Bee Eaters

[athleticpete]

Just got back from an eventful hour walking from my home through the Orange groves.
I started off by photographing a family of Goldfinches and some Serin (attached) and the usual Swift and Swallows but then I heard some Bee Eaters and turned to see a whole flock of them circling around me.
I was so mesmorised that I didn´t have time to get a decent shot, although I do have this one from a previous encounter.
They are such beautiful and colourful birds and were swooping around me for several minutes before flying off in search off more food.
Not bad for an hours relaxation.

Pete

help save the rainforests
http://www.gopetition.com/online/17255.html

[AndyB]

Nice Pete.

[sue-o]

Lucky you! Nice to be surrounded by them, what a sight that must have been. I was really hoping to see some here (near Rome) before leaving. I have seen Rainbow Bee-eaters in Australia and Little Green Bee-eaters in Egypt, and would love to see a European. They are so beautiful. If the weather stays as good as it's supposed to, we sail on Monday. Maybe I can get an hour in at the Regional Park tomorrow, it could be my lucky day. If not, maybe at one of the anchorages we'll hit on the way to Gibraltar. Hope springs eternal.

[butor2003]

I was in Morocco last week and big flocks of Bee-eaters were migrating along the coast in direction of the crossing into Spain.

Mike

[sue-o]

BEE-EATERS!!! Lifer #571!!! I can't believe I saw them; we were supposed to be gone. We left Monday for the first leg of our trip to Gibraltar. We were going to sail an over-nighter and then anchor off a Corsican Island in the Straits of Bonifacio to rest up before the next leg to Menorca, Spain. We were only twenty miles out when the auto-pilot quit. We came back to Ostia (Italy). I went out today for a bit of birding along the fence around the LIPU field. I heard a new bird sound; a soft whirring coming from across the street. As I crossed I saw two Bee-eaters fly up from behind the shade cloth kind of stuff that blocks the view of the construction site. I hurried to get past that to the regular fencing, and there they were. Flying around the new block walls and sandy dirt piles. What a lucky break!:beer:

[athleticpete]

Glad you got to see some sue-o. They certainly have a very distinctive sound. I´ve twice heard them flying overhead as I sat on my terrace enjoying an evening glass of wine!!! Both times they had disappeared by the time I´d got the binoculars out. I know they´re around now so will keep a look out.

Pete
help save the rainforests
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-destruction-of-the-rainforests.html

[Colin Key]

These birds are the "Sound of Summer" to us here - they are everywhere, one of the commonest birds (until I get the camera gear out!!!) and we hear them from just after dawn until late afternoon. I would estimate that I have 80-100 pairs nesting within 1km of my house.

Colin :yes:

[sue-o]

I see them every time I go out now. They are really a joy to watch. I've spent three days in the Appia Antica Park in Rome since the first of May, and the section called the Caffarella Valley had Bee-eaters, Monk Parakeets and Rose-ringed Parakeets--a colorful park!
Sue