I take a camera along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.
They arrived 2 days earlier than normal which makes up for their late return last year due to the rains. I’m in no rush to try to get up close as it could cause them to panic so I sat an watched them for a while this morning.
I actually think that there are 2 colonies that have arrived, as I could see and hear 2 groups from my high vantage point (which happens to be part of my garden!) but it could just be one large colony split. Here is a photo I got from my vantage point, there are 7 in this shot, but many more where flying low down in the valley I overlook.
I will monitor this tree for the next few days and if it becomes a meeting point then I will plan on getting closer. Of course, these could just passing through too!
If you are planning on getting shots of them, just be careful during the next week or so as they will be looking for nesting spots and human presence can cause them to change location.
If it was April 1st then I would have written this blog differently, suggesting that Bee Eaters don’t migrate, they grow on trees!
Here is my Flickr Album of Bee Eaters from the last two years. Some images are available in the Shop.
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