A lone long-billed dowitcher hanging out with other waders at Lake Tutchewop is tens of thousands of kilometres away from its normal migration path.

Bird watchers - known as twitchers - from across Australia have been attracted by the find, with enthusiasts driving from Sydney and flying from Queensland to catch a glimpse.

The long-billed dowitcher's breeding habitat is wet tundra in the far north of North America and eastern Siberia and the birds migrate to the southern United States and as far south as Central America. It is also a rare but regular visitor to western Europe.

Peter Sawyer discovered the bird at Lake Tutchewop on November 7, then was verified before being listed on bird-watcher websites and Facebook pages.

Carisbrook bird watching enthusiast Gary Oliver photographed the visitor on Tuesday before it flew to the other side of the lake with a flock of stilts.

The retired school principal said he had viewed more than 600 of Australia's 800 species of birds over the past 30 years.

"It stood out in a flock of grey stilts with its beautiful chestnut colour," he said.

"It was very exciting; certainly had me twitching!"

Mr Oliver said that he had booked into a caravan park for a couple of nights to provide an extended opportunity to see the bird.

Echuca bird watcher Keith Stockwell suggested the bird 'took a wrong turn at Siberia'.

"It might have been frightened off the water or was in a wind draught with other birds and just kept going," he said.

Bird observer and wildlife photographer Paul Dodd said the species has rarely been seen south of the equator.

''This is the first time that the bird has been found in Australia, so it has gained a lot of interest from bird watchers around the country and around the world," he said.

Mr Dodd said the bird was first reported as an Asian dowitcher - a similar species that breeds  in South-eastern Asia and is an occasional visitor to Australia.

"Once pictures were available, local experts quickly identified it as one of the two American species, long-billed or short-billed dowitcher, and a great deal of debate raged around its identity. The two species are extremely difficult to tell apart in the field," he said.

The bird was seen by a group of bird watchers on November 10 and again the following day, but then it disappeared. Many people travelled large distances to see the bird on November 12 and on subsequent days, only to be disappointed. This is known as 'dipping' in the birdwatching community.

Word spread around 11am on November 15 the bird had returned.

Mr Dodd said that he and his wife drove four hours to Lake Tutchewop to see the bird.

"Fortunately, we were successful, unfortunately however, a birdwatcher who had driven from Adelaide arrived about 20 minutes too late as the bird had flown off to the north and wasn't seen again that day!

"Fortunately for her, the bird was relocated the following morning and has now been seen daily since."

The consensus amongst the experts is that this bird is indeed a long-billed dowitcher and not the similar short-billed.

One thing that has confounded bird watchers and experts is why this bird is still in breeding plumage, as the northern breeding season has been over for many months now. The usual question of, 'Why has this bird arrived in Australia?' remains unanswered, of course - the truth is that no-one really knows why vagrant birds suddenly turn up thousands of kilometres from their usual locations.

Fellow bird watcher, Simon Starr said that the wetlands around Kerang are a wonderful asset.

"It doesn't surprise me that rare birds appear, in fact I have seen a number myself over the years, however never a first for Australia," he said.

- Northern Times