Hoopoe twitch

Yesterday I went to Örnsköldsvik, a city 500 kms north from here to see a bird I have longed to see for three years.

I would not have went that far for just any bird, but the Hoopoe is very special to me. I have been to Hungary several weeks every summer for the last few years without finding one single Hoopoe, even though every birdwatcher in Hungary I've met, but also Swedish birdwatchers I've met that has ever been to Hungary told me that Hoopoes are very common there. But somehow, i always missed it.
So every time I went to Hungary on vacation, I was hoping to see it, but it just never happened.
Therefore, after a while, I started to get a little angry every time I talked about the Hoopoe.
It is surely one of the most beautiful birds in the world but I always missed it, so every time a Hoopoe was found some hundred kilometers from Västerås, I started to think about wether I should go and see it or just get out and try to find one around here. Finding one is never easy, becouse they are rare in Sweden. Not very-very rare, but there are lots of swedish birdwatchers who are still searching for one.

So at last, I gave in. Here is this amazing, fantastic, fabulous bird that has been on my mind since three years. My first Hoopoe.
This was also my 250:th bird species in Sweden!

Click on the pictures to see larger picture:

Hoopoe – Härfågel - Búbos banka (Upupa epops)

The bird was surprisingly small, not bigger than a thrush. It was always very active and picked up big larvae from the grass and ate them.

 Sometimes it flew away (marvellous!!!), and landed a few meters away on the grass or in a tree.

Every time it landed, it opened its wonderful crest,  but only for one or two seconds.

 And here am I, watching this little creature, sometimes not more than 20-30 cms. What a treat!