Hoopoe swaps the Med for Flintshire

Hoopoe snatches a meal near Gronant (Ashley Cohen)

The first Hoopoe of spring was found at an equestrian centre near Gronant on Monday. It’s a bird frequently found by non-birders, so distinctive are its broad black-and-white striped wings and tail, and long crown feathers that it raises in a crest. These features have entranced people over thousands of years. Hoopoes are portrayed in Minoan and Ancient Egyptian art, appear with King Solomon in the Qu’ran and were a symbol of virtue in Persia.

Hoopoe is not a common bird in Wales and has bred here only once, in Montgomeryshire in 1996. It has a clever trick to deter nest predators: the brooding female and the chicks can produce a foul-smelling liquid when threatened. It comes from the uropygial gland at the base of the birds’ tail, which is normally the source of oil used to maintain feathers (which is why birds appear to scratch their bill across their lower back when preening). The Hoopoe population trend in Europe is, sadly, downwards, with one study in Switzerland finding that this was related to higher spring temperatures.
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The first Wood Warblers arrived at the weekend at opposite ends of the region – Bardsey and Point of Ayr – and should be arriving in their woodland breeding sites this week. Other summer migrants included the first Whinchats, Swifts and Lesser Whitethroats. Among rarer visitors were a Red-rumped Swallow near Aberdaron and an apparent Ashy-headed Wagtail, the eastern Mediterranean form of Yellow Wagtail, at RSPB Cors Ddyga. The wetland reserve also held Green-winged Teal and a pair of Garganey throughout the week. A Dotterel was with Golden Plovers at RSPB Morfa Dinlle at the weekend, several Cattle Egrets still forage among livestock near Valley and Conwy Bay’s Surf Scoter was relocated off the end of the Great Orme. A White-tailed Eagle was seen over Llandegfan on Monday evening.