Sunday, July 09, 2017

Bee-eaters : East Leake, Notts

European Bee-eater has been a bit of a 'blocker' for me for many years having dipped on a breeding pair that had their nest predated in Hampton Bishop near Hereford in 2005 and I've not 'twitched' any of the other breeding attempts in the UK since.
I have seen hundreds in Europe but not connected with one in the UK with singles being very short stayers or just flyovers.
So when Kevin Hughes texted me yesterday asking if I'd fancy twitching the birds that have set up home in a sand quarry at East Leake in Nottinghamshire the answer was a resounding YES !!
An early start saw us meet up at 5.50am near Asda at Coryton, Cardiff and with Kevin at the wheel and quiet roads we rocked up at the RSPB controlled site at 8.20am having made good time.
The car park in a farmer's field already held about 35 cars and we quickly made our way to the viewpoint joining another 20 or so birders.
The birds have been using a large Ash tree with some bare branches as perches to hunt from and true to form they did not disappoint, the tree though was about 150m or so from the viewpoint and so I had to be satisfied with just 'record' shots.........






























We filled our boots with the Bee-eaters and decided to head for home, calling in on the way at Llandegfedd Reservoir hoping to catch up with an Osprey that has been visiting periodically during the last week to fish, unfortunately we didn't connect.
Anyway, a great day out seeing a wonderful species and un-blocking a UK tick for me, who knows what with global warming they may become a common sight in the years to come.

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