Gary Howard's birds and wildlife

I'd returned from Morocco late the previous afternoon and hoped to spend the day with Jenny and the kids but as she wasn't feeling great it turned into a morning at home and then a need to get them outside for a while to run off some energy! News of a Hoopoe near Maidstone led me to suggesting that we look for that and then maybe go for a walk nearby. The boys said yes so offf we went.

The bird was near Lenham and we found some lovely single-track lanes to drive through before emerging at the site which was adjacent to the M20 and the high speed rail link.

It was cold, windy and felt more like March not May. The bird had been seen along a strip of land bordering the Eurostar line and you could freely access it. To the boys it was amazing, standing just a few yards away from speeding trains. There were also fallen trees to climb so they were set up!  I could not find the Hoopoe or much else in the strong wind but kept searching and climbing the odd tree.

A call from Jenny at 5.30 reminding me that I should be on the way back led to one last sweep before we jumped into the car. I could not resist one last drive up and down the lane bounding the site with frequent stops and scans. Right at the last gasp I found the bird feeding in the open and we all got scope views before it flew across in front of us and disappeared into a farm. I could not relocate it but feeling elated I drove home.