THEY were enough to get any twitcher twitching.

Two rare birds, never seen before in the Huddersfield area, have been spotted over the past 12 months.

A Golden Oriole and a Ring-necked duck were two of the species seen by a lucky member of the Huddersfield Birdwatchers’ Club.

The Golden Oriole is as big as a blackbird and has a distinctive bright yellow body. They are naturally very secretive and difficult to see.

Their usual habitat is Europe in summer and north Africa in winter.

The Ring-necked duck is a native of North America and makes extremely rare visits to Europe.

Details of the sightings – which prompted a flurry of activity by the “twitchers” – have been revealed in the club’s annual report.

The booklet, Birds in Huddersfield, details all the year’s sightings.

Other rare visitors include a grey-headed wagtail, spotted at Deer Hill near Slaithwaite and an avocet, a striking wading bird, seen at Sands Lane gravel pit in Mirfield.

Club president, Alf King, said: “Our club member John Hamilton spotted the oriole and the duck.