Bee-eaters hatch young in Nottinghamshire

The RSPB has announced that the European Bee-eaters breeding at East Leake Quarry, Nottinghamshire, have hatched young.

There are three active nests at the site and during that afternoon of 19 July, the behaviour of the adults attending ‘nest 3’ changed with a burst of visits to the nest, each time with prey items. The other two nests are now also on the verge of hatching, and the RSPB expects all three will have young by the end of the coming weekend.

Wardening will continue on a 24-hour basis until the nests successfully fledge young. The threat of human disturbance has now been replaced by that of natural predators – a fox has been seen in the quarry several times in recent nights.

This is the third time that Bee-eaters have hatched chicks in Britain since 2014, with the most recent successful breeding attempts occurring on the Isle of Wight in 2014 and in Cumbria in 2015.

Mark Thomas, senior investigations officer at the RSPB, explained: “Bee-eaters are sociable birds and nest together in small groups. Often pairs will enlist the help of a single, younger bird to help bring food and rear their chicks. Bringing up junior is very much a community effort.”

Visitors to the site can expect their first views of the youngsters in around three weeks’ time, once they fledge. Daily updates will continue to be broadcast across the BirdGuides news service.