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Rare black-winged kite spotted in Alderney

News imageGetty Images Black-winged kiteGetty Images
The black-winged kite has never been spotted in the UK

A rare black-winged kite has been spotted in Alderney.

Alderney Bird Observatory warden John Horton spotted the raptor while "pottering about in the garden".

He said he happened to look up to see the bird "coming in over the sea", adding: "If I wasn't on lockdown I wouldn't have seen it."

The first recorded sighting of the kite in the Channel Islands was made in Guernsey in 2018.

The bird of prey has never been recorded in the UK, the British Trust for Ornithology confirmed.

News imageAlderney Bird Observatory Black-winged kite flying above AlderneyAlderney Bird Observatory
John Horton said he would never have spotted the bird from his garden if not for the lockdown

Mr Horton described the sighting as "enormous news" for the British bird-watching community, as the furthest north the species is recorded to breed is central Spain.

"We're 1,000 miles north of where it should be," he said.