TWITCHERS who flocked to the North-East coast hoping to spot a rare winged visitor got more than they bargained for when they stumbled across a bird of an altogether different kind.

It was not so much a question of watch the birdie for the dozens of red-blooded male twitchers who descended on Redcar in search of a feathered friend – more a case of which one to observe.

They had flocked to the bleak breakwater of South Gare to see a rare autumn migrant to UK shores – a Hume’s Leaf Warbler.

But, while its sudden arrival had flashed up on bird watchers’ pagers across the British Isles, the little bird’s presence remained unknown to organisers planning a discreet glamour photo session on what they thought would be a deserted headland on a dank November morning.

As the hard-to-spot bird hopped around scrubby bushes and rocks, feeding on insects, in a dell hidden behind a wall, the photographers’ attentions switched to the not-so-hard-to-see photo shoot.

Unaware they were being observed, two curvaceous models had stripped off on the beach and were wearing little more than a smile and a G-string when they found a line of digital cameras, telephoto lenses and telescopes focusing on them.

The scantily-clad models draped themselves over a motorbike for the shoot, prompting a flurry of activity from the twitchers, who took advantage of the unexpected photo opportunity.

And the amateur snappers were not disappointed by the results, as they informed eager late arrivals of what they had seen.

“The Hume’s is not the best bird of the day,” said one twitcher to his fellow bird watchers. There’s the blonde in the G-string, posing on the motorbike.”

“Bird watching is full of surprises,’’ added another, as fellow twitchers compared their snaps.

The warbler, described in reference books as a “very rare’’ visitor, stayed around longer than the flushed models, their minder and photographer.

The reason for the glamorous photo shoot and the destination of the photographs remains unknown.

• Do you know what the photo shoot was for? Call the newsdesk on 01325-505068.

Factfile: warbler v glamour model

The Northern Echo: Warbler
BIRD: A Hume's Leaf Warbler seen by twitchers in South Gare
The Northern Echo: Jordan
MODEL: Katie Price, aka glamour model Jordan















APPEARANCE
Warbler: 9-10cm long, with greenish upper parts and offwhite underside.
Model: Up to 6ft tall, with bottle- blonde hair, tanned skin and very long legs.

NATURAL HABITAT
Warbler: The mountains of central Asia, prefers temperate forest and shrubland.
Model: Usually spotted in a tanning salon by day, champagne bar or movie premiere at night.

CALL
Warbler: A noisy bird which produces a short, penetrating “tzz wip”. Also has a song that sounds like a buzzing insect.
Model: Generally high-pitched and often shrill, will break into song at the merest hint of a record contract.

DIET
Warbler: The leaf warbler is an insectivore, with a diet comprising mainly of small arthropods.
Model: Avoids insects – unless on a jungle-based reality TV show. In fact, avoids food of most types. Almost always on a diet.

EXERCISE REGIME
Warbler: Every autumn the warbler migrates to south and south-east Asia, a journey of about 2,000 kilometres, travelling northwards again in May
Model: High-heeled footwear makes exercise extremely difficult. Will agree to front workout DVD if offered enough money.