For the full story, see Saturday's Lincolnshire Echo.