From The Scottish Naturalist (1920), pp. 151-153
The present summer (1920) witnessed one of the most remarkable events ever recorded in the annals of British ornithology, namely, an attempt on the part of a pair of Bee-eaters to nest in Scotland – an essay, however, which most unfortunately was not achieved. The phenomenal nature of this attempt may be realised from the fact that the scene selected by these feathered adventurers lies only a little short of a thousand miles north of the accustomed nesting-quarters of the species in Western Europe.
On the 3rd of June, Mr David Hamilton discovered that a pair of these birds had taken up quarters on a sand-bank flanking the western side of the river Esk at Musselburgh. Mr Hamilton at once informed his friend, Mr Kirke Nash, of this most interesting fact, and the two had the birds under daily observation for nearly a fortnight. A full and detailed account of their watchings was communicated to The Scotsman, in whose columns it appeared on the 18th of June. That the birds had established themselves for the season and fully intended nesting was obvious from their behaviour, and from the fact that they had selected a particular hole in the sand-bank, doubtless of their own excavation since a small heap of sand was found just below it. This hole was frequently visited and occupied at intervals by both birds, sometimes simultaneously. Circumstances, however, were unfortunately against them, The presence of such unusual and singularly beautiful visitors was liable to attract the attention of the public who continually traverse the much frequented footpath which skirts the river opposite the site chosen by the Bee-eaters. All, however, appears to have gone well until, the 12th of the month, on which date the female was not observed, and the watchers surmised that she might be engaged in the duties of incubation, as the male was still present.
For the further particulars relating to the closing episodes in the history of this unfortunate pair of birds, I am indebted to official sources of information, and to the enquiries undertaken by my friends, Messrs Richard and R. M. Tomlinson, of Inveresk.
As regards the fate of the female: on the evening of the 11th, Mr Donald Marquis, the gardener to Admiral Sir A. Berkeley Milne, Inveresk Gate, in company with Police Constable Mitchell, observed a bird flutter down from one of the trees in the garden and fall among the grass. It appeared to be in an exhausted or injured condition and it allowed Mr Marquis to pick it up. The bird was at once recognised as a rarity and thought to be a Kingfisher, and was put into one of the greenhouses and supplied with water and food. The bird being quite unknown to him, he, on the 14th, informed Mr R. Tomlinson, who is much interested in bird-life, what had happened. Mr Tomlinson at once went to see the bird, and Mr Marquis learned from him that it was a Bee-eater and at once supplied the bird with honey bees, but unhappily it died on the following day. The day after its capture the bird laid an egg which was unfortunately broken. At Mr Marquis’s request Mr Tomlinson presented the dead bird to the Royal Scottish Museum.
The mateless male remained in the vicinity until the 15th when it, too, disappeared. It has been stated that the bird had been captured and killed by a cat. This, however, was proved not to be the case, for on interviewing the owner of the cat, Mr R. Tomlinson found that its victim had been buried in the garden. The body was exhumed in Mr Tomlinson’s presence and he was gratified to find that it was not the mate of the deceased Bee-eater but an Undulated Grass Parrakeet or Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus).
The female Bee-eater was duly received at the Museum, and was found to be in a very emaciated condition. A careful examination revealed no signs of external injury, nor was there any evidence of wounds or contusions on its body after the skin had been removed. On dissection a full-sized soft-shelled egg was found in the oviduct, and other ova were observed in less advanced stages of development.
At the instigation of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Procurator-Fiscal instituted an enquiry into the circumstances associated with the capture of the female bird. Evidence was obtained from the persons concerned and of those who had any personal knowledge on the subject. From this official enquiry it was clearly proved that no blame whatever could be laid to the charge of anyone, and that Mr Marquis did his best to resuscitate the exhausted bird. It seems possible that the bird may have been injured in an attempt to capture her in the nesting hole, for the site is much visited by boys in quest of the eggs of Sand-martins which breed in the river-bank. Or, perhaps, the ungenial weather conditions may have been unsuited to the food requirements of birds accustomed to sunny climes at all seasons.