Hoopoe sightings?

[GME]

Just wondering if anyone has seen a Hoopoe recently when out and about?

I know not technically a British bird but it's such a magnificent one that does pass by on its migration. I read in a magazine fairly recently that some had been cropping up on the South coast and so thought a few keen WAB members may have been lucky enough to spot one.?

I'm going off to browse the gallery now to see if anyone has got some nice shots of them in the past...

[Deer Stalker]

There was one at Calshot in Hampshire back in May, but I havn't heard of any recently.
They will be coming back through in the autumn.

[GME]

I've searched our gallery to find 5 shots. Only 2 of them were taken in this country. John got one in 2005 then ianrose82 got the other in Bishops Stortford as you say in May this year. So, I'm guessing not too many other members have been so lucky

Bit too far for me to just pop down and hope for the best but anyone more local keep your cameras at the ready through Autumn for me!!

Cheers

[Oscar2006]

Originally Posted by GME

I've searched our gallery to find 5 shots. Only 2 of them were taken in this country. John got one in 2005 then ianrose82 got the other in Bishops Stortford as you say in May this year. So, I'm guessing not too many other members have been so lucky

Bit too far for me to just pop down and hope for the best but anyone more local keep your cameras at the ready through Autumn for me!!

Cheers

Seeing them is not easy as they do not reach our shores in any great numbers.
Getting a photograph of one therefore is even more difficult.

[GuyF]

Portland Bill normally gets atleast 1 in spring, normally May's the best time. I've still yet to see one in this country though, maybe next year or this autumn.
Guy

[Garden Carpet]

In Spain,where in the past I have seen Hoopoe each day of my holiday, this year there were none...and articles in the local papers about the lack of them. Hope you are lucky GME and actualy get to see one in the UK
jaki

[Za]

There was one sighted in Chidham near Chichester Harbour in May.
(Copied from Chidham and Hambrook website)
Hoopoe spotted in Chidham (Thanks to Diana Beale)

An exotic visitor has been spotted in South Chidham On Monday morning, May 14th, Tom Edom was driving up the Cobnor lane on his way to work when he saw a hoopoe fly in front of his car!
As far as we know, this is the first time this wonderfully showy Mediterranean bird has been seen in this neck of the woods. Does anyone know of any other sightings, recently or in the past? It is a striking and unmistakeable bird - even the bird book says it can't be confused with any other species, with its pink Mohican crest and black and white barred wings and tail. Keep a look out... Another bird from the Med is the pure white little egret, which started visiting. and then settling, in Chichester Harbour in the sixties, obviously encouraged by the gradual trend to warmer winters. Now they are a common sight and have started to breed here. Could the hoopoe be next?

[colinaj]

May or September to November is the Hoopoe time in the UK.

One day I rang birdline to say a Hoopoe was on the roundabout at Ipswich and as I have not seen one I decided to travel the 45 miles from Lowestoft to see it as It had been reported as showing well.
On arrival I met with an elderly gentleman who had made the call to birdline proudly point out his find to me.

"Its a JAY you T$&T!"
I said as I stormed off to ring birdline with the negative news

[mrs fish]

There was one at Felixstowe ferry for a few days earlier this year.

[widgeon0]

I think Hoopoe has bred in the UK before(welsh border)comes to mind.
so does this make it some sort of British Bird?.

[GME]

Originally Posted by widgeon0

I think Hoopoe has bred in the UK before(welsh border)comes to mind.
so does this make it some sort of British Bird?.

Hmmm, not sure on that one? Maybe an expert could clarify. I've always thought of them as a European as opposed to British.

Thanks for all your replies And Colin, gutted!! Considering everything you see about identifying these birds says that they are unique and unmistakable!

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Seeing a UK Hoopoe sighting is one of my all time goals, but i'd like to find one rather than flock to the sighting of one, if you catch my drift

[epops]

Originally Posted by widgeon0

I think Hoopoe has bred in the UK before(welsh border)comes to mind.
so does this make it some sort of British Bird?.

they supposedly bred in the tendring area in the late 1800's earl 1900's but i dont no if it counts still

[Deer Stalker]

Also a breeding pair in the New Forest near Lyndhurst in 1959.

[Dan Salter]

Originally Posted by colinaj

May or September to November is the Hoopoe time in the UK.

One day I rang birdline to say ? (dont you mean Hear?)a Hoopoe was on the roundabout at Ipswich, and as I have not seen one I decided to travel the 45 miles from Lowestoft to see it as It had been reported as showing well.
On arrival I met with an elderly gentleman who had made the call to birdline proudly point out his find to me.

"Its a JAY you T$&T!"
I said as I stormed off to ring birdline with the negative news

Oh man that is funny !...i would have been spitting blood not at the wasted time and petrol but at his clueless stupidity.

See the bit i dont get...granted...say jo normall...my mate rick for instance...can be forgiven for thinking he had a hummingbird ( hawkmoth obviously) in his garden...or even someone random thinking a jay was a hoopoe or some other exotic?
...but for someone who must be that into birding that:-
A. They are aware of such organisations as birdline
B. To know the number or how to report a sighting

why the hell if your into birds enough to know and report on birdline do you get a jay mixed up with a hoopoe? ....

Some people....
Dan

[colinaj]

Birdlines are now in the telephone directory and are very often used by Dudes. The way Birdline works is that they believe everyone who rings in with a bird until like me it is unconfirmed or confirmed by another observer. here is another example.
We have a self styled birder who was once started in the hobby of birding by me within weeks passed himself off as an expert enough to become a warden of our local water works.
If a Yellow browed warbler was seen in Lowestoft he would ring in three at his site,
he has very little knowledge of birds but soon strings rare birds and even changed his surname as not to rouse suspicion.
the I know another who claims rare birds all the time and has even strung birds whilst in my pressence, he has been birding nearly 50 years but i still consider him to be beginner intermediate.

Birdline is now too easy to ring in and this does cause problems with Dudes and stringers

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by colinaj

Birdline is now too easy to ring in and this does cause problems with Dudes and stringers

I'm obviously being a dude, but what is a stringer, Colin ! ;-)

[epops]

i was working at tilbury last year and a mate of mine rung me up to say a hoopoe was showing well just down the road from where i was working and i couldnt get there to see it he then sent me a pic of his phone then rung again and said he was still watching it along with 2 other blokes in the end it was all to much so i downed tools and off i went only for my mate to say your about 2 mins late its gone!Oh dear i said or similar words lol trouble is they always turn up where im not.

[colinaj]

A Stringer is someone who only claims to see rare birds but they are usually common or misidentified. They are often on their own, or see them when with others but usually comment. "Ah it's just gone"



Here is an example of one of my unintentional Strings.

I was at Minsmere Zoo in the south hide and saw a wader on the far bank in reeds, It looked like a water rail and it was what I thought it was. I shouted "WATER RAIL"

someone scoped it and said "Er It's a Redshank"

A normal string.
as witnessed by me
A birder scans a flock of BH Gulls in the air and decides to call out a Med Gull is with them,

you scan the whole circling flock and find nothing, the stringer ticks the species but then go's on to say "Oh it must have flown off!"

Stringers are normally beginner birders who wish to make an impression on more hardedned birders by being more knowledgable than they really are.

The bottom line is that they are LIARS

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Originally Posted by colinaj

A Stringer is someone who only claims to see rare birds but they are usually common or misidentified. They are often on their own, or see them when with others but usually comment. "Ah it's just gone"



Here is an example of one of my unintentional Strings.

I was at Minsmere Zoo in the south hide and saw a wader on the far bank in reeds, It looked like a water rail and it was what I thought it was. I shouted "WATER RAIL"

someone scoped it and said "Er It's a Redshank"

A normal string.
as witnessed by me
A birder scans a flock of BH Gulls in the air and decides to call out a Med Gull is with them,

you scan the whole circling flock and find nothing, the stringer ticks the species but then go's on to say "Oh it must have flown off!"

Stringers are normally beginner birders who wish to make an impression on more hardedned birders by being more knowledgable than they really are.

The bottom line is that they are LIARS

SAD i think you mean

[epops]

Originally Posted by colinaj

May or September to November is the Hoopoe time in the UK.

One day I rang birdline to say a Hoopoe was on the roundabout at Ipswich and as I have not seen one I decided to travel the 45 miles from Lowestoft to see it as It had been reported as showing well.
On arrival I met with an elderly gentleman who had made the call to birdline proudly point out his find to me.

"Its a JAY you T$&T!"
I said as I stormed off to ring birdline with the negative news

similar to a large green parrot that was rumored to be on my local patch although not mentionion on birdline i decided next time its seen id go and have a look once again my my mate rung me laughing and swearing cause he travelled about 40 miles to tell me he'd got to the parrot sighting a did'nt tell me what he was swearing at so i wandered over to the field expecting aringneck parrakeet and it was a .................................................. ..........green woodpecker.i found it amusing he did'nt a 80 mile round trip to see a wood pecker incidently we did find a wryneck so alls well that ends well

[rabbit]

HI just joined this site, mainly to report what I think we saw on two occasions this month ..a Cattle Egret. However i would like to add that I did see a Hoopoe last summer in Cheltenham. The bird hopped/flew in front of me when driving past Pitville Park. The bird perched on the railings before continuing into the park. As you can appreciate it would be impossible (almost) to get the ID of the Hoopoe wrong . Made by year that sighting.

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by colinaj

I was at Minsmere Zoo in the south hide and saw a wader on the far bank in reeds, It looked like a water rail and it was what I thought it was. I shouted "WATER RAIL"

someone scoped it and said "Er It's a Redshank"

A normal string.
as witnessed by me
A birder scans a flock of BH Gulls in the air and decides to call out a Med Gull is with them,

you scan the whole circling flock and find nothing, the stringer ticks the species but then go's on to say "Oh it must have flown off!"

Stringers are normally beginner birders who wish to make an impression on more hardedned birders by being more knowledgable than they really are.

The bottom line is that they are LIARS

Your first example is a genuine mistake of identification Colin and couldn't be called Stringy. Neither are Stringers necessarily beginners. There are famous examples of experienced birders gaining reputations for being 'a bit stringy'.

A Stringer is someone who claims to have seen a species, usually a rare one, and on their own, knowing that it is not what they claim it to be, but still counting it as such.

If you read Mark Cocker's book on birders there is a whole chapter about a Mr. Shutbill (anagram) who was eventually forced to flee the country because of his infamous reputation.

Cheers,

Adam

[rabbit]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

SAD i think you mean

Liars ?? Perhaps that's the view of someone who has the taste of sour grapes??can you imagine the scenario that some experienced watcher has been looking for a rare bird and some Noddy like me happens to see a Hoopoe hop in front of him and its a bit much for the Old twitcher to take so the the Noddy is a 'liar' and the Status Quo is returned.
But of course you should never discount ANY sightings no matter who reports it, treat with caution but not discount. My sighting of that Hoopoe fanned the flames for me, and long may it burn.