The Owl Prowl Continues!

Report of Pilot Survey

A tawny owl survey was carried out this autumn in the London Borough of Bromley under the leadership of Bromley Biodiversity Partnership, in particular by Bill Whitaker of the OFC. 59 records were submitted by 33 people from many parts of the borough.

Tawny owls were recorded in about 17 areas: High Elms & the Cudham Valley, Darrick Wood area, Marvels & Elmstead Woods, between Elmstead Wood and Chislehurst & Walden Road Recreation Ground, between Chislehurst & Walden Road Recreation Ground & Chislehurst Golf Course, Chislehurst Golf Course itself, Old Hill/Lubbock Road area, Chislehurst, Sundridge Park, Kemnal Road, Chislehurst, the St Pauls Cray Road area, Hawkwood Estate/Petts Wood, Scadbury Park, Hayes, near Bromley South, Kelsey Park, Beckenham, Crofton Woods and south of Biggin Hill.

The records clearly show recording effort, with no records for several areas where owls are very likely to be present such as West Wickham and Keston Commons and hardly any records for areas of open countryside to the south and east of the borough where fewer people live. The almost complete lack of records from these areas and the peripheral wards of LBB to the east, south east, south and south west are also likely to be due in part to the fact that we were unable to communicate effectively with residents in these areas before the survey commenced.

Within the larger areas where recordings were submitted there are probably several tawny owl territories, for example within High Elms Country Park and along the Cudham Valley. In well populated areas, for example within Chislehurst, there is likely to be some duplication of records, but the large number of tawny owl records for Chislehurst and its surroundings (Chislehurst Common, Chislehurst Golf Course, Petts Wood, Scadbury Park, Elmstead and Marvels Wood, Sundridge Park and Chislehurst & Walden Road Recreation Ground, together with gardens between), may also reflect the importance of good connectivity between areas rich in biodiversity within an urban area. This requires further investigation.

For comparison purposes the only main survey of Bromley’s tawny owl population on record was published in 1977 as part of the Londonwide Bird Survey. That showed many tawny owls breeding all over the Borough including the outer wards, so clearly what is reported here is incomplete and our communications strategy has to be addressed before we can get a more accurate picture of the current tawny owl status in the Borough.

The Bromley Biodiversity Partnership therefore propose to repeat the tawny owl survey in 2016, concentrating on parts of the borough currently under recorded. These include: • Crystal Palace and Elmers End to the west • Keston, West Wickham and Bromley Common towards the centre of the borough, possibly linking to the London Borough of Lewisham through Beckenham Place Park to the north. • The Downe Valley, Biggin Hill, Berry’s Green, Chelsfield, Green Street Green, Pratts Bottom, Norsted, Tatsfield and Salt Box Hill to the south • Hockenden and Kevington to the east

However, we would be grateful for any records, so please continue to listen for owls throughout 2016 and send your records in via the OFC website as before. There is another, smaller peak of calling activity in February/March during courtship. Looking forward to hearing from you!