IT was only a flash of colour in the distance, but for birdwatcher Ron White it was enough.

For nearly 50 years, the North-East pensioner has savoured the memory of being one of a fortunate few to see the first pair of colourful bee-eaters nesting in the UK.

Yesterday Ron White, from Darlington, was able to see the second pair of the same birds to raise a family in the UK, this time in a quarry near Bishop Middleham, County Durham.

Bee-eaters are usually found in southern Europe and have never been known to nest successfully so far north. So it is not surprising that at least 10,000 visitors, from as far away as the Philippines, have flocked to a viewpoint overlooking the birds' favourite feeding area where the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Durham Wildlife Trust announced their arrival on July 24.

Ron, who took along his ten-year-old grandson, Andrew White, responded to an RSPB appeal for anyone who had studied the bee-eaters during their first UK visit, to a sandpit near the Sussex village of Street.

Back in 1955, 23-year-old Ron had already completed his national service training as a fighter pilot in the RAF, and was working for the Ford Motor Company.

Already an avid twitcher, he heard about the bee-eaters while ringing starlings at Romford Sewage Farm, for the British Museum and the British Trust for Ornithology.

He said: "Word reached us and I jumped in the car with some friends and drove straight down to Street.

"We saw the adult birds feeding their chicks and I have never forgotten the sight. They are such beautiful, colourful creatures.

"It is even more remarkable that they have come so far north to Durham. It shows how enterprising they are."

By the time Ron made his sighting, he was getting to know the North-East during trips north to Middleton-St George to refresh his flying skills. He moved to Darlington 30 years ago with his wife, Doreen.

The bee-eaters have raised four chicks at Bishop Middleham but at least one has died. Two of the surviving youngsters made their first tentative flights on Saturday, and by yesterday were strong enough to venture so far away from their cliffside nest that they were mostly out of sight of the waiting watchers.

The RSPB expects the family to head south sometime in the next few days and would welcome reports of new sightings. Call the charity on 0191-212-6100.