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Friday 1 April 2011

Spring ...





... is certainly here and summer not far away as a pair of our migratory birds have returned and only do so from overwintering in North Africa when the weather is set fair.

The hoopoes are a strange looking bird looking akin to a woodpecker in fancy dress complete with an unusual crest, Brian H always reckoned they looked as though they have a rubber glove on their heads, hence the name 'rubber glove bird' has stuck.   They make a very distinctive call of three 'whoops' close together sounding almost like a woodwind instrument, before we ever saw them when we first came here we could hear them and nicknamed them 'triple birds'! They occasionally arrive on the English south coast but are apparently not all that common there.

Think that you must agree that they are a slightly bizarre looking bird from the photo below, nevertheless we always look forward to seeing them each year.



hoopoe.jpg