I had arranged a bird race around glamorgan on Saturday but forgot that my wife and I had been invited to a wedding in North Wales. Instead, I checked for any sightings along the route from Wantage to Wales. Noticed that a Hoopoe had been reported at Clayhanger Marsh for over a week, and would only involve a short detour from the M6 toll. My wife kindly agreed that we could stop on the way home from the wedding, so on Sunday morning I checked my pager and was pleased to see that it was still there.
When I arrived at the Marsh, no birders were around. I usually prefer to locate the birds myself but on this occasion I was eager to find it quickly as I did not have much time. Started scanning the fields around the Marsh but no sign, although a few wheatears were dashing about. Finally managed to find it with the help of a birder who had appeared from a group of large horses. The hoopoe was showing well but at a distance so I didn't manage to take any photos. Right next to the hoopoe was a female whinchat, the icing on the cake. A group of birders arrived followed by one of the horses who came over to see what the fuss was about. Took a fast walk back to the car to avoid a scolding for taking too long (had one anyway), and then ended up stuck on the M40 for ages due to an accident.
Seen plenty of hoopoes in Germany, Portugal, Spain and when I lived in Greece. Finding one in the UK that would stay in one place until I got my binoculars on it was going to be more tricky, so I was glad of the positive outcome. Will be interesting to see how long it does stay at Clayhanger.
UK lifer 262
When I arrived at the Marsh, no birders were around. I usually prefer to locate the birds myself but on this occasion I was eager to find it quickly as I did not have much time. Started scanning the fields around the Marsh but no sign, although a few wheatears were dashing about. Finally managed to find it with the help of a birder who had appeared from a group of large horses. The hoopoe was showing well but at a distance so I didn't manage to take any photos. Right next to the hoopoe was a female whinchat, the icing on the cake. A group of birders arrived followed by one of the horses who came over to see what the fuss was about. Took a fast walk back to the car to avoid a scolding for taking too long (had one anyway), and then ended up stuck on the M40 for ages due to an accident.
Seen plenty of hoopoes in Germany, Portugal, Spain and when I lived in Greece. Finding one in the UK that would stay in one place until I got my binoculars on it was going to be more tricky, so I was glad of the positive outcome. Will be interesting to see how long it does stay at Clayhanger.
UK lifer 262
Hoopoe taken at Porto Pollensa, Majorca, 2008
.JPG)
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