Birdwatchers have been flocking to Malvern to see a bird not often seen in the area.

Waxwings have been spotted on the Guarlford Road and people have been travelling from across the county to get a glimpse of the popular species.

The birds live in Scandinavia and north eastern Europe, and come to the UK in the winter for the (slightly) warmer weather and to look for food. This seasonal change in species population is called an irruption.

Malvern Gazette: The birds are eating mistletoe berries in MalvernThe birds are eating mistletoe berries in Malvern (Image: Paul HB)

Simon Evans, a Malvern-based birdwatcher, said: “They come over in the autumn - some years you hardly get any and some years you get loads and loads.

“This tends to be when the berry crops have failed, although there might be more to it than that.

“They are known to descend on berry-bearing trees and in Guarlford Road they are eating mistletoe berries.

“Waxwings have been known to descend on supermarket car parks where people have planted ornamental trees with berries, and they’ll keep on for several days until they’ve completely stripped the trees of all their berries.

“I haven’t gone to see them yet. I’m hoping they’ll still be there tomorrow and there’s a good chance they will be.

“They are fairly predictable, so we knew in November they were likely to appear at some point.

“They are a nice, easy bird to look for if you know where they are - it’s not like they’ll be hiding out in the middle of the countryside somewhere.

“They’re nice to look at, that’s why they are so popular. It’s quite an event to see waxwings.”

Mr Evans, who is the secretary of the Worcester & Malvern RSPB Local Group, said it would mostly be local birdwatchers making relatively short journeys to see the waxwings as they can be found in a number of places across England at the moment.

“If you’re prepared to travel a few miles they’ll be there for you, which makes it quite rewarding,” he said.

Mr Evans said local RSPB members had spotted one particular waxwing, that had been tagged near Aberdeen earlier in the winter, between Worcester and Droitwich.

“This shows they come over to Scotland then make their way south.