Peregrine Breeding Success at Welwyn Garden City
2020 has seen not one, nor two but three pairs of Peregrine breed in Hertfordshire, the highest number to date since the first confirmed pairs in 2017. In total, nine young successfully fledged in 2020: two from a pair at Watford, four from a pair in the north of the county near Hitchin, and for the first time three from a pair at Welwyn Garden City.
And, not only was it the first time a pair have successfully bred at Welwyn Garden City, but, all three of the young were colour ringed; a first for this species in Herts.
Read Barry Trevis and Colin Shawyer's account of this fantastic success below:
Red Kite with wing tag found in North Herts
On 1 August 2020 Mike Ilett observed that one of eight Red Kites present at Deadman's Hill nr Sandon had a wing tag on both wings. The tags were yellow and the code on both was V3.
This bird (hatched 2018) was ringed on 19 November 2019 near Shaftesbury, north Dorset, 182km from Deadman's Hill.
The ringer notes that re-sighting reports of tagged Red Kites are low so please give those Red Kites you see an extra look; re-sightings of tagged or ringed birds are of great value to ringers to increase their knowledge of the movements of the birds.
If you do see one, or any other colour tagged/ringed species, the project and details of where to send the sighting can usually be found on this excellent website:
Tyttenhanger GPs Bird Report 2018
The Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits Bird Report for 2018, edited and produced by Ricky Flesher and Peter Christian, is available now.
Download you copy HERE
The Great Herts Breeding Bird Challenge
UPDATE 23rd August
We have now received 1,166 separate breeding records of 93 species for 2020. This is a big increase on previous years so many thanks to all those who have submitted records
The tables below show the numbers for selected common and scarce species, and for some a comparison with the number of records in 2018.
Please continue to submit breeding records, especially for
Write up: The Great Herts Garden Bird Count, April 2020
April 2020 will be long remembered as the month of the garden count!
Following the outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent 'Stay Home' instruction from the Government in late March, the planned county wide bird race on 25th April had to be canceled as did the spring migration routines of most birders in what is of course the most anticipated and often
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HNHS News
The Hertfordshire Naturalist 2026 – contributions sought
Stuart Warrington, editor of the Hertfordshire Naturalist, is looking for for contributions to the 2026 edition.
These can be articles or observations or photos about the wildlife, habitats or geology of the county. We are happy to look at a range of content and styles, so please do consider making a contribution to our long-running journal.
Website Upgrade
The HNHS and Bird Club management committees are working together to redevelop and upgrade the HNHS and Bird Club websites. The project is currently in the early planning stages and, as part of this, we would like users of the websites to provide feedback on the websites to help us understand what needs improving via two short surveys linked below. All feedback received will be collated and reviewed during the planning process.
Please provide feedback on the HNHS website here.
Please provide feedback on the Bird Club website here.
How to help Swifts – the 2026 Herts Bird Conference
The 2026 Hertfordshire Bird Conference attracted a full house of HNHS/Bird Club members and friends on Saturday 7 March to hear fascinating talks on Swift conservation, birds in urban greenspaces and the 'journey' of a bird record submitted through the Bird Club website.
Videos of all the main presentations can be found on the HNHS YouTube channel
Swifts are our fastest bird in level flight and famously only land when nesting. They otherwise feed, drink, sleep and mate on the wing.