Dawn Chorus Walk 2026

It was lovely to see Lynn, one of our founding chairs, on the walk. Here she is with our current chair, Michelle.

We had another great turnout and a lovely walk this year, led by Jo and Sally, with the added bonus of Michelle’s lemon drizzle cake. Thanks to Emmanuel for the use of his rustic and unique doortable! We welcomed Dawn Chorus enthusiasts old and new, with some travelling from as far away as Norwood and Beckenham. We enjoyed meeting you all and hope to see you again in the park!

Birds we heard:

Songthrush, Robin, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted & Green Woodpecker, Starling, Parakeet, Stock Dove, Wren, Blue & Great Tits, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, Herring Gull, Blackcap, Blackbird.

Not bad for an hour!

We also learned that the woodpecker has an undulating flight and how to tell a crow from a jackdaw from a rook.

One of them walks like an old man - do you remember which one?

We have submitted the bird count to the BTO survey for May.

Goddington Park in 1966

This image was taken by Phillip Lane in 1966. Thanks to Liz Baker for bringing it to our attention!

Tennis court and playground in blue, Goddington Lane in red and where the rugby club is now, in green. You can just see some windows of Park Lodge, and the Bowling club. Towards the top right hand corner you can see the roof of Goddington Manor. There were grass tennis courts next to the car park. There were far fewer trees then, and there was no BP petrol station on Court Road either!

Monthly coffee morning at Orpington Bowls Club - see News and Events for dates and details!

First Aid training delivered by the Red Cross in March

Sapling planting in November 2024 - see News and Events for details

Dawn Chorus Day Walk

May 2025

Here are the birds we saw or heard on our walk: wren, robin, blackbird, linnet, song thrush, great tit, blue tit, black cap, chiff chaff, wood pigeon, greenfinch, greylag goose, ring necked parakeet, jackdaw, stock dove, common gull, starling, carrion crow and before everyone arrived, we heard a woodpecker (honest!) click on the video above to hear a soundscape of our walk.

a tree for John Bunce

A very enjoyable evening at our Christmas Quiz on 19th December helped raise over £200 towards our fundraising goals. Some tough questions - and some easier ones we think! Winning team was the Saplings who won 4 tickets for the first night of Pratts Bottom Dramatic Society’s pantomime in January. Thank you to everyone who came, and a big thank you to our volunteers who helped to bring a really festive atmosphere to the room at Westcombe Park Rugby club.

2024 Photo Calendar entries

Wow, what a talented lot you are!

Tree planting November

It was great to see familiar and new faces, young and old, all getting stuck in!

Our first Yoga in the Park session took place in July! Due to the weather forecast, the session took place in the Westcombe Park Rugby Club hall. We hope to hold sessions monthly

- if you would like to come to the next one then make sure you are on our mailing list - just drop us an email!

The park’s tennis court has a fresh new look thanks to the Lawn Tennis Association. If you fancy a game ahead of Wimbledon, head over to https://www.lta.org.uk/play/ where you can pay £25 a year to then play on any of Bromley’s public tennis courts for free.