What to look for in…DECEMBER
The final month of the year naturally brings concluding thoughts of the year past and renewed expectations for the year ahead. Lists are totalled up and reviews written with fresh targets for the coming year set. Will the focus be on the life list, the year list or the patch list? How did this year compare to previous years and what were the highs and lows? Combined with the season’s festivities, actual birding can take a back seat and yet December comes with the potential for its own birding highlights.
Of course, the natural focus this month is on....
The Hertfordshire Bird Report 2023
The Hertfordshire Bird Report 2023 was published and circulated to HNHS/Herts Bird Club members in November 2024.
The report includes an account of every species seen in Hertfordshire in 2023, fascinating articles on Herts Green Sandpipers and Peregrines, and much much more. The report is decorated throughout with beautiful images of our birds taken by our many talented photographers.
For more details go to The Hertfordshire Bird Report 2023
New Facebook page!
Herts Bird Club has a new Facebook page – you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/hertsbirds
We'll be using the page to share relevant news and photos and keep you informed about upcoming events and meetings. It’s also a great place to ask us anything about the county’s birds.
We’ve also created a brand new logo for Facebook which we hope you like – it features our County bird: the Hawfinch.
Of course, please continue to submit your sightings via our Records Submission form on this website and send your photos to birdphotos@hnhs.org and we hope some of these will feature on our new Facebook page in due course.
You can Like and Follow our page to stay up-to-date with new content and please share with others you think will be interested too!
What to look for in…NOVEMBER
November can feel like something of an anti-climax after the excitement of the autumn migration period and shorter days along with colder weather brings its own challenges for birding. However, November can turn up some excellent birds in Herts and trends observed in autumn can continue to throw up unexpected gems – maybe a lingering Yellow-browed Warbler, Hawfinch or Short-eared Owl – as, come November, migrants may decide to over-winter rather than keep moving.
If you missed ‘autumn vismig’ then it’s not too late as
What to look for in........OCTOBER
The seasons march on and come October the pendulum has swung fully round such that the arrival of winter visitors far outweighs the departing minority. While this month can bring some tumultuous weather it can also produce some great variety too for those willing to venture out.
Headlining this month must surely be the arrival of thousands of Redwings and Fieldfares to our shores along with many Song Thrushes and Blackbirds.
From the first week
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HNHS News
2025 Gerald Salisbury Memorial lecturer announced
Entomologist Adrian Dutton will give the 2025 Gerald Salisbury Memorial lecture which takes place on Wednesday 22 January in Welwyn Civic Centre* (8pm).
He will talk about the saproxylic beetles of Panshanger Park, reporting on exciting findings from his recent survey work with Tarmac and Natural England supporting efforts to improve the site's wildlife potential.
The 1,000 acre park, near Hertford, has emerged as one of the most important habitats nationally for saproxylic beetles, which require decaying wood habitats.
The ups and downs of Hertfordshire's butterfly species
There was good news and bad when recorder Andrew Wood reported on the changing status of Hertfordshire's butterflies at the Society's Autumn Meeting on Saturday 16 November.
Enthusiasm for wildlife education links HNHS Award winners
Two expert naturalists with a passion for sharing their knowledge about wildlife with future generations are winners of the 2024 HNHS Awards
Stephen Lings, posthumous winner of the Trevor James Award for an outstanding Hertfordshire naturalist was county recorder for bees, wasps millipedes and centipedes before his sad death in March, aged 63. But his natural history achievements went far beyond that, as the Society's Autumn Meeting heard on Saturday 16 November.