Barnwood Park and Arboretum


Bird Sightings

Great Spotted Woodpeckers are regularly seen in the park and arboretum. Green Woodpeckers are spotted occasionally (last known sighting was in July 2020).

A pair of Ravens started visiting the arboretum in December 2017 and were often seen (and heard!) on top of one of the giant redwoods. They still visit occasionally.

Little Egrets are regular visitors to the brook and in April 2022 three were seen together in the Park. Two have been seen regularly in the Balancing Pond area and a pair of Grey Wagtails are regular visitors to the same ponds.

A Kingfisher was seen regularly in 2022 and most recently in December 2022, along with a Jay that has become a regular. 

There are occasional sightings of a Treecreeper in the Arboretum. The latest sightings happened in January 2021 and January 2023.

In the Big Garden Birdwatch which took place on 27th January 2024 we saw 17 species of birds:

Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Robin, Song Thrush, Starling, Treecreeper, Wood Pigeon, and Wren

We see or don't see different birds each year. This time no-one saw a Kingfisher, Woodpecker or Goldfinch, although we know they are all around. Ten minutes after we finished a Red Kite flew over the park. Even if it had arrived earlier we wouldn't have been able to count it, as the birds have to land to be included in the count.

This annual and national bird count helps the RSPB to identify trends in populations of different species of common birds over the years, so it is a a valuable citizen science survey. It also encourages us to look more carefully at what comes into our gardens, sometimes with surprising results. 

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