Hundreds of bird watchers have descended on the province of Zeeland to catch a glimpse of the red-wattled or Asian lapwing (Vanellus indicus) which is making a rare visit to the Netherlands.

News that the bird had been spotted in the Oranjezon nature reserve spread like wildfire among bird lovers after ecologist Erik Speksnijder reported the sighting.

Speksnijder heard an unusual bird call but couldn’t place it. Upon consulting his colleague Marcel Klootwijk, it became clear the visitor, which had been seen once before in the Netherlands, was a red-wattled or Asian lapwing.

“I had seen it in India, that is one of its habitats,” Klootwijk told local broadcaster Omroep Zeeland.

Following the announcement on bird bird-watching site Waarneming.nl, the men warned local BOAs that Zeeland was in for an invasion of twitchers. They also shared information about parking spots on twitcher apps.

Some 233 people reported seeing the bird Wednesday night while on Thursday some 56 sightings have been reported up to now.

The red-wattled lapwing lives in Asia and the Middle East. The closest it comes is the east of Turkey, Klootwijk said. The bird was spotted once before when it visited the Wadden islands of Texel and Ameland in 2019.

“They lose their way every once in a while,” Klootwijk said.