Hoopoe in private garden, Rustington (Karen & Mike Galtry)
Early Spring 2025 has seen a huge influx of Hoopoe’s into the south west of Britain with almost 300 birds reported between 27th March and 3rd April. With so many birds in the country it was only a matter of time before they made it to Sussex. The only question was would we be graced with an obliging bird in the Worthing area.
The question was answered in part on Monday 7 April when Colin Jupp found our first Hoopoe of the year west of Angmering. The bird showed well for 10-15 minutes before flying off never to be seen again, much to the angst of other local birders, just before they arrived on the scene.
This conspicuous exotic looking bird has a habit of turning up in back gardens when they arrive in Britain as overshooting migrants and are often reported by curious members of the public. This is exactly what happened on Friday when another Hoopoe was located by non birders happily feeding on their enclosed back lawn in Parklands Estate in Rustington. This bird was present in the area for most of the day but despite some large suitable patches of lawn in public areas, it spent most of it’s time hidden in private gardens and was only seen by a few lucky individuals.
Further frustration for local birders came with two more garden Hoopoes reported by non-birders with another photographed in a Lancing garden on Sunday 13 April and a second report from gardens near George V Avenue, Goring.
Four birds in a week and none of them easily accessible reflects the frustration of our hobby and we can only hope a more obliging individual is found before the end of Spring.
