A RARE visitor has made its earliest ever return to the region.

A female avocet was spotted at the Washington Wetland Centre on Tuesday morning, two days before its previous record of February 23 set in 2014.

The birds tend to spend winter in southern or eastern England and return to their breeding grounds for the spring and summer.

Reserve warden David Dinsley said: “It’s always very exciting to see the first avocets return each season and we’re thrilled that a new record has been set this year.

“We now expect numbers to start gradually building as more birds move further north during this mild weather and we’ve already begun reducing the water levels on Wader Lake in anticipation of their arrival.

“This creates more habitat and also exposes the invertebrate-rich mud on which avocets feed; picking prey from the surface or foraging by sweeping their long, up-curved bill from side to side through the sediment.”

The black and white waders have been breeding at the Washington centre since 2006, with numbers steadily increasing to an all-time high of 42 on site in June 2016.

Mr Dinsley added: “Avocets are a real conservation success story for WWT Washington and their thriving presence here is a great example of local conservation work in action.

“Visitors should soon be able to watch from the hides as these charismatic birds begin prospecting for nest sites, fighting over territory and settling down to breed, with chicks hatching in early summer.”