Scotland's first Veery (Pic: Ross McGregor)

At least two planes filled with ornithologists descended on North Ronaldsay this week, eager to catch a glimpse of a rare bird – Scotland’s first ever sighting of the Veery.

The tawny brown North American thrush, pictured right, is believed to have been blown off course, across the North Atlantic while migrating to South America for the winter.

And despite being only the fifth recording in Britain, the expected “big twitch” did not arrive on Tuesday, according to Dr Kevin Woodbridge of the North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory.

“We had one plane with five people on it from North Yorkshire and around four or five local bird watchers came out on the Loganair flight. Another 14 people were here already birdwatching and the bird watchers on the island, which is around 20, were there as well,” he said.

An unlucky group of ornithologists, already on Fair Isle, were unable to make it across on Tuesday after failing to contract a boat or plane. However, the bird was spotted again yesterday, Wednesday, lunchtime, so they were expected to make the trip, alongside a steady stream of watchers from south.

The Veery was first spotted in Holland Gardens on the island on Monday afternoon and subsequently trapped in the bird netting. The bird was first weighed on Tuesday morning and again in the afternoon, by which time the thrush had gained five grams.

“That was a sixth of its body weight gained in the day time. It only had a trace of fat, but was not totally emaciated,” Dr Woodbridge continued. “We have every hope for its survival. In theory, it should be heading off to central South America.”

This visit has reinforced the status of the North Ronaldsay observatory as a place for rare birds, he added.

“The bottom line for us is that we have a fantastic migration watching site underlined by the number of rarities. It has been a fantastic year in terms of high profile birds,” Dr Woodbridge said.