Yesterday I took some photos of bee-eaters, which I haven’t got around to publishing yet. So imagine my surprise to find this little fellow on the ground outside my window. I have not observed any of these close to the house and I had never been this close to one. Usually they’re so skittish they instantly fly away. So I stood mesmerised, just looking in wonder at its beauty. Then I noticed the cat was also staring nearby, with very obvious intent. The cat and I hopped around the rose bushes trying to catch it. Luckily I was able to scoop up the little bird before the cat reached it! Just…

As I took it inside the g’kids told me that it had “flown right into the window and made quite a bang”. It must have been quite stunned because it was unable to fly away. It rested for a while on my kitchen bench, and seemed to recover somewhat. I have released it into my glasshouse. It will be safe from the cats and I’m hoping that it can catch insects and recover some more. Tomorrow, if it can fly I’ll let it out.