The Park has become a large and diverse ecosystem, home to a variety of wildlife. Our two bird hides, Finch and Swift, are easily accessible for use by visitors and with the help of our wonderful volunteers and friends we have recorded 102 different bird species in the last couple of years. These include native and migratory species as well as many water birds. Of particular interest are a colony of sand martins, which breed in the sandy cliff faces and return most years.
We have spotted 29 different species of butterfly over the same period. These include purple emperors, gatekeepers, small tortoiseshells.
Amongst the 50 acres of mature mixed woodland we have recorded 224 species of plants and flowers. Many of these are ancient woodland indicators and several are designated as scarce in Surrey, such as Alternate-leaved Golden-saxifrage, Pennyroyal and Blue Water-speedwell.
Special thanks to Derrick Robinson, Wesley Attridge, Ray Smith, Sophie Dorman Geoff Woodcock, Martin Boyce, Caroline Bateman, the Surrey Botanical Society, the Earth Sciences Group of the Redhill and Reigate U3A, Francis Kelly, Ken Owen, Gail Jeffcoate, Simon Elson and many others.
Preserving the biodiversity we see at the site is one of our core objectives. We want to enhance both our and our visitors’ engagement with the species which make the Park their home. With a little help from Chat GPT, we have created a list of birds, plants and butterflies recorded at the lake with accompanying descriptions so that visitors can look out for them. Alongside these descriptions we would like to display photos taken by you of the wildlife you see during your visit. In exchange for us displaying your photos, we will offer vouchers for the park in return. Click here to learn how to submit a photo
Buckland Park Lake, Park Lake Drive, Buckland, Betchworth, RH3 7FE
hello@bucklandparklake.co.uk
