There has been a lot of talk recently about climate change and how it may or will affect us. Some of this is with regard to species on our shores declining or growing. Ptarmigan are suffering with warmer weather forcing them higher up mountains till the tops have no snow left and they have nowhere left to go. Other species are winners, moving onto our shores from continental Europe - cattle egrets, glossy ibis even little bitterns. A classic bird of southern Europe which has become a more frequent visitor is the bee-eater. Normally in Spain or France they visit us every year but numbers are a lot higher and in the past few years they have attempted to breed, notably in Nottinghamshire and the Isle of Wight.
So, it created quite a stir when Springwatch announced last week that a group were nesting in Norfolk. In what was clearly a timed announcement the bird-lines immediately announced that the RSPB were organising viewing with the car park open the following morning! I avoided the weekend rush but the photos appearing on social media showed that a number of birds were present in a quarry and were at leat attempting to nest. So, with good weather forecast I set off early to pay homage on the Norfolk coast. The site they had chosen was a small village called Trimingham, near Cromer in a disused quarry. With light traffic I pulled into a farmers field about 7.30 and was greeted by a very cheery RSPB volunteer who informed me the birds were present and showing well. I paid my £5 parking fee, parked up, got my gear and headed off.
It made nice change to some twitches to have a 1 minute walk to the viewing area where the RSPB had set up a gazebo. About 20 people were already on site scanning the quarry.
On one side was a grassy bank overtopped with telegraph lines and on the other a sandy bank beneath a track. I immediately saw a few small birds on the wires flicking off and back in the early morning sun.
They were a long way away but the whole jizz said bee-eater and a quick view with my bins showed the gorgeous colours. Apparently they roosted away from the site so it seemed like 4 birds were having their breakfast.
This one was bringing a gift of a bee or other small insect to its partner.
Interestingly, one of the birds has a clear problem with a wing as it has a number of feathers missing.
It didn't seem to be affecting its ability to fly so hopefully it will recover. The birds were also going down into the scrub underneath the wires to bask and catch more insects. Despite their vibrant colours they were hard to pick out amongst the foliage.
After watching the birds on the wires for a bit I moved over to the sandy bank which is where the nest hole was. It was really hard to spot it as you were a couple of hundred yards away.
The nest hole and in fact a bee-eater is in there photo above!
If you crop in the bee-eater is sitting in the entrance .You can see how hard it is to pick out! For an hour or so I watched the birds as they hawked around the nest hole, coming in and out, perching nearby and even a pair excavating another potential nest hole.
With the crowd now up to 60 or more and the heat-haze setting I decided to call it a day. Hopefully the birds will successfully nest and go on to raise chicks. They are being well looked after by the RSPB on site. With good weather and what looks a productive site they stand a chance. I suspect if they do then I will pay a repeat visit to them.
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