News: October 2004

A Darlington family were recently surprised to see a red-legged partridge in their garden.

18 year old Rachel Hodgeson saw the unusual bird in her garden and managed to photograph it with her mobile phone. Her father identified the bird from a book. A spokesman for the RSPB said that although it was very unusual to see red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa)in urban areas, it was not unheard of. It is thought that the bird may have moved from its normal countryside habitat to avoid hunters during the shooting season.

Anon. 2004. Unseasonal visitor wings into garden. Viewed on the web at http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/archive/2004/10/16/Aae4b8.da.html on October 18th 2004.