Uncommon passage migrant.

Regularly seen in spring at Norton Green Tip with one autumn record. The records are: Single males on 30 March and 22 April 1998; a pair on 24 April 1998; one on 3 April 2004; one on 6 April 2007; a male from 19 to 21 April 2007; two on 22 April 2007, with one remaining until 24 April; up to three including two males from 19 to 21 April 2008; a first summer male on 21 April 2009; a male from 14 to 17 April 2010; a male on 28 March 2011; a male from 1 April to 10 April 2012; a female from 22 to 24 April 2014; two on 16 October 2014; a male on 13 April 2015; a female on 12 April 2016; one on 14 April 2016; a female on 28 March 2017; one on 10 April 2017; two on 29 April 2018; a male on 1 May 2018; up to two males and a female between 3 and 10 April 2019; two males on 9 April 2021.

Other records: One at Watery Grove from 28 to 30 April 1978; two from an unrecorded location on 25 April 1979; one at Watery Grove on 15 May 1979; a female at Pryors Wood on 7 May 1990; one at un-recorded location on 12 November 2013; a possible first winter or female flying south over the River Beane at Aston End on 25 October 2015; a female at Fairlands Farm House on 11 October 2023.

Abundant resident and winter visitor.

Confirmed as breeding in every tetrad covering Stevenage in all three Breeding Atlases, they can be found in most gardens providing there is some shrubby cover and a worm rich lawn on which to feed.

The largest numbers seen together are: 23 (all males) in Hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna) at Fairlands School on 12 April 1974; 20+ roosting near Roebuck in 1975; 45 feeding on a small lawn of an old peoples home in Chells on 8 December 1974.

An unusual record from Astonbury Wood in 1978 of two birds found nesting on the floor of the wood, at the base of trees. Ground nesting is usually more associated with montane Blackbirds.

The 2012 Winter Atlas confirmed their presence from all 11 of the tetrads covering Stevenage.

At Watery Grove they were recorded annually as, holding between 2 and 15 breeding territories by the Common Bird Census between, 1972 and 1999.

Ringing recoveries: a male, “controlled” at Box Wood in 1979 had been ringed at Ottenby in Sweden; a bird ringed in Stevenage on 15 September 1979 was killed at East Molesey, Surrey on 3 May 1980; an adult female ringed at Vlieland in the Netherlands on 29 October 2015 was caught by a ringer at Broadwater on 2 January 2016; one ringed as a first year male at St Margaret’s at Cliffe, Kent  on 26 October 2017 was caught by a ringer at Fishers Green on 7 June 2019.

Common winter visitors to the rural edges of the town.

Wintering Fieldfares are more usually seen on the rural edges of Stevenage, but can sometimes be seen in the town. They are vulnerable to cold weather, and during the winter of 1878/79 they suffered high mortality in Hertfordshire.

The earliest record for Stevenage is from 1909 when a Mr. Maples observed a few flocks of Fieldfares.

The 2012 Winter Atlas confirmed their presence from all 11 of the tetrads covering Stevenage.

The following large flocks have been recorded: 14 March 1967 (70-80 roosting at Box Wood); 21 October 1970 (between 200 and 300 Box Wood); 12 February 1977 (60+ Astonbury); 24 November 1979 (60 Box Wood); 12 December 1979 (55 Shephall); 12 February 1984 (50 Aston); 10 April 2004 (approximately 100 at Dyes Lane/Kitching Lane); 6 April 2004 (80 Norton Green); 19 November 2005 (60 Aston End); 4 March 2006 (70+ Aston End); 10 March 2006 (100+ Norton Green); 17 March 2007 (75+ Aston End); 20 April 2008 (109 Norton Green Tip); 14 April 2013 (50 Norton Green Tip); 12 January 2014 (250 Aston End); 29 March 2014 (200 Norton Green Tip); 4 January 2015 (100 at Aston End); 28 March 2015 (110  Norton Green Tip); 20 January 2016 (50 Norton Green Tip); 7 November 2020 (60 + Fairlands Valley Lakes); 20 March 2021 (250 + Aston End); 6 November 2021 (100+ Fairlands Valley Lakes); 8 November 2024 (100 over Fairlands Valley Lakes in several flocks of up to 35 birds); 19 December 2024 (100 at Norton Green Tip); 4 January 2025 (150+ east of Great Ashby Park).

An early autumn bird was trapped and ringed at Box Wood on 28 August 1978, this was an adult female in an un-moulted condition and was suspected as having recently bred.

A late departing bird was seen at Astonbury on 9 May 1977. 

Uncommon resident and winter visitor.

Song Thrushes are a species in decline, both locally and nationally, with their numbers reduced by around 73%. This decline has been taking place since 1940, and is probably linked to land use changes, removal of hedgerows, climatic changes, and the increased use of pesticides.

The 1973 and 1992 Breeding Atlases confirmed breeding from all 11 of the tetrads covering Stevenage, the 2012 Atlas from seven.

Song Thrushes like other Thrush species are particularly affected by hard winters. They suffered heavy mortality in Hertfordshire during the 1878/79 winter, large losses also occurred following the winters of 1880/81 and 1890/91. In the twentieth century the winter of 1947/48 took the population to a very low level and their numbers dropped by 41% after the 1962/63 winter.

The 2012 Winter Atlas confirmed their presence from all 11 of the tetrads covering Stevenage.

As well as the effects of winter weather it has also been discovered that following the hot summer of 1976 they are also vulnerable during hot summers. In summer snails form a major part of the Song Thrush diet and they are more dependent on this food source than at other times of the year. This is also the time of year when greater use of molluscicides are made in gardens to control snails and slugs, reducing this food source and subsequently the survival rate of both juvenile and adult birds.

On 20 January 1989 there was an apparent, “fall” of Song Thrushes in Hertfordshire, with 80 to 100 being seen in the Stevenage area.

At Watery Grove between 1972 and 1989 the Common Bird Census recorded them holding breeding territories annually, with the exception of 1986. The most territories held was 12 in 1981. From 1990 until 1999, although their presence was recorded in those breeding seasons, only single territories were held in 1993 and 1997.

Common winter visitors. 

Annual winter visitors that can be found in Stevenage’s woods, parks and often gardens. 

Redwings suffer high mortality in cold winters and suffered heavily in Hertfordshire during the winter of 1878/79. In 1882 Marlborough H. Prior claimed that they were absent from the neighbourhood of Stevenage. In 1909 they were recorded as being more abundant than usual in the Stevenage district.

The 2012 Winter Atlas confirmed their presence from all 11 of the tetrads covering Stevenage.

The following large flocks have been recorded; 11 February 1973 (150 to 200 Alleynes School Fields); 21 January 1977 (100 Barnwell School Playing Fields); 6 March 1977 (100+ Astonbury); 18 February 1978 (100+ Watery Grove); 11 January 1980 (200 Fairlands Valley); 17 March 1980 (300 Fairlands Valley); 12 October 1980 (170 Box Wood); 12 February 1981 (225 Astonbury Farm); 15 October 1981 (200 Fairlands Valley); 17 January 1988 (125 Astonbury Wood); 17 January 2004 (160 at an unrecorded location); 16 October 2005 (100+ over Chells Manor); 15 October 2014 (100+ Norton Green Tip); 9 January 2018 (100+ Stirling Close); 19 February 2021 (c. 200 Chesfield Park); 20 March 2021 (125+ Aston End); 5 November 2021 (144 over a Stevenage Garden); 6 November 2021 (119 over a Stevenage Garden); 22 October 2022 (c.100 Fairlands Valley Lakes); 9 October 2023 (c.400 over Fairlands Valley Lakes in flocks of up to 50); 12 and 15 October 2024 (c.100 over Fairlands Valley Lakes); 30 October 2024 (150 over Fairlands Valley Lakes in flocks of up to 40); 3 November 2024 (300 over Stanley Road in flocks of up to 70); 13 October 2025 (c. 150 over Chells Manor).

During autumn migration in 2021 large numbers were seen at Fairlands Valley Lakes, 230 were seen over the Main Lake and 200 plus were seen at Fairlands Farmhouse on 13 October and c.520 (mostly in flocks of 70 birds) were seen over the Main Lake on 4 November and 75 plus were seen on 6 November.

An early Redwing was seen at Fairlands Valley Lakes on 21 September 2022, and a late departing one was at Whomerley Wood on 11 May 1969.

Uncommon resident.

The Mistle Thrush benefited from the establishment of verges and parks in towns during the 1950s and 1960s, and from the planting of trees and shrubs by local authorities. National populations increased during the 1970s but having leveled out or declined slightly since the mid-1980s, nationally the breeding population is now in decline.

The 1973 Breeding Atlas confirmed breeding from seven of the tetrads covering Stevenage, the 1992 Atlas from 10 and, the 2012 Atlas from just one.

Fledged young were seen at Watery Grove in 2016 and Aston End in 2020.

Mistle Thrushes suffer in hard winters, and were badly affected by the winters of 1878/79 and 1880/81. During the winter of 1962/63 their numbers were reduced by 75%.

The 2012 Winter Atlas confirmed their presence from seven of the tetrads covering Stevenage.

The largest flocks recorded are: 12 by Box Wood on 8 April 1973; 11 behind Stevenage College of Further Education (now Asda Supermarket) on 22 August 1975; 19 near Astonbury on 31 July 1978; 13 at Shephalbury Park on 16 March 1979; 10 at Watery Grove on 13 October 1980.

At Watery Grove, the Common Bird Census recorded them annually between 1972 and 1999, with single breeding territories being held in 11 of the years.