I've finally seen a hoopoe - I knew instantly what it was, having been teased by pictures of this bird since I was a child. What I wasn't expecting was to see it in Hastings this weekend, Saturday 28th August. Are there any other similar sightings around the country at this time of year? I gather from the RSPB website that it's pretty rare...
Hi,
Hoopoes regularly overshoot europe and arrive here in spring and in autumn migrants can move along our coasts :)
S
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Wow, lucky you Jules! The one bird which I'm desperate to catch a glimpse of at least once in my life is the hoopoe, if nothing else just to hear it's evocative call!
Did you manage to get any photographs? Or was it one of those "Damn, I wish I had my camera with me!" chance in a lifetime moments?
Brilliant sighting I bet you were so excited.
Of all creatures, man is the most detestable, he is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~ Mark Twain
Hi
My mum saw a Hoopoe in the 1940's in Hampshire.She was the only one who saw it and no one believed her (they said it was a Jay!).She knows what she saw as at the time she was a keen bird watcher.
So glad you have seen one,I would love too!
Rachel
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
This one was taken by my RSPB boss Howard at our Rainham reserve recently.
Unknown said: Wow, lucky you Jules! The one bird which I'm desperate to catch a glimpse of at least once in my life is the hoopoe, if nothing else just to hear it's evocative call! Did you manage to get any photographs? Or was it one of those "Damn, I wish I had my camera with me!" chance in a lifetime moments?
Sadly, no camera! I did have a witness - my mother - and we were able to sit watching it for a while, until a stream of dog walkers scared it off. It'll still be around Hastings (near the East Hill!) no doubt, for the next few days! :)
funnily enough, we saw a Jay at the same time, which made for a great comparison, size-wise. I'm still amazed that I saw it. i'm not a birder or a twitcher, just a wildlife lover...and I wish some of you guys could have seen it!
Thanks Jules. So pleased that you saw the hoopoe. I haven't seen one in England, since 2004 in the NW ( Wirral). I live about 10 miles from Hastings but don't think B/Holiday Monday, with a decent weather forecast, will be the best day to try and see it. May try Tuesday if it is still around !!
Good aren't they? I've yet to see one over here.
They'll probably colonise the UK eventually (unless the climate change predictions are up the creek).
JBNTS
Every day a little more irate about bird of prey persecution, and I have a cat - Got a problem with that?
Hmmmm, Hastings is my (old) home town (dad still lives there), and tomorrow's a bank holiday... am tempted to twitch it!
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