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Birds of Wakehurst Place Gardens and the Loder Valley Reserve

Wakehurst Place Gardens and the Loder Valley Reserve occupy nearly 200 hectares (500 acres) and offer a wide range of habitats to breeding and visiting birds.

A feature of the birds in the Gardens is their tameness; Chaffinches, Robins and even Pheasants will feed out of visitors' hands. In the summer, tame broods of Mallard and Moorhen frequent the ponds and lawns that surround the Mansion. Overhead, on warm evenings, Swifts scream as they circle. These scythe-winged birds, which nest in the Mansion eaves, arrive in May, leave in August and winter in southern Africa. Yet another long-distance summer visitor, the drab but nevertheless charming Spotted Flycatcher may sometimes be seen near the Mansion, darting out from a favoured perch after insects. With summer visitors long ago departed, Pied Wagtails frequent the lawns and on winter evenings, Cormorants fly over to roost on Ardingly Reservoir, while a Grey Heron may put in an appearance on the Mansion Pond.

A variety of finches occur within the grounds (especially the Pinetum). Siskins are regular winter visitors while two specialities turn up from time to time: Crossbill and Hawfinch. The latter was undoubtedly more frequent before the 1987 storm but the tree-tops in winter are still worth a search.

The lookout point above the Himalayan Glade is a good spot to observe several park and woodland species at close range as they come in search of food, particularly in winter. Coal Tits, Marsh Tits and Nuthatches are to be seen here.

In the summer, Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher, both scarce birds in Sussex, can regularly be seen in the vicinity of Westwood Lake and the Reedswamp. The Kingfisher which flies low and fast is often first detected by its shrill call.

Due to careful management, the meadows, coppices, mature woodland and wetland of the Loder Valley Reserve hold a number of interesting species. (Access to the Reserve, limited to 50 people per day, is by permit issued by Wakehurst Place administration.) A central feature of the Reserve is the northern part of Ardingly Reservoir and wildfowl winter here increasingly. Canada Geese and Great Crested Grebes are resident and during spring and autumn migration, Common Sandpipers feed along the reservoir edge.

The mature woodland contains Woodcock and Tawny Owl while the coppiced land, where cover has been left, comes to life in April with the songs of warblers just arrived from Africa. Of these songs, one of the most beautiful is that of the Blackcap.

List of birds seen in or flying over Wakehurst Place and the Loder Valley Reserve

This list includes all 119 species recorded up to the end of December 1993. Records of scarcer species are included only if they have been included in the Sussex Bird Report published by the Sussex Ornithological Society.

Key to status symbols

R = regularly seen resident or frequent visitor in most/all months of the year
r = scarce resident, or scarce visitor in various months of the year
S = regularly seen summer visitor
s = scarce summer visitor
B = probably breeds annually
b = breeds less than annually, or a probable breeder in some years
W = regularly seen winter visitor
w = scarce winter visitor
M = regular migrant in spring and/or autumn
m = scarce or rare migrant.

Records of new or scarce species for the gardens would be most welcome. Please send them to:

Bird Records
c/o Curator
Wakehurst Place
Ardingly
West Sussex
RH17 6TN

or write down details and hand them in at the Wakehurst Place Bookshop, where you can also purchase books on bird identification.

This publication is dedicated to the memory of Rupert Hastings who so carefully recorded the birds at Kew. Acknowledgement is also made of the staff and visitors who have helped compile the above list.