The Owl Prowl Continues!
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.
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