We have some wonderful bird life in Groombridge, from the magnificent Buzzard above to the robins and blackbirds we all see in our gardens.
One of the Wild Groombridge team, Phil, is an expert birder and we share his beautiful photos on our news page whenever we can – keep an eye out for his stunning images.
Although we have so much bird life around us, anyone who has been watching birds here for some years will know that the numbers of birds have fallen. Some are really struggling – while Blue Tits are thriving, for example, Swifts and House Martins are declining.
What can we do?
First, we’re surveying birds in the village. Twice a year, Phil goes out with the team from the UK Owl and Raptor Centre (currently based at Groombridge Place) and they count how many birds they see for two hours after dawn.
In April 2023, we counted 41 species on the Groombridge Place estate (H means we heard but didn’t see the bird): Blackbird, Starling, Robin, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, Tree Creeper, Mandarin Duck ,Cormorant, Chaffinch, Wren, Little Egret, Song Thrush , Mallard, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Carrion Crow, Wood Pigeon, Pheasant, Stock Dove, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail (Pied) , Sparrow Hawk, Buzzard, Red Kite, Magpie, Greenfinch, Yellow Hammer (H), Blackcap (H), Black Headed Gull (H), Goldfinch (H), Mistle Thrush (H).
Phil has surveyed Drovers Pond and Leylands Farm and you’ll often see him around the fields and woods with his camera looking out for birds. Do say hello!
But we hope to do more, so we’re starting to put up nest boxes to help the most endangered birds here. Groombridge Place has already put up boxes for Kestrels and other birds. We’ve put up a Barn Own box. Mens Shed are making lots more boxes.
Many of us have small nest boxes in our gardens. But the birds that most need our help here are the Swifts and House Martins. So we’re aiming to put up as many nest boxes for these birds as we can around the village – and if you can put up a box on your house, you could be making a real difference.
These are specialist boxes, and they need to go high up under your eaves – about 5 metres up, ideally. There’s excellent information from the RSPB here about siting Swift Boxes.
Wild Groombridge 