The Irish birding world is abuzz with talk of the hoopoe. This striking springtime visitor is having a moment in the spotlight along the south coast, where sightings this year are the highest they have ever been.
“In my 40 years of birding, I’ve never seen anything like this spring,” said Paul Connaughton, an ornithologist who sits on the Irish Rare Birds Committee, on a weekend hunt for the usually little-seen hoopoe. “It’s truly unbelievable.”
His excitement at the chance to see another one is palpable, despite spotting eight the day before.
“They’re the most beautiful, exotic birds,” he said. “I think it’s only the hoopoe and the waxwing that draw such attention in Ireland. They’re just so striking.”
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The Eurasian hoopoe landing here migrates in the summer from Africa northwards to continental Europe, but prevailing easterly winds this year have blown an unusually large cohort of them off course. This is known as ‘overshooting’ their range, and sightings in Cork and Kerry have been record-breaking as a result.
Many sightings have been reported at Galley Head, just south of Clonakilty at the heart of west Cork. The laneways of the stunning peninsula, tipped by a small lighthouse, are dotted with birdwatchers donning binoculars. Even spotted was Fianna Fáil Minister of State for Housing Christopher O’Sullivan taking part in the search.
“When birds are migrating at night, they can be attracted to land by lighthouses,” said Connaughton. “And when they hit land they could be getting tired, so they normally just bunk down on the nearest bit of coast they can find. That’s why headlands are good for them.”
After searching a few lanes, Connaughton spotted the notoriously shy bird in a nearby tree, its beautiful black-and-white striped wings on show. And when we heard its distinctive ‘hoo hoo hoo’ call, there was no doubt.
It was shortly joined by another, which flew down and plucked the short grass along the road, eating insects and leatherjackets, only occasionally bothered by other birds such as robins.
“They [robins] don’t like hoopoes because they’re so unfamiliar,” explained Connaughton. “Any of our birds haven’t seen them before, so they’re going: What the hell is that thing?”
He’s hopeful that if the birds are given space, Ireland could get its own breeding pair at some point in the future, however unlikely it may be.
“There have been a couple of waves of [hoopoes] landing here so far [this spring]. If the weather continues like this, there could well be more yet to come,” he said.
