Hoopoe

KevinA

Well-Known Member
Generally, I don't go to see a specific bird, but sometimes I just can't resist it. I've seen Hoopoes in Egypt, Spain, and a few other places but not in England. When there was a report of one seen in Wetherby, which is less than 10 miles from where I live, I decided not to go as I thought it would be extremely busy and you'd only get distant shots of it. I left it for over a week but reports kept coming in that it was still there and very approachable. I bit the bullet and went over to Wetherby. A crowd of maybe 20 people was on a cricket pitch just at the side of the road, so I joined them, but no Hoopoe was to be seen. Chatting with some of them and they said it would appear soon as It had been doing so all the time. After a short time, sure enough, it flew in and proceeded to probe the grass for bugs. I thought it would stay well away but to my surprise it came very close, sometimes below my lens's minimum focus distance. Lying on the grass I managed some nice low point of view shots. I took over 700 images of it, but will limit this post to just 3

Hoopoe, Upupa epops
7D2_3973.jpg


Hoopoe, Upupa epops
7D2_3887.jpg


Hoopoe, Upupa epops
7D2_3637.jpg
 
Generally, I don't go to see a specific bird, but sometimes I just can't resist it. I've seen Hoopoes in Egypt, Spain, and a few other places but not in England. When there was a report of one seen in Wetherby, which is less than 10 miles from where I live, I decided not to go as I thought it would be extremely busy and you'd only get distant shots of it. I left it for over a week but reports kept coming in that it was still there and very approachable. I bit the bullet and went over to Wetherby. A crowd of maybe 20 people was on a cricket pitch just at the side of the road, so I joined them, but no Hoopoe was to be seen. Chatting with some of them and they said it would appear soon as It had been doing so all the time. After a short time, sure enough, it flew in and proceeded to probe the grass for bugs. I thought it would stay well away but to my surprise it came very close, sometimes below my lens's minimum focus distance. Lying on the grass I managed some nice low point of view shots. I took over 700 images of it, but will limit this post to just 3

Hoopoe, Upupa epops
View attachment 59260

Hoopoe, Upupa epops
View attachment 59261

Hoopoe, Upupa epops
View attachment 59262
Beautiful images, Kevin, of a unique bird. I am glad you went.
 

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
What an amazing bird! I don't think I have ever seen or heard of this one. That's one strange crest on it. I am glad you went!
 

KevinA

Well-Known Member
Thank you Douglas, Alan, Ben, Trent, and Jim for looking and commenting, it's really appreciated
 
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