At least one Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) was spotted near the Zeeland village of Wemeldinge, on the Oosterschelde estuary on Friday.

The last time a bird of the same species was spotted in the Netherlands was in 1975. The bird is not ringed and its feathers are intact, indicating it has not escaped from captivity.

The bird may be one of three pelicans spotted near the Belgian city of Ghent on Thursday. Two of them were seen later flying over the Neeltje Jans water park on the Oosterschelde barrier itself, according to website Dutchbirding.nl.

The birds can have wingspans of up to 3.6 metres. They breed in southern Europe, Asia and Africa. In Dutch, a Great White Pelican is know as a roze (pink) pelikaan.