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 Preliminary ringing totals for Hertfordshire for 2009 are now available from the BTO. Click the link above for more details. For example 53 Kingfishers were ringed this year, including 47 juveniles (photo by Peter Hewitt).
This bank holiday week-end is your last chance to do your Timed Tetrad Visits – if you are carrying out TTVs then the early breeding season visits should be completed by the end of May. We need breeding evidence in all tetrads too – follow the link for details.
From the drop in the number of sightings on the website it would seem that the chance of something really good arriving in the county this spring was fast declining. However, the possibility was still there as was shown by the discovery of a beautiful male Red-footed Falcon on the 26 May by Roy Hargreaves, early in the morning at the back of Wilstone Reservoir. The discovery of a second Red-footed Falcon, a first-summer male, on the 27th by Nigel Pleass meant that some lucky individuals were able to see both birds at one visit to the reservoir. This bird was seen on the 28th, the adult male appeared to have moved on by then.
Herts Bird Club members flocked to Rothamsted on 20 March for our annual conference, this year celebrating 50 years of bird ringing in Hertfordshire. Read all about what went on....
 After a successful, yet weather-affected winter season, fieldwork for the third breeding season of the Hertfordshire Bird Atlas started on 1 April 2010.
As spring arrives and brings with it our summer migrants, April is the ideal time to start seeking breeding evidence for some of the resident species. As the season progresses and warblers establish territories you can move on to looking for signs that they are nest-building and later feeding young. When wildfowl broods emerge you can add those species to your list of confirmed breeders. Read more...
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust complete the construction of a new two-storey hide at their Tewinbury Nature Reserve, near Welwyn Garden City; read more...
 The future of the Tree Sparrow colony at Tyttenhanger received a boost this week with a donation of £500 to Herts Bird Club from the gravel company who operate the site. This will provide supplementary winter feeding and additional nest boxes. Read more...
 Ringing the Changes: an afternoon of talks marking 50 years of bird ringing in Hertfordshire
This Saturday, 20 March from 2.00-6.00pm at Rothamsted Research, Harpenden. Everyone welcome. Click here for updated full details of the programme, the speakers and how to get tickets.
Click on the headline to read this brief report about young Great Crested Grebes seen at Amwell on 16/12/2009.
Do you know the location of a parakeet roost?
A research group at the Biology Department of Imperial College London is undertaking a four year study into the effects of the Ring-necked Parakeet on native bird species in the UK, funded by BBSRC. Find out how you can contribute.
 News of the last remaining breeding colony of Tree Sparrows in Hertfordshire and the Herts Bird Club project to monitor them.
 Fieldwork for the third winter season of the four-year Hertfordshire Bird Atlas project started on 1 November 2009.
County organizer, Chris Dee said ‘We are making excellent progress, with both winter Timed Tetrad Visits (TTVs) having been completed in 318 of the 491 tetrads that we are surveying for this project.' Read more....
 The 2007 Bird Report was mailed to all members of the Herts Bird Club and Natural History Society on 28 September. Follow this link to buy a copy and see the contents list.
Anna Marrett and her friend Helen Harding were the fortunate birders who first saw the Leach's Petrel at Wilstone Reservoir, Tring. At least this time the bird remained there for a few hours allowing many others to see the bird; click on the headline to read the full story.
Steve Blake was the lucky birder to get to grips with a Glossy Ibis at the Main Pit, Tyttenhanger on 21 September 2009. Unfortunately for the rest of us the bird did not stay. Click the headline for his story.
By clicking on the title you will be able to read Tom Gladwin's description of the bird he saw close to his house on the 11th of September. This is a species that needs to be considered by the British Birds rarities committee (BBRC) before can become an official record. Tom supplied me with a few more facts later, namely he has seen the species many times abroad and the bird was quite close (about 100 yards). BBRC deliberations can be lengthy; I have a Glossy Ibis record of a bird seen in similar circumstances still in circulation after three years.
 An Alpine Swift seen at Aldenham Reservoir on the 5 September 2009 was found by Barry Jones.
The last county record was in 1998.
Click on the heading for the full story sent in by Joan Thompson.
Return migration starts quite early although much movement at this time of the year may well be of unsuccessful breeders moving relatively short distances. In August the number and variety of species seen increases markedly as the records sent in so far show. It is also apparent that the cloudy wet conditions which are the bane of holidaymakers often produces some interesting and unusual sightings as was the case this year. Click on the headline for more information.
The breeding of Lesser Black-backed Gull in Watford has long been suspected on the roofs of tall buildings. Jim Terry has found positive evidence of breeding of the species in Borehamwood; click on the headline for more information.
To support its 'Out of Africa' appeal the BTO is moving its annual bird count from the new year into late August and the first two weeks of September. The decline in the numbers of species such as Yellow Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Wood Warbler and other African migrants is of great concern and this count is intended to raise funds to investigate what could be responsible for these declines.
.jpg) The Common Crossbill Loxia curvirostra is the species normally seen in Hertfordshire in one of its periodic invasion episodes. The species generally breeds early in the year (February-March) and these invasions are a result of food shoratges in its normal range. There have been a number of recent sightings in the county and it is well worth checking out suitable areas of conifers for presence of the species. Click on the headline for the full story.
July is an unusual month to see a Black Tern but it is doubly surprising when one turns up at an urban park as one did at Verulamium Park Lake, St Albans on the 17th. The bird was a moulting adult with traces of black on the belly and was present from 14:00 hrs to 17:45 hrs.
 The re-designed Herts Bird Club website is now up and running with an improved system for posting recent bird sightings.
Find out more about the new site, how it works and how to submit records. Have a look around to see what is on offer and how you can get involved.
Marsh Warblers are rare birds in the UK so the appearance of one at Amwell NR created something of a stir. The bird first appeared around 20 June and was heard and seen by crowds of birdwatchers until 24 June.
Many local birders have had excellent views of Quail near Baldock in the north of the county near Wallington at TL269342. The birds were present on the 11th of June and were still around on the 24th of June. The whole area is largely devoted to cereal crops and is also one of the best places in Hertfordshire to find Corn Buntings which have now vanished from the south of the county.
 A heady mix of alien species, mysteriously disappearing birds and surprises in city streets enthralled the audience of over 100 at the annual Herts Bird Club/BTO Conference on 28 March 2009 in Harpenden.
Read the full report and see photos of the event including David Lindo, The Urban Birder and star of BBC TV 'The One Show'.
On a visit to Beech Farm, St Albans by Neil Mason on 1 March 2009 to see the Short-eared Owls it became apparent why only two had been seen on recent previous visits. A dead Short-eared Owl was found that was clearly killed by a bird of prey and not a mammal, and nearby a dead Barn Owl was also found. His friend, a former gamekeeper in Hungary, thought that the kills were typical of a hawk.
Hertfordshire birder Barry Reed has raised over £1250 from his two month county-wide bird-watching expedition to raise funds for Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) to purchase Balls Wood.
The 2008 Tring Reservoirs Bird Report is now available featuring 140 pages crammed full of information detailing all 179 species recorded in the area in 2008.
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For the last week is has been clear that there has been an increase in migration activity of such species such as this Redstart seen near Buntingford by John Dingemans on the 18th of August. This species was also seen at Stevenage on the 18th by Darrel Bryant and another was seen on the 15th at Layston by Chris Beach.
This major new book on Hertfordshire's earth heritage and its influence on geodiversity and biodiversity will be published in December. Place your order now at the special pre-publication offer price only £29.