HURRICANE Wilma has given bird watchers a treat after dozens of rare feathered visitors appeared on the island as the monster storm passed to our west.

The extraordinary influx has included Frigate birds, Sandwich terns, Royal Terns, Great Blue Herons and Yellow-billed Cuckoos.

Migratory birds were caught in the storm which ravaged the Yucatan Peninsula, passed over Florida and then moved north between the US east coast and Bermuda. Many were blown hundreds of miles off course and they ended up here.

Andrew Dobson, president of the Bermuda Audubon Society, said Wilma had brought unprecedented numbers of seabirds.

"Between 60 and 70 magnificent Frigate birds have been observed around the island, including one flock of 41 birds near Wreck Hill in Somerset," Mr. Dobson said yesterday.

"These huge seabirds are common in southern Florida but are rarely sighted in Bermuda. On average, a single bird might be reported every two years.

"Sandwich Terns are also unusual. They are not recorded every year and the maximum seen together was three, until this week. On Wednesday, more than 60 Sandwich Terns were recorded. At least ten Royal Terns have also arrived."

Mr. Dobson added that seabirds have a good chance of survival when being blown off course by severe weather, but thousands of landbirds will not have been so fortunate.

"Many thousands of migrant birds will have perished at sea, judging by the large number of landbirds that have arrived," he said.

"Notable species include Great Blue Herons, Yellow-billed Cuckoos and a variety of warblers."

After Hurricane Emily paid a visit in 1987, the bird population of Bermuda was boosted by thousands of arrivals "blown" here by the storm.

Hurricanes often interfere with the numerous fall migrations taking place over the western Atlantic.