Tuesday, 13 August 2024

HOOPOES IN THE PARK

In June, Eva, Pedro, and I spent a couple of hours in the park. It was a hot day but there was a pleasant breeze, but even so we planned to keep in the shade. My intention had been to make my way to the river to find some dragonflies or damselflies or both if I was lucky, however on our arrival I saw what appeared to be the closed crests of two hoopoes in the tall grass, so I made my way towards them. They were hunting in deep shade which made photographing them very difficult, and I was on the wrong side of the sun. I knew that if I tried to walk around them, they might fly away, so I decided to sit down on a bench and shoot from a distance, or photograph whatever came my way. The photos I took are poor images but I'm sharing them anyway.


















When they moved into the light, I still felt at a disadvantage.


but I stuck to the plan of staying where I was


and they gradually moved further and further away from me.


  • until they were practically out of sight.


This is the only photo I managed to take of them both in the same frame.

Doesn't the one on the right look strange?

To be continued

Joining in the party at Saturday's Critters. 

33 comments:

Marit said...

Dear Sonjia :)
Your photos of the Hoopoes are very good. I have never seen this bird before. It looks beautiful. It must be wonderful to walk in a big park in the shadow when it's so hot.
Today it have only been 20 degrees, and it's a lovely temperature. I had a visit of my youngest son today, and we was out in the garden for a long time.
Enjoy August at your place my dear friend.
Many warm hugs from your friend in the North.
Marit

MadSnapper said...

the photos look great to me and I have never seen even a photo of a hoopoe. I am thinking this was a lot of fun just watching them.. you can always get a dragonfly but not one of thes

Angie's Recipes said...

They are rather pretty! I have never seen one before..thank you for sharing them.

Lucyna Drozłowska said...

Dudek to piękny ptak . Gratuluję udanych fotografii:)

Barwitzki said...

Wonderful pictures... they reflect the atmosphere very nicely... I can literally see you sitting on the bench.
And yes, we are not professional photographers... every now and then I post photos in the blog that were taken from a long distance with my cell phone and they are not that sharp... but they have a message.
I'm glad you had the opportunity to take so many photos.
A cheerful greeting comes to you.
Thanks Viola

Nick Morgan said...

Lovely pictures Sonjia. I don't worry about the quality of my pictures these days. I prefer to just look at the story that the picture tells. Too many people get hung up about the quality and then Photoshop them, which I think really detracts from the subject. I would far rather see a picture of a bird or a butterfly that also shows the habitat it is living in, than a picture of a bird with a plain background.

roentare said...

She looks so special and unique

Marie Smith said...

Those a beautiful birds. Thank you for sharing the photos!

Jeanie said...

I have never seen a hoopoe -- in fact, I'm not sure I'd ever heard of them before. They're awfully pretty little birds!

Lydia C. Lee said...

That is one wild looking bird. Very cool!

Irma said...

Hello Sonjia,
Beautiful series of photos of the Hop.
I have never seen this species, they are very rare in the Netherlands.
I wish you a nice day.
Greetings Irma

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Hoopoes are amazing, Sonjia! I am going to keep this comment brief. We are away in Algonquin Provincial Park and our internet connection is poor. And - the great outdoors awaits us. We’ll be back home late tomorrow so back in gear again on Friday! Hugs and kisses - David

Noke said...

Schöne Bilder von dem Wiedehopf habe selber sie in diesem Sommer noch nicht bei uns gesehen.
Gruß
Noke

LoveT. said...


Thanks for sharing your photos.
I think the pictures are great. Since I live in the city, I don't see something like that often.
Have a nice evening

Linda said...

What an interesting bird! So unique,

Stewart M said...

What wonderful birds - I have only ever seen one - and that was at least 10 years ago!
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Rostrose said...

Oh, what a GREAT bird sighting, dear Sonjia :-) Hoopoes are so cool, but they are so hard to get on camera. I can still remember how we kept hearing their loud call Hook-Hook-Hook on Mallorca and went looking for them. And yes, we found them! We didn't manage to get a single really good photo either. (If you want to see them, you can find them in the fourth-to-last collage of this post: https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/07/mallorca-reisebericht-teil-2-tag-4-bis.html
But it was still a wonderful experience - and the photos are a nice memory of it! I think it will be similar for you with your photos. We have the really good pictures in our heads ;-) and the sighting made our hearts happy. That's the most important thing!
All the best, Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/08/weltreise-2024-neuseeland-sudinsel.html

This N That said...

What an interesting and unusual looking bird. I am not at all familiar with it. Thanks for sharing your pictures. Enjoy your weekend.

Veronica Lee said...

What a great encounter!
Hoopoes are such fascinating birds, and even with the challenging lighting, it’s impressive you managed to capture them.
The one on the right does look a bit strange!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Sonjia,
I would be thrilled just to see the Hoopoes. They are beautiful birds. What a great sighting and I enjoyed all your photos.
Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.

Tom said...

...Sonjia, hoopoes are new for me. My day is off to a great start, I've learned something new. I thanks you, take care and be well.

Anu said...

Hello. Great serie of photos. I have never seen a hoopoe.
Take care.

Bill said...

Hoopoe is a new bird to me. Your photos are very nice and show the bird well. You had a great strategy to capture their photos. Well done and have a wonderful weekend.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

They DO look strange! But what a neat sighting! I love these birds and would like to see one up close!

RedPat said...

I have never heard of these so it is a rare privilege to see your pics.

Shiju Sugunan said...

What a lucky encounter! Hoopoes are such beautiful birds.

DeniseinVA said...

Marvelous photos of this very interesting bird. I have only seen them in photographs. I hope I will see them for real one day. Thank you very much for sharing this delightful bird. I would also like to thank you for visiting my blog. It is always a pleasure to see you and I enjoy your blog very much. Have a wonderful Sunday my friend :)

Jenn Jilks said...

What an interesting bird!

Debbie said...

a hoopie is a "new to me" bird and i am thrilled to meet it!! i have never before seen a picture of one until now!! cool name, interesting markings and color...what a thrill for you to see and photograph this bird!!

carol l mckenna said...

Intriguing bird and great photos ~ Wow!

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
clm ~ A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

sami niilola said...

That bird would be nice to photograph and see sometime.

Sharon Wagner said...

What a fabulous bird! So unique. Mother Nature is a true artist.

Rajani Rehana said...

Beautiful blog

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