Recent News
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.
BBC 'Winterwatch' features Herts butterfly expert
Fans of BBC TV's Winterwatch will have enjoyed this year's film on an intriguing study of butterfly hibernation that Malcolm Hull, Chair of Herts and Middlesex Butterfly Conservation, has been conducting at his home in St Albans.
After four years of monitoring scores of Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies that seek 'winter' shelter in a brick shed extension, Malcolm has discovered that the former in some years start hibernation as early as late June, with a major influx at the start of July. This is far earlier than 'the end of summer' suggested by field guides.
Herts Bird Club / BTO Conference 2020
Be sure to join us at the offices of Affinity Water, Tamblin Way, Hatfield, AL10 9EZ on Saturday 29 February (2pm to 5.30pm) for the ever-popular Herts Bird Club / British Trust for Ornithology conference.