New Hertfordshire Bird Atlas

Starting in November 2007 and running for four years, the Herts Bird Club will be collecting data to produce a new county bird atlas, surveying all 491 tetrads (2km x 2km squares) that include part of the county. This project will run alongside, and use the same methods as, Bird Atlas 2007-11 - the British Trust for Ornithology / BirdWatch Ireland / Scottish Ornithologists Club atlas of the birds of the whole of Britain and Ireland. Read more

The populations and distributions of Britain's birds are in a constant state of flux, as changes in the habitat and climate impact all aspects of their lifecycle. Only by monitoring where, when and in what numbers are our birds using the variety of habitats and resources within the county can we hope to understand these impacts.

Annual monitoring schemes, such as the BTO/RSPB/JNCC Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) operate by counting birds in randomly selected squares and provide yearly measures of population change. At the county level this gives only a broad indication of the changes in a relatively small number of species. Atlas projects complement the BBS by providing comprehensive information on the distribution of birds, covering far more squares than BBS.

The new Hertfordshire atlas will comprise the first systematic assessment of the distribution of birds in the county in winter and the third breeding season atlas, updating the distribution maps for 1988-92 published in The Breeding Birds of Hertfordshire and reproduced in interactive format on this website.

August 2010 Data Refresh

This website has been refreshed to include all breeding season data entered to the Bird Atlas 2007-11 website by 6 August 2010. The maps may be accessed via the New Breeding Atlas map index pages, or by tetrad by clicking through the status maps.

Even though the survey period for Timed Tetrad Visites (TTVs) closed on 31 July, records which improve the breeding status (especially proven breeding records) are still welcome during August and will contribute to the county atlas. Please enter these as Roving Records at the Bird Atlas 2007-11 website.

8 August 2010

June 2010 Data Refresh

This website has been refreshed to include all breeding season data entered to the Bird Atlas 2007-11 website by 18 June 2009, including TTV data that was entered online.

The maps may be accessed via the New Breeding Atlas map index pages, or by tetrad by clicking through the status maps.

21 June 2010

March 2010 Data Refresh and Third Breeding Season Starts

This website has been refreshed to include all winter season data entered to the Bird Atlas 2007-11 website by 29 March 2010. This includes Timed Tetrad Visit data for this season that was entered online. The winter species density map shows the numbers of species recorded in each tetrad and where we still have gaps.

Fieldwork for the third breeding season starts on 1 April, and the focus for this year is on completing tetrad species lists and improving the breeding status in tetrads where you carried out TTVs in 2008 or 2009. We would also like more early morning or dusk visits this spring, to fill the gaps for nocturnal species; owls, Woodcock and, although unlikely, Nightjar.

The March 2010 Volunteers' Newsletter gives more details and some hints on finding breeding evidence. Previous issues of the Newsletter are available on the Resources page.

29 March 2010

Extended Breeding Season Data Added

This website has been refreshed to include all breeding season data entered to the Bird Atlas 2007-11 website by 24 February 2010.

The breeding season maps and tetrad lists have also been enhanced to included Confirmed breeding records from outside of the main breeding season fieldwork period (April-July). These are indicated on the maps and lists with a white plus-sign inside the large red dot . This has filled in some gaps for late-breeding species.

The breeding species density map shows the numbers of species recorded in each tetrad and where we still have gaps.

The breeding season species maps may be accessed via the New Breeding Atlas map index pages, or by tetrad by clicking through the status maps.

27 February 2010