It may be written off by many as an industrial area, but Hill Top in West Bromwich has become one of the top wildlife havens of the Midlands.

A survey looking into migration has revealed it is among the top two places in the West Midlands to spot rare birds.

Twitchers have reportedly been travelling to West Bromwich from around the Midlands in a bid to spot the rare Yellow Browed Warbler. One enthusiast said finding the bird had been his dream for 30 years.

The discovery was made in a ringing exercise carried out at Sandwell Valley. A mist net was set up to catch the birds so they could by ringed and recorded before being freed. The near invisible mesh traps the birds, which are the quickly released by trained ornithologists. Biodiversity officer Stefan Bodnar, who recently appeared in an episode of BBC’s Autumnwatch, was responsible for ringing birds in Sandwell.

He said: “I had to look more than twice at the bird I’d just taken out of the mist net to be sure I was holding such a rare and unusual species.

“Birders, who were on the scene in a flash said it was a bird they had dreamed about seeing here for the last 30 years.”

The find has meant that Hilltop, which is a major main migration ridge in the Sandwell Valley, has been named alongside Birmingham’s Sutton Park as one of the top spotting sites in the region. Louise Pedersen from the Royal Society for the Protection of Bird’s Birmingham office said: “This lovely little bird is only the second ever record for the West Midland County, and it was just passing through from its breeding grounds in Northern Europe.

“It’s such a thrill because you never know what’s coming up next. You may see anything from a awe-inspiring V-formation of pink-footed geese high above you, the fast and erratic flight of a flock of snipes, to a lonely marsh harrier on its way to a reed bed somewhere.”

Thousands of birds are on the move from Scandinavia and Central Europe to the West Midlands in search for areas with abundant food and mild temperatures to see them through the winter.

Birds found at Hill Top

The Yellow Browed Warbler: also known as the Inornate Warbler, it is a leaf warbler which breeds in Asia east from the Urals to China. This species is regularly found in Great Britain in late autumn. Only around 230 are observed across the UK every year.

The Pink-footed Goose: smaller than a mute swan but bigger than a mallard, the pink-footed goose is pinkish grey with a dark head and neck, a pink bill feet and legs. Large numbers spend winter here.

Snipe: the medium sized skulking wading bird are widespread in UK. In winter they are found around the edges of pools. The RSPB at Sandwell has had about 40 this year none stayed to breed.

Marsh Harrier: the largest of harriers, these are mainly found in eastern and south-east England. They breed in the UK and the RSPB in Sandwell say it is not uncommon to see them in the region in winter.