London Hoopoe

Hoopoe is a bird I have seen numerous times, but never in the UK.  One had been present at Coulsden Downs for almost a week. After oversleeping on Saturday I arrived in one of the more picturesque parts of South London at around 7.30am to find only two others present.  By the time I had walked from the car park it had been located on the far side of the valley, feeding on the ground very distantly.  After a while it flew towards into the trees, and then over our heads onto the ground nearby.

I was just about to get some nice shots when a lone jogger decided to turn towards us.  Clearly we were watching something but he seemed oblivious as a handful of us watching the Hoopoe saw him run right towards it.  I managed to capture this irritating moment (not the images I was hoping for!).

It was, however, a pleasure to see this beautiful bird in the London area.  It then disappeared for a couple of hours, before being located distantly again.  Others got some superb shots later in the day, and it wasn't seen in the following days.

A visit to London WWT on the way back produced an hour of heavy rain with only a Green Sandpiper of note. 

After the rain had stopped, a Grey Heron looked out over the reserve:

A Grey Heron later lingered close by on the Wildside for some time: