SPEK V VAN DER (2006) The Bee-eater Merops apiaster as a breeding bird in The Netherlands. LIMOSA 79 (4): 147-154.

The Bee-eater Merops apiaster is a rare but regular summer visitor in the Netherlands with incidental breeding attempts. Since 1944 the number of observations has gradually increased, apparently not only due to the increase of observer effort. Since 1982 the species occurs yearly in very low numbers, with the emphasis on spring and early summer. Bee-eaters have been observed in the Netherlands from the second half of April until the last week of November, peaking in mid- May. Up till now they were most numerous in 2005 with 31 observations including 106 birds. Most are seen flying by, only very few groups do stay for a short time at a certain locality. Since 1964 there have been eight breeding attempts, of which in only five cases pairs raised young (Tab. 1). In nine successful nests a mean of 3.3 young per pair fledged, with solitary pairs showing the poorest breeding success. Most of these breeding attempts occurred in coastal areas, half of these in the Waddensea area above 53°N. Human disturbance was responsible for recent nest failures, so secrecy and nest protection remains imperative. One half of all breeding attempts occurred in 2001-2005, suggesting a gradual northern expansion of the breeding range, in line with regular breeding in Germany and Belgium. During printing of this paper, 3 new recent breeding pairs were discovered (2006: Drenthe 2 pairs, 6 fledged young; Friesland 1 pair, no young fledged).

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