A sighting of unusual and colourful birds from Scandinavia over the New Year bank holiday weekend saw bird watchers flock to St Albans.

The berries on a rowan tree in Watford Road, Chiswell Green, proved a magnet for colourful waxwings on Saturday and Sunday and figures at one point topped more than 100.

Bird watchers with their telescopes and cameras were in hot pursuit and watched as the waxwings flew back and forth across the road to feed intermittently.

Waxwings flood to the UK every few winters to feed on berries and the ones seen are likely to have come to Hertfordshire after calling in to Scotland.

Waxwings, which are about the size of starlings, have a prominent crest and a small black mask around their eyes with yellow and white in their wings and a yellow-tipped tail. Their name comes from the red sealing wax colour found on the outer tips of their wings.