The Juvenile Birder

Rare Breeding Birds and North American  Waders! We arrived at 8:28am at the RSPB Bee-Eaters Viewpoint (location pinned) in Norfolk in hopes of seeing breeding bee-eaters. Bee-eaters are a scarce sight in the UK, so to have them breeding here is tremendous. The last time they bred in the UK was in 2017 in Nottinghamshire but they ended up failing to raise young. The last successful nesting site was in Cumbria in 2015. When we arrived, an RSPB man named Darren said they were seen earlier today. We waited ten minutes and then we saw them. A Bee-eater flew as it got mobbed by some swallows. It circled round then slowly swooped towards the nest, the wind occasionally pushing it backwards. After that, Darren scoped out two other Bee-eaters on the wires in the distance. I looked through his scope and saw them. They were very colourful with their orangey-yellow back standing out when they faced away from us and their cheeks standing out when facing towards us. Then, one of the bee-eaters f...

 Rare Doves And Ano ther Yellowhammer! We arrived at 11:00am, after a successful trip to Wykeham Forest, in hopes of seeing Turtle Dove. We parked in the lay by next to Mill Inn, a pub that has been permanently shut down. Opposite us were feeders and the Turtle Doves often landed in the trees and on the feeding trays. While Collared Doves and Stock Doves were present, the Turtle Doves were remaining elusive and not even calling. We decided to walk round and while we had no luck walking behind the pub, we did hear one as it purred softly trekking further down the road, right to Mill Inn. We hopped back in the car and soon after saw a Yellowhammer land in the tree and then fly off, a much better view of it than my first sighting on Jacob's Lane. Sometime later, I spotted a pair Turtle Doves as they flew into the tree, stayed for a bit and then flew off. Turtle Doves are on of Britain's fastest declining birds and so to see them is a treat. Another new tick to end the trip here, t...