Herts Bird Club – making the most of local birdwatching

Welcome to the Herts Bird Club website. We promote the study and recording of birds in Hertfordshire and encourage a wider interest in natural history including the conservation of wildlife habitats.

Avian Flu advice

Latest news

Swift Mapper records

With the welcome return of Swifts to our skies, once again we encourage you to enter your Swift nesting records on Swift Mapper rather than submit them to the bird club website  

Swift Mapper is a website and an app created by the RSPB and Swift conservation groups to map Swifts and their nesting sites.  Full details can be found on the website: Swift Mapper where the app can be downloaded and interactive maps can be found. 

The 2nd Herts Local Patch Big Weekend – Sat 29th Apr – Mon 1st May

Three whole days of local birding over the early May Bank Holiday weekend gave Herts birders the chance to focus intently on their patches and see what they could find.  Falling in the peak period of Spring migration the weekend proved largely dry with easterlies dominating Saturday and then a stronger southerly breeze on Sunday. 

Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits Bird Report 2021 published

The Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits Bird Report for 2021 is now available. Download a copy HERE

This 66 page report continues the tradition of detailed and well written reports about this site.  Edited and produced by Ricky Flesher and Peter Christian, it includes a review of the year; accounts for all 126 species recorded at Tyttenhanger in 2021; many photos; insightful data and graphics; a breeding birds summary; arrival and departure dates for migrants; species year lists back to 2004, and much more!

Go to Tyttenhanger Site Guide to download reports back to 2011

 

Volunteer bird surveyors wanted

The Redlist Revival/Life Map project organised by Edward Darling from Gray's Farm near Royston, is looking for bird surveyors to do 2x 1km transects within nine parishes in Hertfordshire. The nine parishes/areas are Wallington, Therfield, St Pauls Walden, Knebworth, Albury, Panshanger, Wareside, Much Hadham and St Albans.

If you are able to identify the birds that might be expected within the county by sight and sound, please contact Edward Darling edward.darling@redlistrevival.org directly who will put you in contact with the landowner.

Latest Hertfordshire Bird Report

The Hertfordshire Bird Report 2021

The Hertfordshire Bird Report 2021 was published and circulated to HNHS/Bird Club members in November 2022 (Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society, Vol. 54 (2), pp. 89-176.)

Read more

Latest HNHS publication

 

Herts Invertebrate Project

Read here about how to join this new recording initiative.

Herts Atlas of Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles

Please submit sightings and field signs of mammals, amphibians and reptiles to our countywide survey, full details at the Herts MARA website.

Hertfordshire Bird Atlas

All the results from the most recent Atlas (2007-12) and both previous atlas surveys available here.

Bird records

Please send us your Herts bird sightings through the records submission page. Use the Breeding status dropdown where applicable and Comment field to add notes of interest.

Latest sightings of interest are published on the right hand side of this page, once they have been checked by a moderator. Search for older published records by month/site/species in Sightings Archive. 

 

See details of some great places to visit in Hertfordshire at this time of year.

Take part in our  projects and surveys.

Buy a book, most HNHS books are now for sale at half price or less.

The success of the site depends on you, the users, entering your records and sending in interesting information, not only sightings which can be entered online but also reports on trips and additional site guides. We also welcome feedback on what you would like to see on the site: email birdweb@hnhs.org

Injured or orphan birds ? advice here.

The Herts Bird Club is part of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society and our websites are integrated. We hope this will encourage those of you who have not investigated other aspects of wildlife in Hertfordshire to have a look around the HNHS website, discover what is available. Please submit your records of other wildlife, including mammals, amphibians, reptiles and dragonflies through the HNHS website.

Who's who in the Herts Bird Club.