Kent Ornithological Society 
BBS is the principal scheme for monitoring the population changes of the common and widespread breeding birds in the UK. The survey involves two early-morning spring visits to an allocated 1-km square, to count all birds seen or heard while walking two 1-km lines (transects) across the square.
Thank you very much to all volunteers who completed a BBS in 2024. Thanks also to those who carried out the Waterways Breeding Bird Survey (WBBS). WBBS extends the methodology of BBS to linear waterways in the county, although carried out on a much smaller scale in terms of the number of sites surveyed.
2024 results summary for BBS in Kent:
A total of 69 one km squares were surveyed in 2024 for BBS, with 59 of these receiving both early (April-mid May) and late visits (mid-May to late June). In 2024 the total number of species recorded from all BBS squares in Kent was 112, compared to 116 the previous year.
Common Whitethroat - Bob Knight
The graph below shows the total number of individual birds recorded in both early and late visits for the 30 most abundant species in BBS for Kent last year.
The range of species in the top 30 proved to be the same as that for 2023. Relative positions of individual species are also generally similar to the previous year, a notable exception being Wren which is ranked second in 2024 compared to eighth the previous year. Woodpigeon was again the most numerous species in 2024, with a grand total of 2673 individual sightings from both early and late visits in Kent (the line graph has been truncated in this case).
In the case of warblers, Chiffchaff, with 547 recorded from both visits, was more numerous than either Blackcap or Whitethroat. For more scarce warblers there were single records in 2024 for both Grasshopper Warbler and Wood Warbler in Kent BBS.
In the case of finches Goldfinch was slightly more numerous than Chaffinch. Sadly, the formerly common Greenfinch does not feature in the graph of the top 30 species, the species having undergone a nationwide population decline since the since the mid-2000s.
BBS also gives the opportunity to record mammals during the survey, and it will perhaps be no surprise that Rabbit was the most frequently encountered species, followed by Grey Squirrel then Red Fox.
BBS in 2025:
67% of BBS squares in Kent are currently allocated to surveyors, this representing a slight increase compared to the previous year. The squares in the following table are vacant and new volunteers are therefore sought, starting in the coming BBS season if possible:
1 KM BBS SQUARE & NEAREST TOWN/VILLAGE
TQ5077 - Erith
TQ9269 - Elmley
TQ6067 - Hartley
TQ9374 - Minster
TQ6248 - Tonbridge
TQ9672 - Minster
TQ6558 - Addington
TQ9861 - Faversham
TQ6846 – Paddock Wood
TQ9872 - Eastchurch
TQ7061 - Snodland
TQ9941 - Ashford
TQ7450 - Coxheath
TR0038 - Kingsnorth
TQ7567 - Chatham
TR0118 - Lydd
TQ7658 - Boxley
TR0129 - Brenzett
TQ8036 - Sissinghurst
TR0172 - Warden
TQ8443 - Headcorn
TR0242 - Willesborough
TQ8452 - Kingswood
TR0438 - Mersham
TQ8754 - Harrietsham
TR0529 - Newchurch
TQ8953 - Lenham
TR0637 - Aldington
TQ9060 - Sittingbourne
TR0835 – Aldington
TQ9137 – High Halden
TR1350 - Petham
TQ9235 - Woodchurch
TR2544 - Lydden
BBS is a very rewarding survey in which to take part, and only requires two visits of approximately two hours each per year. Further details can be obtained via:
https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/bbs/taking-part.
Alternatively, if interested to take on any of the 1 km squares shown in the table please contact Bob Knight for further details: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.