Hoopoe

[Tweetypie]

This is no word of a lie but whilst out walking today I saw a Hoopoe!! I have only seen them in photo's or my RSPB magazine, but they are so amazingly distinctive. It was more than 50 metres away, so my phone footage was useless. I decided to video it instead of taking a photo, but it wasn't close enough. I am gutted. :-( What fabulous plumage and unmistakeable beak.
I thought these birds were extremely rare in UK?

 

[LadyA]

Wow! Lucky you!! I assume the bird was on his way to warmer climes, and stopped off for a rest/snack or something. Seems they are occasionally seen on the south coast of Ireland too, but I've certainly never seen one!

 

[bigyetiman]

Lucky lucky you.
Yes they are rare in UK just overshoot on migration. You could get in touch with your local county bird recorder and send him details and any footage no matter how blurry or dodgy as they will be interested in this as it is late for UK, and they will want to add it to their record sheets, keep looking as they do hang about. They like short greasy areas, esp. if livestock are in it, and will go for sandy areas also
We saw one at Winterton Dunes in Norfolk this spring. Always something OH wants to get on her local bird recording area as a patch tick. Her most exciting find was an Alpine Swift one spring, and couple of Ospreys on migration having a rest and feed up. Humpback whale on the river

 

[Tweetypie]

I have just recorded the sighting on www.birdwatching.co.uk. I sent the video footage to RSPB via Facebook app, too. I am still shocked. I am just sooooo gutted that I dont have a decent camera and also wish I had taken a photo, rather than video, as the footage is terrible. It looked so clumsy in flight, not a smooth, gliding, motion like most birds. More like a flapping butterfly. Such a beautiful, exotic looking bird.

 

[Hen-Gen]

Always depresses me when I hear of whales in rivers because it often ends badly.
I’ve never seen a hoopoe either. Lucky you. This year I found a yellow browed warbler that had flown into the shop window and killed itself. I was hoping that one of the twitchers would’ve ask me if I had seen it so I could say it was among the coke cans in the bin outside the shop.

 

[bigyetiman]

OH has just seen your sighting on Birdguides. They flap and close their wings bit like woodpeckers leading to the bouncing flight. Guarantees your name in the 2019 Nottinghamshire bird report. They love mealworms so if one alights in your garden get the mealworms and camera ready.
The whale died, it got hit by a boat. She did hope that as it moved down with the tide it might find it's way to the mouth of the river, sadly it came back up with the tide. Such a beautiful creature
Someone we know is up your way birdwatching, you will know if you come across her when she starts asking for vegan food and she is as mad as a box of frogs. I would have said exactly the same thing Hen-Gen, or "it was nice on toast"
OH has just reminded me her greatest find was a Sea Eagle sitting on a pylon locally, first recorded sighting for London and Essex area, as it straddled the county lines.