Bee-eaters hatch in UK for first time since 1955

Pictures of the first exotic bee-eater chicks to have hatched in Britain for nearly half a century were published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds yesterday.

The birds, which have a distinctive kaleidoscopic plumage, normally nest in southern Europe, but arrived at a disused quarry in Co Durham in June with southerly winds.

Bee-eaters were last recorded breeding in the UK in 1955, when two pairs nesting in a sandpit in Sussex raised seven chicks. Before that, the only other known nesting attempt was in Scotland in 1920.

The recent arrival of the adult birds sparked massive interest from birdwatchers and the public alike and in the weeks since then more than 10,000 people have visited the quarry at Bishop Middleham.

Weeks after they arrived there were signs that they had hatched chicks and yesterday the young were photographed for the first time.

At least two chicks have been seen so far. They are expected to leave their nest burrow within days.

The bee-eaters raise their chicks underground, in burrows excavated in cliff faces and up to three metres (10ft) long. The chicks have been taking turns to come to the mouth of the tunnel to await food deliveries from the parent birds.