we decided to have a drive round suffolk saturday went to loads of places ended up at felixstowe for a cuppa when we got home i discovered i missed out on a hoopoe AGAIN one put in a brief apperance at hollsey i cant remember how many times i've just missed one even when i worked in hertfordshire just 10 min drive from a long stayer last yearstill i live in hope lol

I want so badly to see a hoopoe the next time I come to the UK!

I can understand your frustration .

Kingfisher

Um, whats a hoopoe?

Um, whats a hoopoe?

one of these

I went to my local lunchtime patch today, Alexandra Palace, having read on LondonBirders that Ring Ouzel, Redstart, Raven and Lesser Whitethroat had all been seen today. I didn't see any of them!

Um, whats a hoopoe?

A Hoopoe is a bird in the same order of often colourful near passerine birds as the kingfishers, bee-eaters, and rollers. Hoopoes are very common around the equator, and some even come to the U.K.
Hoopoes are very magnificent birds to watch. First they are orange, but when they take off, they turn black and white in a mass show of colour.

(images courtesy of Wikipedia)

This post was last modified: 22-04-2008 06:50 PM by Jamie Wade.

Last year there was a Black Tern at my local patch, Lee Valley. I went along yesterday hoping that there might be one passing through, but no luck. I was playing golf today, so didn't do any birding (except annoying my playing partners by pointing out all the birds on the golf course). Unfortunately when I get back home I find that there had been a Black Tern at my local patch today!

I've only ever seen two - one was in the Algarve in Portugal! The other in Dungeness in Kent - stood out like a sore thumb amongest the shingle! A very fine one I remember, some other guy was there watching him & then a Yellow Wagtail flew down to beside it!