Hi I saw a bird on a rooftop today that was the spitting image of a Kookaburra. I know UK sightings are incredibly rare so I assume it wasn't but it was making a song I hadn't heard before too. It was sat on a rooftop with a bunch of starlings but it definitely wasn't a starling, it looked completely different - it had the long beak like a kookaburra and an almost punky hairstyle. I'm intrigued as to what it could be?
This was in Neston near Burtonmere wetlands and not too far from Parkgate. Both sites are known for migrating birds at this time of year
What was the song like? Wild Kookaburras have never been recorded in the UK (long flight from Oz), so if that is what you've seen it will be an escapee. Long beak and punk hairstyle sounds more like a Hoopoe, but these are highly distinctive birds.
If it was a Kookaburra, likely to be an escapee which is not unheard of. I remember several years back a former forum member spotted one on the roof of his house in Scotland ! HERE
and if you got a good view of the bird, this is what the Kookaburra looks like (also known as a Tree Kingfisher) which was taken by my brother who lives in Australia........
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Regards, Hazel
Aaah he wasn't so colourful! I just checked a board on Burton Mere and I'm 99% sure he was a skylark I saw actually. The lil punky tuft gave him away and apparently common around here
Skylark with its raised crest sounds more likely; glad you solved the puzzle