I recently discovered a colony of about 100 European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) at about 20 km north of my place. I spent many hours in a hide observing the community life and the breeding cycle. In order to leave them undisturbed I set my tent in the dark before sunrise while females are resting in the nest and males are not yet on the site. Later, to remain unnoticed while leaving I wait for a natural disturbance in the colony (raptor around for instance) that keeps the birds in distance. Meanwhile, during 6 hours of time, staying still in my hide, I can watch a fascinating show. I was lucky enough to observe several different behaviours (and took thousands of photos) : mating, hole digging (they are nesting in holes that they dig in the sandy bank of a river), fight for nest, courtship feeding, , feeding of chicks, capture of insects, sunbathing,...). All photos taken with Nikon body, 300:2.8 lens, x1.7 TC in natural light (no flash) with the great morning sun of the mediterranean coast... Bibliography for this article includes the great Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol. 6 (del Hoyo, J., Elliot,A.& Sargatal,J.- Lynx Edicions). Have a look to their website http://www.hbw.com A fantastic work !

I recently discovered a colony of about 100 European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) at about 20 km north of my place. I spent many hours in a hide observing the community life and the breeding cycle. In order to leave them undisturbed I set my tent in the dark before sunrise while females are resting in the nest and males are not yet on the site. Later, to remain unnoticed while leaving I wait for a natural disturbance in the colony (raptor around for instance) that keeps the birds in distance. Meanwhile, during 6 hours of time, staying still in my hide, I can watch a fascinating show. I was lucky enough to observe several different behaviours (and took thousands of photos) : mating, hole digging (they are nesting in holes that they dig in the sandy bank of a river), fight for nest, courtship feeding, , feeding of chicks, capture of insects, sunbathing,...). All photos taken with Nikon body, 300:2.8 lens, x1.7 TC in natural light (no flash) with the great morning sun of the mediterranean coast... Bibliography for this article includes the great Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol. 6 (del Hoyo, J., Elliot,A.& Sargatal,J.- Lynx Edicions). Have a look to their website http://www.hbw.com A fantastic work !