Plants and Animals

Birds

With its mixture of habitats Bedgebury is home to many birds and is an ideal place to see a wide variety of species. Goldcrests can be seen among the conifers and during winter afternoons hawfinches roost in the Pinetum. The visitor centre feeder attracts woodpeckers, siskins, marsh tits and nuthatches as well as the usual suspects. Click here for a full list of birds including visitors
The Bedgebury Birding Group issue a monthly report on sightings. Click to see their monthly reports. It is free to join.
To report your sightings and to join the group to receive regular reports, email bedgebury.birding@yahoo.co.uk

Animals and Reptiles

The following have been found in the forest and Pinetum:-
Badgers, Brown Long-eared Bats, Daubenton's Bats, Noctule Bats, Pipistrelle Bats, Wild Boar, Fallow Deer, Roe Deer, Dormice, Foxes, Frogs, Hedgehogs, Common Lizards, Wood Mice, Mink, Moles, Newts, Rabbits, Shrews, Slow Worms, Grass Snakes, Grey Squirrels, Stoats, Toads, Voles, Weasels. We also have received unconfirmed reports of Adders

Insects

The varied terrain and our policy of keeping areas unmown encourage a wide variety of insects to thrive. We are especially known for Dragonfies and Damselflies with over 20 species being reported. The more usual butterflies sighted in 2008 were Dark Green Fritilleries and White Admirals.

Flowers

The policy of flail/collecting our unmown areas in autumn helps to impoverish the soil and inceases the diversity of flora. The Pinetum is home to four species of orchid and in spring is blessed with wide swathes of bluebells.

Fungi

Both the Pinetum and the forest are rich in fungi in late summer and autumn. We regret that collecting fungi in the Pinetum is forbidden, as their fruiting bodies are good indicators to our staff of trees under stress.