BIRDWATCHERS from as far afield as Scotland have been flocking to Pembrokeshire to catch a glimpse of a rare bird visiting from across the Atlantic.

The green heron - native to north and central America - has been making itself at home in the large wildlife wetland pond in the garden of MP Simon Hart.

Sightings of the bird in the UK been in less double figures over the years, and this one is believed to only the second to have been recorded in Wales.

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP Mr Hart said he was "completely dumbfounded" to see the bird as he mowed the lawn in his garden at Llanmill, near Narberth on Saturday afternoon.

Not sure of its identity, but realising it was a very rare visitor, he sent photographs to local bird experts Kevin and Toby Phelps, which provoked an excited response after Toby posted the sighting on his blog.

Writing on the Rare Bird Alert website, Mr Hart admitted that the heron was the last feathered garden visitor he was expecting to see - "partly because I didn't know there was such a thing, and partly because this is a west Wales garden, not a Costa Rican swamp".

He described the bird's plumage as "a beautiful chestnut red and slate grey-green".

Crowds of bird enthusiasts have subsequently been arriving in Mr Hart's garden - with the first making at 5.45am appearance from Loch Lomond in Scotland on Sunday.

Mr Hart told the Western Telegraph: "Fortunately the bird has been rewarding them by performing to order and merrily feeding on little fish and frogs, as well as hovering up newts."

By Monday morning, Mr Hart reckoned that around 120 birdwatchers had come to view the green heron, and he and wife Abi provided them with tea and coffee in return for donations to the charity Song Bird Survival.

Welsh naturalist Iolo Williams said the sighting was "exceptionally rare", and the bird was likely to have ended up in Wales after being blown off course by recent westerly winds.

The last sighting of a green heron in the UK was in Cornwall in 2010.