After having had a summer season with a wealthy set of various birding experiences – from Rock Ptarmigan within the Alps to scoping out Little Bustards in a steppe in southern France – it was fairly a distinction to get again to Bonn in Germany for work and immediately having my hen sightings lowered to my cycle rides to and from work. Getting ready varied functions for my deliberate masters levels within the upcoming yr meant that my weekends and evenings after work had been additionally spent in entrance of a display screen (sure, I’m that nerdy). The upside of this was that the few hen sightings I had presently had been all of the extra pleasing.
One afternoon, my father flushed a Eurasian Hoopoe that was foraging alongside the trail within the vineyards on the opposite facet of the Rhine River from our residence. This hen just isn’t a species that normally happens within the space, and is a good hen to see even within the South of Germany. I’m not positive whether or not this hen was on passage from someplace additional north or a reverse migrant – a phenomenon wherein birds migrate in the wrong way than regular, most likely on account of an error of their inside compass orientation.
I used to be very excited to listen to this not solely due to the rarity of the sighting, but additionally as a result of I actually love hoopoes. We used to have this species (again then the African Hoopoe, which has since been lumped with the Eurasian Hoopoe) in our backyard in South Africa within the winter. Their comical crest apart, I all the time loved their frantic probing of the bottom with their needle-like invoice. We skilled a downpour of rain on the day after my father’s sighting nevertheless, so I anticipated the hoopoe to have departed by the point I used to be out there. As some exercise appeared to be break from motivation letter writing both method although, I made a decision to simply try the place two days later.
Fortuitously, the hen was nonetheless there. I first watched it from a distance earlier than it was flushed by two hikers, but it surely subsequently landed on an uncovered fence, giving me glorious views. It was additionally enjoyable to look at within the air, not solely due to the contrasting wing sample but additionally its bouncy flight.
One humorous factor I had observed about hoopoes in South Africa is that they’re comparatively shy once they observe their environment between speedy bursts of probing the bottom, however they don’t actually discover something happening round them whereas they’re busy pecking. I used this to my benefit to crawl as much as a small bush because it was probing the bottom, and finally was awarded with the hen striding previous me simply three meters away, oblivious to my presence. I received some good pictures this fashion (together with this put up’s featured picture.
Regardless of their outstanding sample, the hen was surprisingly properly camouflaged even within the quick grass. I realised this once I first noticed the hen, noticing it solely as a result of it was swiftly hopping round.
This was a stunning sighting and the truth that it was so surprising made this a really refreshing change to the same old birds I come throughout in our space. The vineyards on this space typically produce one thing good, starting from the native Rock Buntings to the Wallcreeper final winter. Whereas I used to be there this time, a number of Tree Pipits had been calling above and alighted within the bushes above the vineyards, most likely a brief cease earlier than they might begin migrating South in earnest.
