A COLOURFUL young family has caused quite a stir with its move to Herefordshire.

Thousands of bird lovers have flocked to the county to train their long distance lenses on Bee-eaters - top of the pecking order when it comes to rare birds - which have set up a home beside the River Wye.

It is only the second time in 50 years that they have been seen nesting in the UK.

Wildlife lovers have been pouring into the county to see the Bee-eaters do their thing.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has set up a special stand - with binoculars and telescopes, so birdwatchers can view their very own feathered version of Big Brother played out along The Stank at Hampton Bishop.

It's well worth watching, says RSPB officer Andy Waters - one of the team working 24/7 to protect the nest.

Bee-eaters breeding in Britain are one of the rarest sights in the bird world, he says.

The most recent nest sighting was in County Durham two years ago.

Until then twitchers had to go back to the 1950s for sightings - or sepia-tinted anecdotes about a couple trying to make a home near Edinburgh in 1920.

Mr Waters says the Hampton Bishop birds are probably the best opportunity that enthusiasts have had yet to see them in this country.

They were first spotted by Hampton Bishop birder Dr Richard Miller who put the word out.

Paul Downes, of Hereford Ornithological Club, found the nest tunnelled into a bank.

Sure of what he saw, Mr Downes called in the RSPB to manage the site knowing the flap the find would cause.

Mr Waters thinks mum and dad are caring for at least five babies.

The steady stream of big insects being brought to the nest suggests those babies are healthy and ready to come out in about a week's time.