About 300 birdwatchers have gathered in North Wales to witness a rare sighting of an African bird.
The western reef heron was spotted at Y Foryd in Caernarfon by ornithologist Simon Hugheston-Roberts.
The bird, typically found in southern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, has never before been recorded in the UK.
After identifying the grey-blue heron, Mr Hugheston-Roberts quickly shared the news through a birdwatching WhatsApp group.
Mike Barth, a bird photographer from Cheshire, said: "About 11am on Saturday morning I was alerted by the app to the initial reports of the Western Reef Heron - which if proven would be a first for Britain.
"Firsts don’t come around very often - so this was of the greatest interest to any birder in Britain, especially twitchers.
"So any plans I had needed to be dropped or rearranged whilst I quickly jumped in the car for my two hour drive from Macclesfield to Caernarfon, specifically Fforyd Bay.
"When I arrived there were only a handful of birders there as it was still relatively new news.
"I have no doubt many around the country were already making plans to come up on the Sunday or Saturday evening to stay overnight."
Mr Barth said the bird may have ended up in Wales due to strong southerly winds.
Mike added: "It was a very satisfying trip, more often than not birds are found on work days and usually gone by the time the weekend comes around! So to get a mega rarity on a Saturday morning within two hours was very unusual in itself let alone a first for Britain."
While the western reef heron is mostly seen in Africa and the Middle East, small numbers are also recorded in the Iberian Peninsula.
The sighting has been celebrated as an important moment for the UK birdwatching community.
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