The hoopoe above was found on our West Canvey Marsh reserve yesterday. It proved to be a very showy individual, and delighted many visitors throughout the day. Hoopoes turn up annually in the UK, usually in spring, as they migrate from Africa, some overshoot their European breeding grounds. Thank you to the lady who phoned the news in to our visitor centre at Wat Tyler Country Park, and thanks to local photographer Steve Arlow for this image. More pictures of this bird can be found on Steve's website by clicking here.
Fantastic, I had to go all the way to Israel to see one of these!