Hertfordshire Bird Report 2018 - Out Now!
The Hertfordshire Bird Report 2018 is published and has been sent to HNHS/Bird Club members.
The report includes a review of each of the 192 species recorded in Hertfordshire in 2018 including Pallid Harrier and Penduline Tit, both new to the county.
Read more here: Hertfordshire Bird Report 2018 including how non-members can get a copy of this excellent publication.
Herts Christmas Bird Count
Total for records received up to 31-12-19, 11.30pm: 111 species
Cover photo of a robin in the snow ? Gary Sanderson
Herts Bird Videos now available on the website!
Videos of Hertfordshire birds, as uploaded to YouTube, can now be viewed on the website. Go to the Videos sub menu within the Gallery menu - Herts Birds Videos.
If you have recorded a video of birds in Hertfordshire, and are happy for it to be showcased on the website, please email the YouTube link to Herts Bird Photos with a note of where and when it was taken, and a selection will be added to the gallery. As this is new, videos from the last few years are gratefully received!
Friday 13th - lucky for some!
On the morning of Friday 13th September the 'Tyttenhanger Birders' met up for their regular Friday full circuit of the site. With its excellent variety of habitats, Tyttenhanger can produce a high day count of species at any time of year, but this visit turned out to be special with a site record 82 species recorded!
Read on for Rupert Evershed's account of their record breaking day which also serves as a good walking route guide around the site.
A single site day count of 82 species must be one of the highest recorded in Hertfordshire. We would love to hear from birders of other Herts sites with their highest day count records. Please email birdweb@hnhs.org
Rupert Evershed, September 2019:
Making lists and birdwatching go hand in hand and ?The Tyttenhanger Birders? are no exception. A fluid group of birders comprised of ?whoever is around? on Friday mornings was today made up of myself (Rupert Evershed), Richard Coombes, Steve Blake and Steven Pearce. Four pairs of eyes and ears as usual started scanning the moment the all-important ?Tyttenhanger recording area? was entered. (The area is defined and bordered by the A414 dual carriageway, roughly to the north, Coursers Rd to the south, the A1081 to the east and Colney Heath High Street to the west).
Dismissing any nonsense associated with it being Friday 13th we fully expected to run up our usual sightings list of 65-70 different species ? a great count for any site but that?s why we think Tyttenhanger is a bit special! However, today was to be unexpectedly special in that somehow we saw nearly all the usual birds and a few extras that brought us to a record day count of 82 species! Here?s how it happened:
The Breeding Kestrels of Lemsford Springs
Kestrels bred this year at the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust's reserve at Lemsford Springs. They used a nestbox erected by volunteers at Lemsford some six years ago and with Jackdaws nesting in a box just two metres above it made for some interesting observation!
Read Lemsford Springs' warden Barry Trevis' account below and watch Peter Finney's wonderful wildlife film, capturing the birds from nesting to hatching and fledging. Go to YouTube link: https://youtu.be/noQbz2QgC2U or search YouTube 'Lemsford Kestrels'.
Photo: male Kestrel at Lemsford Springs ? Peter Finney
The Breeding Kestrels of Lemsford Springs ? by Barry Trevis
This year we have been fortunate to have a pair of Kestrels take up occupation of one particular large nestbox that our volunteers erected some six years ago, especially designed for the species. This spring, photographer Peter Finney and myself have filmed and photographed their breeding activities. An article on this, with some images, has just been published in the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust?s summer edition of ?Wildlife Matters? magazine. Also a short film has been produced by Peter and can now be viewed on YouTube.
Kestrels, hovering over our countryside and road verges, were once
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Trevor James BEM 1947-2020
With great sadness we report that Trevor James, Hertfordshire's long-time recorder for flora and beetles and an outstanding all-round naturalist, died peacefully in the Garden House Hospice, Letchworth on Friday 5 June.
Trevor made a remarkable contribution to the study, understanding and recording of wildlife in the county where he lived for most of his life. He actively promoted 'citizen science' through his own volunteering and the generous practical help and encouragement he offered so that less experienced enthusiasts could develop their skills.
2020 Festival of Wildlife cancelled
We are sorry to report that the 2020 Festival of Wildlife, due to take place on 25 and 26 July at Panshanger Park, has been cancelled as a consequence of the continuing Covid-19 emergency.
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and Tarmac plc, who organise the annual festival in association with HNHS, have decided that a mass-participation event would not be appropriate at the end of July even if the current lockdown has been partially or wholly lifted by then.
Pioneering monitoring methods explained at Bird Conference
Pioneering ways to monitor bird movements, including their frustrations as well as achievements, featured at the 2020 Hertfordshire Bird Conference on Saturday 29 February.
A capacity audience at the Affinity Water offices in Hatfield, heard how a sound dish electronically capturing the calls of overflying night-time birds in a garden near the M25 has yielded records of unexpected species such as Black-necked Grebe, Common Scoter and Lapland Bunting as well as mass seasonal movements of Redwings and other thrushes.