Abstract

During recent decades there has been an increase both in the total number of European Bee-eaters Merops apiasterreported in Britain and in the number of breeding attempts. Although to the end of 2023 there had been only ten confirmed breeding records, six of these have been in the last ten years. The year 2023 was notable, as, for the first time, a site was used for a second consecutive year. In recent decades there has been a northward expansion of the range and an increase in breeding numbers on the near Continent, though years with the highest numbers of migrants in Britain do not necessarily translate into years with breeding attempts. Since 2002, all sites where breeding has been confirmed have received onsite protection led by the RSPB. In this paper, we summarise the British breeding records and describe the protection measures for each.