Elusive 'white' starling may now have departed Cleethorpes area - or, alas, it may have perished

Surveying the scenery - the rare 'white' starling

                                                                 

A RARE 'white' starling may now have flown the Cleethorpes area or, alternatively, it may have perished - perhaps at the claws of a predator such as cat, fox or sparrowhawk.

For much of last month, the bird - thought to have arrived here from Russia in the company of normal-plumaged starlings - proved something of a tourist attraction.

It was first seen on ploughed farmland at Tetney Lock but, more recently, it was spotted on sea buckthorn berries on the fringes of Cleethorpes saltmarsh.

It is not known if it ventured in into any gardens but it has been spied on rooftops on the seafront.

There are various theories for its pale plumage including one that it might have been caught in a shower of acid rain!

However, the most likely explanation is that it simply came out of the egg that way.