Woo Hoo a Hoopoe

A mild shriek/squeal from the passenger seat to, 'Stop the car!'  on a tiny country lane, quickly followed by, 'Look at that bird!' alerted Hubs from his peaceful reverie of contemplating the gorgeous countryside whilst driving, to a state of full alertness. I was trying to unbuckle the seatbelt, change the camera settings and get out of the car without losing the map book from the cardoor pocket.

Yes, it was a Hoopoe but it really didn't like the attention and flew off up the lane with me it hot pursuit and Hubs creeping in a furtive manner behind in the car. It ended up in a garden and using the car as a hide I touted the lens out of the window and got this shot and just a FEW more ;) Wow birding doeesn't get any better than this for me. 

Named after it's call, the national bird of Isreal.  They have long slightly bent beaks to dig for insects, nest in holes feeding their nestlings mid-flight and secrete a noctious smell to warn off predators.

The day had started early doors waking up the damsels and dragons on the lake side. Wellies on and tripod in the water I was so chuffed to see the dragons emerging from their larval cases which is a true wonder of nature when you watch it happen in front of your eyes.