THE county's first detailed assessment of its bird species has been launched at Berrington Hall .

The book, which is the culmination of a 10-year project by the Hereford Ornithological Club (HOC), features a systematic assessment of the breeding and wintering distribution and abundance of the bird species of the county.

Lady Darnley, Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, led the celebrations at the event, which was also attended by many of those who have contributed to and sponsored the project.

Fieldwork, conducted in collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) between 2007 and 2012, saw data collected from 545 tetrads (2km squares) surveyed across the county.

Almost a quarter of a million records were generated by 348 volunteer observers, most of them members of HOC.

There are 215 species accounts, with distribution and abundance maps and colour plates of many species.

The atlas provides a unique benchmark of the current status of the birds of Herefordshire, which will form the basis of future monitoring of the county’s bird populations.

The book, The Birds of Herefordshire 2007 to 2012, An Atlas of their Breeding and Wintering Distributions, is published in hardback by Liverpool University press and costs £45, plus postage.