1 : Chestnut Headed Bee-eater

Chestnut Headed Bee-eater - Merops leschenaulti

I might as well start with a bang and not a wimper. To me this is bird porn. I took this picture a couple of weeks ago in the Yala National Park in South-East Sri Lanka. You can click on the picture for a slightly blown up view.

There are 25 species of Bee-eater in the world distributed across Southern Europe, Southern Asia, Africa and Australia - quite frankly I am convinced that if you have seen one you have not seen them all ! Most - 18 out of 25 species are found in Africa. I've never birded in Africa and consequently I think I've only seen 4 or 5 species so far in my life (I am currently consolidating my world list from various holiday lists, ticked guides and notebooks etc.) I certainly only have a picture of two species I think (I'll save that for a rainy day). Africa here we come ! If I stick with this project this will be the beauty of it. I will let you know from my rocking chair when I am heading off to Africa and then I'll be able to tell you if it was worth the journey - worth pouring over the books. If you are a commited bird man you will know the answer. Collecting without keeping;hunting without killing.

Bee-eaters perform. They hawk for insects and chatter all the time, looping and whirling around their colleagues. I have seen perhaps 20 in a tree together in Southern Spain. They seem very social birds. You will rapidly realise that I am no ornithologist - just a bloke who likes birds.I will try not to read in human emotions - but these are birds that seem to really enjoy going about their daily routine.

This individual stayed perfectly still on a branch about 8 feet from the side of our safari truck while we were on an early morning game drive. A perfect jewel. The lemon yellow, the chestnut on the back, the greens from a childrens felt tip set. For me amongst all the leopards and elephants this was another perfect moment.

Later at our riverside "glamp" I watched a pair on an overhanging branch. In turns they would dive down to catch something only to pop up right next to their mate. I stopped following the flying bird with my bins and started watching the empty space on the branch - after a while I stopped worrying about whether the second bird was about to pop up. This was a clearly a pair. In some species I learn from Collins, a mated pair will stay together for life. Now I don't know if thats true of Chestnut Headed Bee-Eaters - its a different strategy I guess from species to species but within a season they are monogomous. It shows. If this pair had been together for a season or two then how special. If they were both starting out for their first season or just one season and were bonding, then again - how very special.

After a chatter and a look around together off the other bird would swoop. Turn by turn. This went on for at least half an hour and with a Lion beer, a notebook full of new birds and my feet up it doesn't get much better.

I did not get a photo of the pair. I will need a big fat Canon lens and some spare cash. I got a good photo of the individual in the morning sun a few feet from the truck. My wife says that I was lucky with the quality of the branch for this photograph. Quite frankly I think they would look good on a breezeblock in the middle of a rubbish dump.

The family Meropidae - "a favourite with birdwatchers" says Collins Birds of the World. Well its a good place to start. Í've thought about some sort of points system - a bit like Parker points for fine wine. I think birds are a bit like a good wine - the moment, the atmosphere, the behaviour, the light - it all comes together so it has to be a very very subjective.

I am a bloke who likes birds, not a poet and certainly not an ornathologist. A scoring system will not elevate the task to anything more or less worthy. Every bird has its place and value whether I like them personally or not. There is birding Nirvana and I'll explain it when I post about it. Rest assured sitting with a beer next to a Sri Lankan river writing up your notes and being entertained by a pair of Chestnut Headed Bee-eaters is about as good as it has got so far.

15-18 April 2011, Yala National Park Sri Lanka
Chestnut Headed Bee-Eater - Merops leschenaulti
+ a very good start to what will have to be a lifetimes' work
Bon Voyage and happy hunting