What Nottinghamshire’s bee-eaters tell us about conservation and big business

Exotic migrants to the UK have set up home in a quarry owned by a sand mining company - an industry that is destroying wildlife habitats worldwide

At the end of June some exotic migrants flew into the country who have been enthusiastically welcomed by the Daily Mail. Following a hazardous journey from southern Europe a gang of seven bee-eaters have set up home in a desolate quarry in Nottinghamshire.

But while their presence is an inspiring example of the benefits of free movement, their choice of a quarry owned by Mexican minerals multinational Cemex raises some difficult questions about the relationship conservation has with big business.