Up pops Upupa epops

 

York has an uncanny knack of attracting wandering Hoopoes and I have an uncanny knack of dipping them when they turn up. Some local birders even see them landing on the road in front of their cars (Adam Firth!) whilst local vicars spy them from the vicarage windows, probing for grubs on their manicured lawns. But not me! Hoopoes aren't the sort of birds you could ever expect to find inland; A spring overshoot on the south coast is a possibility with a bit of weather and luck, but inland they are very unpredictable in their occurrence. 

York's latest Upupa epops had popped up in a housing estate at Stamford Bridge just east of York at the weekend. To my immediate frustration, I was lounging in a punt on the River Cam in Cambridge, celebrating my wife's birthday and enjoying the unseasonally warm sunshine. This news put a little edge on proceedings, but I promised myself not to mention it until back in York, so as not to ruin the party. 

To my delight, the bird was still happily bouncing around the gardens this morning, so perhaps I would get a chance to twitch it after all. My Monday meetings ended ahead of schedule, so a late lunchtime twitch was in order, and 20 minutes later, I was prowling around the cul-de-sacs grilling the greenery like some botanical burglar. Fortunately, the natives were friendly and were delighted with their exotic visitor, telling me which gardens the bird was favouring. Despite the local gen, there was no sign of the Hoopoe, so I went for a wander; perhaps the bowling green or cricket pitch nearby were worth a look? After  a few minutes, five other excited birders suddenly appeared; moments earlier, they had seen the bird fly over towards the cricket pitch, conveniently where I was stationed, scanning the short turf. This did look a good spot for a feeding Hoopoe, but sadly the Hoopoe didn't agree and was nowhere to be seen. I left the others searching and went back round to the favoured location. 

 To my minor astonishment, at number 43, there was the Hoopoe, nonchalantly walking about on the lawn. I parked up next to it, dropped the window and watched it contentedly feeding on several leatherjackets. It eyed me suspiciously - perhaps it was the tunes - I turned the radio off!  I rang one of the birders and let him know that it had reappeared and then enjoyed the bird for a few minutes on my own before the (tiny) crowd arrived. The footsteps flushed the bird, but it flew, or rather flopped, as Hoopoes kind-of do, only a little way before pitching back down on to another likely-looking lawn. I had another few minutes enjoying this stunner, before work beckoned and I headed home.