Weatherwatch: arrival of bee-eaters is a worrying sign of climate crisis

UK birders may be delighted but rising temperatures have shifted the brightly coloured bird's range north by 1,000km

News that a flock of European bee-eaters has turned up in Norfolk - and appear to be settling down to breed - is guaranteed to delight Britain's birders. Yet the arrival of these multicoloured birds has also caused concern. Why? Because it is a sure sign that the climate crisis is really starting to affect wildlife.

For us older birders, the bee-eater was a bird we saw only on holidays around the Mediterranean. But during the past few decades, their breeding range has shifted north by roughly 1,000 km (620 miles), because of rising temperatures. They now nest in France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland.