Hoopoe in the kitchen

I was lucky enough to find this hoopoe in our kitchen. It had gained entry through a small hole in the ceiling. I ushered the dogs out of the kitchen and grabbed my camera. A real opportunity!

I think this is the chick of the pair that had been nesting in the ceiling. It all started when we began hearing noises in the under-drawing. I blocked the entry gap in the tiles and went up to investigate, and there was this hoopoe, not starlings as I had thought. I remove the blockage so as to allow freedom of movement. We were obviously thrilled with our new tenants. It was a real pleasure to see the parents busy back and forth at feeding time, which seemed to be all the time.

After that things seemed to quieten down and we thought the birds had left the nest, until this morning when I heard the shuffling in the ceiling. As it turned out, most fortunate, as it resulted in my getting the luckiest shot of all.

I thought that this kind of thing only happened to other people!