Rotting trees make Panshanger Park internationally important for beetles
Ancient trees preserved more than 200 years ago for their landscape value have made Hertfordshire’s Panshanger Park an internationally important site for beetles that depend on dead and decaying wood.
Giving the Gerald Salisbury Memorial Lecture on 22 January, entomologist Adrian Dutton described his recent survey work at the 1,000-acre site near Hertford which confirmed the presence of rare ‘saproxylic’ beetles and discovered others not previously recorded there.
Measured against indices for rarity and ecological continuity, Panshanger Park scores among the top 20 sites in Britain for the beetles and holds international significance.
The lecture at Welwyn Civic Centre was jointly organised by the HNHS and Welwyn Natural History Society. A video recording is available on the HNHS YouTube site.
2025 Herts Bird Conference – Saturday 8 March
Make a date with the Herts Bird Conference from 2pm to 5.30pm on Saturday 8 March 2025 at the offices of Affinity Water, Tamblin Way, Hatfield AL10 9EZ.
The speakers include Ken Smith reporting on the conclusion of a long-running study of Green Sandpipers at Lemsford Springs and James Heywood of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) who will be looking back on 30 years of the national Breeding Bird Survey (BBS).
Happy New Year – it's our big anniversary!
The New Year is here – and with it we start celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society, which includes the Herts Bird Club.
Keep an eye on the website for information about anniversary year activities, and make a diary note of these three upcoming events:
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.