It suddenly stretched up and I scrambled to keep up. A Hoopoe really has to do this. I was shooting handheld but got the shot without blur. ^^ The little yellow flowers in the frame were a nice touch. Bird no. 1.

Here I tried composing the Hoopoe with two Ryukyu violets. Another bird visible in the background. Bird no. 2.

And here, one bird alongside the road at its wintering site. Bird no. 3.

Another one close by. Bird no. 4.

Birds 3 and 4 are wintering birds that had always been together as a pair, but I had a hunch and searched the same grounds — and found one more. Three Hoopoes on the same property. ^^; Bird no. 5.

This one was in the garden of a friend's house at Tamatorizaki. ^^; Bird no. 6.

The seventh Hoopoe of the day at Kabiraisaki. If there had been one more it would have been a nice round eight — but no such luck. ^^;