Adam Wilson London Natural History Society Herts sector bird recorder - 10th Jan 2001

I would welcome any Hertfordshire records for 2000. Please send them to me at 7 Douglas House, Davison Drive, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 0SZ, or e-mail them to widswilson@hotmail.com

This seems to be a good time to point out that the area referred to by so many as 'Fishers Green' - such as the Bittern Watchpoint and Seventy Acres - is, in fact, part of 'Cheshunt Gravel Pits'. Fishers Green itself lies to the east of the flood relief channel between Fishers Green Lane and Stubbins Hall Lane and is seldom, if ever, covered by birders.

Things used to be a bit less confusing in the days when the Lea Valley Project Group published annual reports (roughly 1974-86) that included maps indicating the boundaries of each site. To avoid ambiguity and confusion, the large gravel pit which the Grand Weir Hide now overlooks was generally referred to as Holyfield Marsh G.P. Unfortunately, despite the lake's remoteness from Fishers Green (compared to its close proximity to Holyfield Marsh), the name 'Fishers Green G.P.' became popular, especially following the establishment of the 'Fishers Green Sailing Club'. Fishers Green G.P. is thus synonymous with Holyfield Marsh G.P. and is separated from the Seventy Acres part of Cheshunt Gravel Pits by the stream that lies to the north of the Bittern Watchpoint. The car park at the end of Stubbins Hall Lane is generally called Fishers Green car park, I guess mainly because it lies within the recordable area of Fishers Green G.P. (aka Holyfield Marsh G.P.). The car park at the bottom of Fishers Green Lane was also known as Fishers Green car park for the simple reason that it was at the end of a lane with the same name. This didn't cause confusion until the term Fishers Green G.P. took precedence over Holyfield Marsh G.P. And I dare say I didn't cause any confusion before I started writing this! But I've started so I'll finish …

So what about the county boundary? Well, if you look on a recent OS map you'll note that it runs along the Lea Navigation through the Cheshunt area. Herts to the west and Essex to the east. Simple, you would have thought. But no. Until 1994 the boundary ran through part of the northern tip of the North Met, followed the stream to the north and east of Seventy Acres, cut west along the northern edge of Hooks Marsh, then followed the ditch running southwards between Hooks Marsh, the Police Pit and Friday Lake, before cutting west along the stream that runs between Friday Lake and Hall Marsh.

Despite a tiny piece of the North Met and the whole of Hooks Marsh lying within the county of Essex, records from these areas have been maintained on the Herts database for the following reasons.

Records for Cheshunt Gravel Pits have been submitted as such from the time that they were excavated. Breeding censuses and wildfowl counts have been reported for the site as a whole, and the ecological value of each of the lakes is enhanced by the presence and proximity of the others. It is the value of the site as a whole that has led to Cheshunt Gravel Pits being designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). There are a number of other cases where records appear under the 'wrong' county banner in order to help convey the true value of the site and / or ease the job of recording. Other local, long-term examples include King George V Reservoir which straddled the counties of Essex and Middlesex (and now lies entirely within 'Middlesex'), and Holyfield Marsh G.P. (aka Fishers Green G.P.) which covered both Essex and Hertfordshire. In both of these examples, records from these sites have been (and still are) attributed to Essex, because they used to lie predominantly within that county when recording began.

Another point is that long-term data loses much of its value if it is not comparable. Consistency is therefore highly desirable, and it has been agreed by the Association of County Recorders and Editors (ACRE) that recording areas should remain as constant as possible, and not be subject to the whims of politicians. You will have noticed, for example, that the LNHS still publishes records for Middlesex, despite the fact that this county no longer officially exists under that name. In the case of the King George V Reservoir, records are still maintained by the Essex recorders, despite the fact that the site now lies entirely outside that county.

One last clarifying point; although the records appear in the London Bird Report as Cheshunt G.P., I do still prefer to have a breakdown of what was where (e.g. Police Pit, North Met, etc). This information helps others to assess how well management plans are working, and whether there are problems arising, as well as highlighting when and where, and thus - hopefully - why, specific species congregate at different times. This is particularly important now that several organisations (e.g. local borough councils, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, English Nature, Environment Agency, LNHS, RSPB, & Thames Water Utilities) have formed a partnership to prepare a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for the Lea Valley as a whole. - Adam Wilson