Hoopoes, like Bee-eaters, are a bird most bird watchers will go the extra mile to see. I believe that they also the most recognizable scarce bird seen by the general public out walking their dog in the spring. With their pharaoh's crest, de-curved beak, pink body and striking black and white striped wings, they are immediately recognizable both by the lay-man as something special and by the hard-core birder as something worth running to 'bag'.
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| Oranienbaum Heide |
Hoopoes are scarce breeders in Germany but have increased in numbers over the past decade benefiting from the effects of warming temperatures and, especially in my part of the world, the conversion of former military training areas into nature reserves. The Oranienbaumer Heide, near Dessau, is a case in point. Quite apart from having such an attractive name, it is a large area (2,683 hectares) of unimproved dry grazing land intermixed with forest in various states of development. The Heide provides a home for a wide variety of heathland birds including Nightjars, Woodlarks, Great Grey Shrikes, Wrynecks (though increasingly scarce) and Hoopoes.
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| Oranienbaumer Heide |
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| Orainenbaumer Heide - note the cattle |
Approximately 100 pairs of Hoopoe breed in Sachsen-Anhalt and their numbers are increasing significantly thanks to the use of nest boxes. In the past 2 or 3 years the numbers of breeding Hoopes in Sachsen-Anhalt has nearly doubled and on one heath alone there are now nearly 60 currently held territories. Numbers are also doing really well on the heaths in Brandenburg. I have visited several Heides over the course of the last couple of years, usually on the recommendation of the good Vogel Beobachten in Ostdeutschland guide, and have often commented on how over-grown many of them have become when compared with the photographs in the book. Consequently many species, especially Tawny Pipits, seem to have moved out. The Oranienbaumer Heide, however, seems to be well-managed and native cattle and horse breeds, as well as large scale tree felling, are used to maintain the right mix of habitat.
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| Hoopoe home? An armour plated nest box circa 3m from the ground fixed in a young oak tree - Orainenbaumer Heide |
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| Juvenile Red-backed Shrike - Orainenbaumer Heide |
I have visited the Oranienbaum Heide once before in the hope of seeing Hoopoes but to no avail. Admittedly the visit was made at short notice and without any research and my colleagues and I had to make do with wonderful views of Great Grey and Red Shrikes, Golden Oriels and an amazing array of butterflies. The weather during today's visit was extremely hot - 30⁰ centigrade - and there was very little activity to observe. It was one of those days where you had to work really hard to see anything other than the ubiquitous Red-backed Shrikes and their families, some Stonechats and a couple of Woodlarks, which of course are lovely.
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| Hoopoe - Orainenbaumer Heide |
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| Hoopoe - Orainenbaumer Heide |
Mercifully, however, and just as I was about to give up, my attention was caught by the unmistakeable view of a Hoopoe flying into a small tree. Thank goodness! The bird was quite tame and allowed me to creep close enough to take some pictures. Whilst I was waiting for it to fly from the tree into the sunlight, my attention was then attracted to some activity in the sky - namely a spanking male Goshawk flying high seemingly hawking some Swifts. I am usually quite good with Goshawks but male birds can present identification problems with their slightly smaller and less physical female cousins. However, the combination of bulging secondary wing feathers a more prominent head, a thick set tail and slightly slower wing beats, allowed me to identify this bird as a Goshawk. Goshawks are widely distributed throughout Germany and can be seen, usually by chance, just about anywhere, though usually in forest habitats.
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| Male Goshawk with Swifts - Orainenbaumer Heide |
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| Male Goshawk with Swifts - Orainenbaumer Heide |
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| Male Goshawk - Orainenbaumer Heide |
When, after all this aerial excitement was over, I returned my attention to my Hoopoe, it had gone! Flown loopingly across the vast heath to a tree or shrub unknown. There is no list of sightings to report - it wasn't that sort of outing and actually I saw remarkably little! It was very hot and hard work, but I got my bird - a first for me in Germany.
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