‘Incredibly rare’ group of exotic birds spotted in Nottinghamshire – for first time in 40 years

By Jamie Barlow -
Jun 27, 2017

‘Incredibly rare’ exotic birds have been spotted in Nottinghamshire for the first time in around 40 years.

Two bee-eaters were spotted by bird watchers at CEMEX’s East Leake Quarry on Sunday and a group of 10 were spotted by staff yesterday (June 26).

Janice Bradley, head of conservation at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, which works with the quarry, said the birds are showing signs of ‘mating behaviour’.

She said: “They were starting to show signs of mating behaviour which is really, really exciting.

“We don’t know if they’re going to breed but it’s interesting that they are not just passing through for 24 hours before moving on. They seem to be staying here and there’s a little group of them.”

Janice said staff at the quarry are making sure the birds are not disturbed and have set up a ‘viewing location’ for people to watch them with telescopes.



Continued

BEE EATER CHICKS EXPECTED TO DRAW BIG CROWD TO QUARRY NESTING SITE

By Jenny Brown

Last updated at 09:51, Saturday, 29 August 2015

Crowds of bird watchers are expected to flock to north Cumbria over the bank holiday weekend with the hope of being the first to see the chicks of exotic rare birds.

Experts say young bee-eater chicks could fledge from their nest at Hanson UK’s Low Gelt quarry, near Brampton, any day.

Bee-eaters, which are one of Europe’s most striking birds, have been living in the sand quarry since June and in the past month more than 5,000 people have visited the site with the hope of catching a glimpse of their kaleidoscopic feathers.

RSPB bee-eater warden Jason Moule said they were expecting a surge of visitors in the coming days.

“It’s still pretty busy and pretty steady at the moment but it could be that the chicks are going to fledge at any time now. It could be any day. It is very exciting,” she said.

They are almost at the stage where they are ready to fly and it will be the first time anyone has had the chance to see them.

The RSPB is expecting three or four chicks but bee-eaters can lay any amount of eggs between four and a maximum of 10.

Jason said: “They’ve been taking a lot of food in but at the moment now that’s starting to die down a bit because they’re trying to drop the weight of the chicks because they’re actually a lot heavier than the adults at this stage. They’re trying to get their weight down so they can fly.”

There were originally two pairs but one has moved on. Jason explained that until they can investigate the nest they can only guess the second pair left due to weather or because they sensed their eggs weren’t fertilising properly.

Another helper male has arrived and is also feeding the chicks.

Continued ....

Bee-eaters breed in Cumbria

Published by surfbirds on August 2, 2015 courtesy of RSPB, surfbirds archive

Two pairs of rare bee-eaters have set up home and are raising chicks at a quarry in Cumbria. With their kaleidoscopic plumage, bee-eaters are one of Europe’s most striking and beautiful birds.

They are normally found nesting in southern Europe and are a very rare breeding bird in the UK. However, visits have increased in recent years, prompting speculation of colonisation.

Last year, two pairs successfully raised chicks on the Isle of Wight and prior to this, birds nested in Herefordshire in 2005, County Durham in 2002, and in Sussex in 1955

Continued ...