Yesterday my daughter, who lives in Hertfordshire, got in touch to ask where she could see Nightingales in her area. Well, I dragged a 40-year-old "site guide" out of my extensive library, but it didn't help very much. In these digital times it is merely a "shite guide." But ... oh-ho ... I thought.... hey, Herts must have a Hertfordshire Bird Club or something like it, and sure enough, it has. Here's yesterday's sightings .... yes, that's just yesterday's ... round where I live, we get about 8 sightings per day on our site. Not that I'm irked at all. So ..here's just one day of Hertfordshire spottings ... Recent Bird Sightings Sun 28 Mar Ashwell [TL262419], 2 Shelduck, on dung heap pools - Ashwell to Eyeworth rd (Mike Ilett) Ashwell [TL259420], 175 Golden Plover, Ashwell to Eyeworth rd opp dung heaps (Mike Ilett) Ashwell [TL256387], 2 Wheatear, Ashwell to Newnham rd from dung heap (Mike Ilett) Baldock [TL262333], 7 Wheatear, on Baldock model airstrip (Mike Ilett) Batch Wood nr St Albans [TL138090], 4 Red Kite (Chris Ruis) Batch Wood nr St Albans, 5 Chiffchaff, 4 singing (Chris Ruis) Batch Wood nr St Albans [TL138092], 8 Redwing (Chris Ruis) Batch Wood nr St Albans [TL134086], 1 Meadow Pipit (Chris Ruis) Batch Wood nr St Albans [TL133088], 2 Linnet (Chris Ruis) Batchworth Lake nr Rickmansworth, 1 Wood Duck, drake. (Graham Clark) Batchworth Lake nr Rickmansworth, 1 Red-crested Pochard, drake. (Graham Clark) Chiswell Green nr St Albans [TL134046], 2+ Lesser Redpoll (Alan Gardiner) Chiswell Green nr St Albans [TL134046], 1 Siskin, male (Alan Gardiner) Clothall nr Baldock [TL259335], 2 Grey Partridge, pair off Warren Lane (Tom Speller) Clothall nr Baldock [TL268331], 2 Grey Partridge, pair off Warren Lane (Tom Speller) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP [TL215110], 1 Black-tailed Godwit (Brendon Fagan) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP, 3 Red Kite (Brendon Fagan) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP, 7 Little Ringed Plover (Lee Evans) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP, 7 Linnet (Lee Evans) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP, 2 Meadow Pipit (Lee Evans) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP [TL213108], 4 Ringed Plover (Rupert Evershed) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP [TL213108], 5+ Little Ringed Plover (Rupert Evershed) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP [TL213108], 1 Green Sandpiper (Rupert Evershed) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP [TL213108], 7 Sand Martin (Rupert Evershed) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP [TL213108], 1 Peregrine Falcon (Rupert Evershed) Coopers Green GPs - Stanborough GP [TL213108], 1 Great Black-backed Gull (Rupert Evershed) Gaddesden Row, 3 Chiffchaff, 3 singing males (Lee Evans) Gaddesden Row, 72 Brambling, A flock of at least 72 in the Widmore Farm cereal crops on Bradden Lane (Lee Evans) Harpenden, 1 Blackcap, overwintering male still using feeders (Alan Jackson) Harpenden, 1 Redwing, feeding on lawn (Alan Jackson) Hatfield [TL220080], 1 House Martin, first of the year (Brendon Fagan) Hatfield, 1 Egyptian Goose (Joe Wigmore) Hatfield, 1 Swallow (Joe Wigmore) Heartwood Forest - Langley Wood [TL162109], 2 Chiffchaff, singing males - 9am (Dan Fletcher ) Hitchin, 1 Little Egret, Purwell Meadows (Jane Havercroft ) Hunsdon nr Harlow [TL426139], 2 Wheatear, 2 males at the airfield early PM. (Laurence Drummond) Jersey Farm (St Albans) [TL174100], 2 Chiffchaff, singing males in Jersey Farm Park (Dan Fletcher ) Knebworth [TL252201], 1 Grey Partridge (Matt Livesey) Lynsters Farm nr Maple Cross, 2 Oystercatcher (Steve Carter) Lynsters Farm nr Maple Cross, 2 Wigeon (Steve Carter) Lynsters Farm nr Maple Cross, 2 Egyptian Goose (Steve Carter) Norton Bury nr Letchworth [TL236347], 1 Wheatear, n horse fields around dung heaps (Mark Reynolds) Norton Green nr Stevenage [TL224236], 2 Grey Partridge (Alan Ford) Norton Green nr Stevenage, 4 Wheatear, in recently ploughed field north of Kitching lane (R Best) Panshanger Park, 5 Chiffchaff, Singing males across the park (Allan Burrows) Panshanger Park, 1 Blackcap, Male (Allan Burrows) Prae Wood nr St Albans [TL120070], 10+ Red Kite, over and around the wood, a large area (Alan Gardiner) Redbournbury [TL117116], 6 Wheatear (Chris Hocking) Redbournbury, c.10 Common Snipe, flushed by low flying Common Buzzard (John Pritchard) Redbournbury, 1 Cetti's Warbler, singing from cover (John Pritchard) St Albans [TL158077], 2 Siskin (Chris Ruis) St Albans [TL158077], 1 Blackcap (Chris Ruis) Stanstead Abbotts Lakes - N lake, 7 Red-crested Pochard (Jane Free ) Stevenage [TL216244], 4 Wheatear, 3 males. just west of Potters Spring (west of A1). NW of Norton Green / SE of Almshoebury (Tom Speller) Stocker's Farm, 2 Little Ringed Plover (Graham Clark) Stocker's Farm, 2 Oystercatcher (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 1 Yellow-legged Gull (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 1 Red-crested Pochard, male (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 5 Little Egret (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 6 Ring-necked Parakeet (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 8 Chiffchaff, all singing (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 5 Cetti's Warbler, 4 calling (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 4 Egyptian Goose (Steve Carter) Stocker's Lake, 4 Blackcap, singing (Steve Carter) Symondshyde Farm nr St Albans [TL200111], c.50 Fieldfare (Rupert Evershed) Symondshyde Farm nr St Albans [TL200111], c.30 Redwing (Rupert Evershed) Verulamium Park [TL140068], 10 Little Egret, on island (Alan Gardiner) How about that for a kick in the teeth ? And it's not just the sheer number and variety of sightings ... look at those fancy site names .... Verulamium !! Panshanger Park !! Coopers Green.!! (Plus .. Lee Evans sinking to the bottom with a mere "7 Linnets" ... .. has he gone soft or what ?) Round our way we only get sites like " Crapsley Sewage Works" and Turdsley Ex-Nuclear Power Station Compound" and "Scab Lane Bulldozer Park." But enough of this divisive point-scoring ! Tis Music Time .... What I don't like about that list is putting all the birds in the singular .. " 318 Starling " and "7 Sparrow" ..... it all harks back to the huntin' and shootin' days.
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