Stevenage, Britain’s first New Town, is situated in the north east of the County of Hertfordshire, 32 miles from London, beside the A1(m) Motorway and the main east coast railway line from London to Edinburgh.

With a population of around 80,000 Stevenage is not renowned for its Bird Life, however Birds do and have occurred here. This is a historical record of those Birds that have been recorded in the area that is now the Administrative district of the Borough of Stevenage, the adjoining village of Aston, the hamlet of Chesfield, and the adjoining woodlands of Astonbury, Box Wood and Watery Grove.

In addition to giving an indication of what Birds may be seen at Stevenage, it is also hoped that the older records could give an insight of what may have been encountered in the countryside before the development and expansion of the town.

The earliest records come from the end of the nineteenth century. In 1875 the Hertfordshire Natural History Society published the first of its annual Bird Notes, which in later years became the annual Bird Reports. The last quarter of the nineteenth century was a time when Bird recording in Britain became established. This also coincides with the start of major social changes both nationally and locally.

Prior to 1850, when the Great Northern Railway opened its station in Julian’s Road, Stevenage was a rural community reliant on passing road trade. In 1901 the town covered an area of 4,545 acres, of which, according the Board of Agriculture 3,200 acres was arable land, 916 acres permanent grass and 325 acres of woodland. In 1946 Stevenage was designated as Britain’s first New Town from then it expanded from a small country town with a population of 6,237, to become a large urban town and commercial centre. The town has continued to grow and include new areas, for example, the Great Ashby Development, hence the inclusion of Chesfield on this site. More controversially there could be further expansion to include land to the north, east and, west of the town.

Being our more obvious forms of wildlife birds are now recognised as indicators of the state of the environment. Reflected on this site are not only the effects of the loss of countryside caused by the development of Stevenage, as a New Town but, also the general effects on birds caused or being caused by the intensification of agriculture, pollution, and climate change.

Although some species of birds have disappeared from Stevenage as a result of its growth and spread, other species have found refuge here from some of the problems they are facing elsewhere.

Birds in Hertfordshire, and particularly North Hertfordshire have been well documented. In 1914 Dr. Arthur H. Foster of Hitchin privately published the Birds of North Herts. This was an account of the Birds of the Hitchin region, which included Stevenage, and was updated in 1917 by his paper, “A list of Birds which have occurred in North Herts”, providing a valuable insight into the status of local birds at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1934 Foster wrote the Bird section of Hine’s, the Natural History of the Hitchin region, which also included Stevenage.

Those publications were followed by A. R. Jenkins, The Birds of the Letchworth Region (1958), which is a record of the birds recorded within a, twelve mile radius of Letchworth (which includes Stevenage) between 1 January 1935 and 31 January 1957. The History of the Birds of Hertfordshire (1959) by Bryan Sage, the Birds of Hertfordshire (1985) by the Reverend Tom Gladwin and Bryan Sage and Birds of Hertfordshire (2015) by Ken Smith, Chris Dee, Jack Fearnside and Mike Ilett.

These six publications together with the Hertfordshire Natural History Society’s Bird Notes and Reports, the Stevenage and District Ornithological Society’s Bird Reports, Astonbury Wood Nature Reserve – Annual Reports 1976 – 1980, Leaves – Bulletin of Stevenage Woodlands Conservation Society 1968 – 1973 and, my own personal records form the basis of this site.

Reference is also made to three Breeding Bird Atlases, a Winter Atlas, the Common Bird Census at Watery Grove, and the Wetlands Bird Survey (WeBS) at Fairlands Valley Lakes.

In the systematic list of the birds recorded at Stevenage the current status of each species is shown in, italics. Where certain species have been or are experiencing problems brief reasons are given. Dates and place names are given where possible, and where old place names have been used the present description is also given. Unfortunately, some of the records do not give a precise location within the town. Records referring to, “near Stevenage”, have also been included. Earlier records, which refer to, “near Stevenage” probably now relate to the area covered. Species shown in square brackets are thought or, known to be of introduced or captive origin.

The Hertfordshire Natural History Society Reports also make reference to, “Frogmore/Whitehall Gravel Pit, Stevenage/Aston”, as this now disused working forms part of the Frogmore Estate, Watton at Stone, the records from it are not included.