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.

Covid-19: Stay safe and observe Government rules 

Please read HNHS Statement on Covid-19

Latest news

Hertfordshire Rookeries 2021 - Survey Complete

This survey is now complete. Many thanks to all of those who sent in records* - our combined efforts have found a total of 5531 nests from 277 rookeries. The interactive map showing the sites and nest counts can be found here

These figures are compared to previous surveys in the table below.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT STANBOROUGH GPs

Please be aware the farmer is not happy about birders trespassing off the public right of way to view the pit. Discussions are underway to agree temporary access but these may be jeopardised by disrespectful behaviour from birders, unfortunately witnessed yesterday. Please in the meantime only view from the track which is a public right of way and do not cross fences.

Power company takes swift action

When the North East Herts Swift Group needed a nesting box installed high up on a village hall before swifts returned from Africa, a power company flew in to help.

Herts 48-hr Garden Bird Race – Winners Announced

The weekend of 17th-18th April saw 17 gardens take part in the first Herts 48-hr Garden Bird Race.  As well as points being awarded for species according to their rarity, additional bonus points were available for extra special sightings such as “4 or more species of raptor” or for the “Wagtail Triple” – all three species of wagtail recorded.  In all 89 different species were recorded over the weekend with over 1,100 points being accumulated. Go to 48hr Garden Bird Race to view full counts and species list.

Latest Hertfordshire Bird Report

Hertfordshire Bird Report 2019

The Hertfordshire Bird Report 2019 was published and circulated to HNHS/Bird Club members in November 2020 (Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society, Vol. 52 (2), pp. 89-176.)

The report reviews each of the 198 species recorded in Hertfordshire in 2019 (up five from 2018) including Little Bittern, White-tailed Eagle, Melodious Warbler and Richard's Pipit. There is also news of a belatedly accepted 'first' for the county: a Falcated Duck seen at Wilstone Reservoir in 1999. 

Read more

Latest HNHS publication

2021 subscriptions due now

Please renew your membership of HNHS and Herts Bird Club, details here.

Birds of Hertfordshire

 

Our new avifauna - Birds of Hertfordshire by Ken Smith, Chris Dee, Jack Fearnside and Mike Ilett was published on 24 February 2015.
Read the review in British Birds, here. Buy now direct from Herts Bird Club for only £34 (or £39 by post).

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.