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You are well placed for a couple of Herts best birding locations.
Amwell Nature Reserve - 3 miles from centre of Hertford. Among Herts best sites, 3 hides, great for waders, wildfowl, incl bitterns, also warblers in summer incl Cetti's http://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/amwell
As Wotcha said you've got the Lea Valley very close by and the three sites mentioned are all great wetland birding locations.
For woodland birding you could also try Balls Wood close to Hertford town. Details will be in the Herts wildlife trust website. Probably better for birds in the winter when there is less foliage on the trees but excellent for butterflies and dragonflies in the summer.
Thanks for the detailed descriptions, they helped greatly.
I will be living in the area, so when is the best time to go bird-watching during the day and what time(s) of year has the best chance of spotting birds; I know that the majority of the places mentioned cannot be visited at dawn or dusk/in the evening, so is it worth looking for crepuscular and nocturnal species in residential areas (most likely, my neighborhood)?
Thanks for the detailed descriptions, they helped greatly.
I will be living in the area, so when is the best time to go bird-watching; I know that the majority of the places mentioned cannot be visited at dawn or dusk/in the evening, so is it worth looking for crepuscular and nocturnal species in residential areas (most likely, my neighborhood)?
I'm reliably informed by keen birders who go birding in the county that the best time to go birdwatching in Hertfordshire is "never" or "as rarely as possible". However if that doesn't put you off, I think frequent early morning visits to Amwell to help with the local Coot counts are highly recommended.
I'm reliably informed by keen birders who go birding in the county that the best time to go birdwatching in Hertfordshire is "never" or "as rarely as possible". However if that doesn't put you off, I think frequent early morning visits to Amwell to help with the local Coot counts are highly recommended.
There is plenty of good birding in the Lea valley all year round. It is typical of most inland wetland birding sites in South East England. At the main viewpoint at Amwell you will often find local birders who will be happy to give you information on birds to be found on the reserve. You could also go to the visitors centre at RSPB Rye Meads and talk to the staff there.
Early morning and evenings are always more productive but birds can be seen throughout the day. Grey Herons and Little Egrets are always seen at Amwell and Rye Meads. Plenty of wildfowl too. The kingfishers at Rye Meads are currently on their third brood. Green Sandpipers pass through the valley at this time of year and are easy to see at Rye Meads. A Bittern has been hanging around Amwell recently. A Barn Owl has been seen hunting in the evenings. There are always Buzzards, Kestrels and Sparrowhawks around and there was a Peregrine hunting over Rye Meads on tuesday.
All these keep us busy when we've finished counting the coots.