Could the exotic and colourfully plumed hoopoe bird become a permanent resident of the Irish countryside? 

The migratory bird is occasionally spotted in Ireland but this year a record number of sightings have been reported. 

On Moncrieff, Paul Connaughton of the Irish Rare Birds Committee explained why ornithologists are so excited by the sightings. 

“We get a few every spring, we get a handful of hoopoes coming up from mainland Europe,” he said. 

“But this year has just been unprecedented, it’s more than 130 recorded. 

“Normally we’d get a handful; on a good year, on a good influx, we’d get 20. 

“So, this is completely unprecedented really.” 

A hoopoe. Picture by: Alamy.com 

Hoopoe are found all over southern Europe in summer and, when the weather cools, they fly south to Africa. 

They then make the return journey to mate and raise their families. 

“Sometimes, what happens if there’s a good strong, southerly wind, it’ll help them to move very, very fast,” Mr Connaughton said. 

“They can get blown out over their breeding grounds and we call this overshooting - so, they over shoot the breeding ground and hit the south coast of Britain or Ireland.”

Could they breed in Ireland?

Usually, when a hoopoe arrives in Ireland, they return south after a few days of feeding. 

They eat lizards and prefer warmer weather than the Irish countryside usually provides them with. 

“We’re having a great spell of weather, some of the hoopoes that have arrived here, they might be having a look around that have arrived here, they might be having a look around and thinking, ‘This place ain’t too bad at all,’” Mr Connaughton said. 

“We could have a breeding attempt; it does happen occasionally in the UK. 

“About two-years a pair bred somewhere in England; so, it is possible they might be expanding their range a little.”

Hoopoes have a lifespan of 10 to 15-years.

Main image: A hoopoe in flight in Bulgaria. Picture by: Alamy.com