To find out what birds have been seen recently in the county of Hertfordshire, visit the Herts Bird Club website. What follows relates to my own "local patch" wildlife sightings for 2007.

July 2008

Dragonflies were finally starting to appear locally, with Emperors seen flying over two local ponds and Common Darter, Azure Damselfly and Four-spotted Chaser also seen on the 1st (a very hot day). Ringlet butterflies were noted in several locations. Very few raptors were about, but quality was very high with a pristine-plumaged female Marsh Harrier seen near Therfield. Lots of Yellow Wagtails were seen near Reed village and Reed and Corn Buntings were singing in 3 separate areas.

June 2008

A walk on the first sunny day in June (5th) produced 3 Yellow Wagtails, my first "local" birds for a couple of years, and a Corn Bunting. I saw a total of 15 Lapwings at 3 different sites. Hopefully some of these will successfully rear young in the area. I had excellent views of a very tame female Kestrel: doubtless one of the resultant photographs will appear in the Gallery in due course! I found my first Red Admiral and Small Heath butterflies of the season, but there was no sign of Damselflies or Dragonflies at local ponds. Orchids were starting to appear on Therfield Heath by the middle of the month and I found and photographed a Bee Orchid on the 13th. A Little Owl seen in Therfield on the 16th was my 2nd of the year in the area. By the end of the month a greater variety of butterflies was on view, including Large Skipper, but there was still no sign of long-distance migrants such as Painted Lady.

May 2008

May began with a bit of excitement when local birdwatcher Peter Oakley discovered a "trip" of 6 Dotterel on a pea field between Royston and Litlington on the 2nd. By the time I had the chance to see them on the 3rd, the numbers had been reduced to two but these birds stayed around for a few days, giving local birdwatchers a chance to add them to their Royston lists. By the end of the first week all the returning summer migrants were in and a full 9 mile "local patch" walk on the morning of the 10th provided the bonus of 3 Garden Warblers on the Heath, including a pair on Church Hill, so it looks as if they may stay to breed! I found at least 4 Spotted Flycatchers on the Heath, whilst all the "regular" warblers (Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat) were in full voice. Amazingly, I also heard a Reed Warbler briefly sing: this bird was miles away from suitable habitat, so was presumably a late-returning bird just passing through. The most unusual (for May) heatwave brought back memories of May 1997, when Nightingales last sang in the area, but I was unable to locate this magnificent songster in 2008! A Corn Bunting near Therfield was my first local sighting of the year: later in the month several were singing to the north of the village of Reed. During the heatwave (which ended on the 15th) Orange Tip butterflies were everywhere and Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Peacock and the common "White" butterflies were also abundant. However, most of these disappeared following the wet weather towards the end of the month, with an exceptionally wet spring bank holiday weekend for a second year in a row.

April 2008

Willow warblers were back on the Heath from April 1st, with 3 singing birds on the Rifle Range on the 9th, when a Blackcap was present on the Icknield Way between Royston and Therfield and several Chiffchaffs were heard. Further up the Icknield Way on the same day I flushed a Short-eared Owl, presumably the same bird that was present on March 19th. Linnets were present in good numbers, with a flock of 32 birds seen in Therfield and several pairs and small groups seen around the Heath. I saw my first Brimstone butterfly of the year in Therfield. A survey of the Heath on the 15th revealed 8 singing Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs and 2 Blackcaps. I saw my first "local" Swallow of the year and 2 Cormorants flying over were a big surprise as well as a new addition to my Royston "life" list. Two Muntjac Deer were also seen. The display of Pasque flowers on Church Hill (present from early in the month) was somewhat disappointing this year. A Little Owl was seen near Reed on the 17th. There was a report of 4 Ring Ouzels on Church Hill on the 20th. Unfortunately I was at Cley on that day and I could find no sign of them on the following morning. A survey of the Heath on the 23rd produced 11 singing Willow Warblers, together with 2 Whitethroats, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 3 Blackcaps and an estimated 30 pairs of Skylarks, with similar numbers of Meadow Pipits. My first "local" Wheatear (a female) was seen at Hatchpen on the 28th, when I also spotted my first Swifts (over Therfield) and House Martins (over the Heath). A Yellow Wagtail was heard on the ridge between Reed and Therfield: birds have bred in this area in the past..... An Orange Tip butterfly was seen at the bottom of my road and two Red-legged Partridges were spotted sneaking into the garden of the house across the road! An estimated 6-12 pairs of Lapwings are nesting in the Royston-Reed-Therfield triangle.

March 2008

I saw my first "Royston" Stonechat on the morning of the 3rd, just off the Heath: a Barn Owl was seen hunting over the same field on the same day. Unfortunately, inspection of the Heath revealed that considerable damage had been done on behalf of the conservators, with the removal of scrub that has offered good nesting habitat for Willow Warblers for many years and a large patch of scrub that provided ideal shelter for Ring Ouzels on migration: the effects of this work will be closely monitored through the spring. A Green Woodpecker was seen digging for ants in a field close to my house. Nine Fallow Deer does were seen near Reed End on the 7th, my first sighting of Fallow Deer in the area for some time. Lapwings were displaying and chasing Crows along the ridge between Reed and Therfield. Later in the month up to two Barn Owls were seen regularly in the evenings over the Heath, including the newly-cleared Rifle Range. Following the discovery of a Long-eared Owl nearby by Tony Cobb I was able to watch both species on the evening of the 14th. Amazingly, I saw a Short-eared Owl about a mile to the south near Therfield on the 19th. With both Tawny and Little Owls nesting in this area, my patch has become an Owl hotspot! The Long-eared Owl was present until March 24th at least.

February 2008

A Brambling was seen on the Heath during my second BTO winter bird survey on February 1st. A Bullfinch was also amongst the 30 species seen and/or heard during the 2 hour survey. A count of 210 Wood Pigeons during the survey was about par for the course!  A massive anticyclone over the UK from mid February onwards provided lots of sunny weather and bird-watching opportunities: a walk on the 11th produced 40 species, of which highlights were 3 Jays seen together in Therfield, several Skylarks singing, a mobile flock of 31 Lapwings between Therfield and Reed and a Green Woodpecker near Therfield. In Royston, I have a report of a Nuthatch and 2 Treecreepers being sighted: both would be "firsts" for me in the town, and I will be looking out for them!

January 2008

The three species of Gull which forage in the Royston area (Common, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed) were much in evidence on my first walk of the new year on January 2nd, together with all the common corvids, amongst whose numbers I include the Jay, which is becoming much more common in woodland around the fringes of the town. A flock of 28 Lapwings was seen and a large covey of Grey Partridge on the Heath provided really good views. Redwings and Fieldfares were in woodland to the south of the town, whilst a Brambling was heard in flight near Therfield on the 14th, when 41 Grey Partridge were seen (and many more heard!) by the Icknield Way between Therfield and Royston. On the 22nd seven Reed Buntings (my highest ever count) were seen near Hatchpen, on a walk that produced an impressive 38 species of bird. Grey Partridge coveys were noticeably smaller, presumably because birds were already starting to "pair up". Song Thrushes and Mistle Thrushes were singing and Robins were much in evidence.