SAT 25TH & SUN 26TH APRIL 2026
Back by popular demand, the Local Patch Big Weekend 2026 offers a weekend of local patch birding – the perfect excuse to get out in your local area and find as many different birds as you can! Not only that, but the weekend of 25th & 26th April is typically one of the best weekends in the year to encounter the greatest variety of birds with Saturday sometimes being dubbed ‘Super Saturday’ for its history of turning up good birds.
Teams of up to 4 members select their local patch which must be in Herts and fit within a 2-mile radius. Individuals are welcome to participate as a single team but the more eyes and ears the better when finding birds! Points are awarded for each species according to its rarity in Herts and bonus points are available for completing additional extra challenges such as getting 3 species of owl or recording both Goldcrest and Firecrest.
Various small prizes will be on offer including for the team with the most points and the ‘Best (rarest) Bird’ but the emphasis of the day is on fun and participation. Everyone loves an excuse to get out birding and this is it! The only question is whether you will start at midnight or take a more casual approach and set out after breakfast?
To sign up, click on the link below and enter your team and patch details on the Google spreadsheet. On the Google sheet you can also find the rules for the weekend and then, on the day, enter your sightings and see your points score grow.
Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11t4e8itkkE3FbndTnKUNeeAvWI-kzpDzAu_6W9DD4uw/edit?usp=sharing
If you have any questions or need help with the Google sheet please email birdweb@hnhs.org
