Corvids play an important role in maintaining the resilience of some of our most precious habitats. For example, they store seeds in small stockpiles throughout our landscape, a behaviour that is known as ‘scatter-hoarding’. Not all of these seeds are eaten, and eventually some germinate into new trees and woodlands. This diverse dispersal of new trees helps our habitats improve their resilience to diseases, pests and the climate crisis.

6 places to see corvids in Kent

1. We have a large rookery in an old row of beech trees on the Lydden side of Lydden Temple Ewell National Nature reserve.  In contrast to crows, rooks live in large social groups of several hundred individuals.
2. Capel-Le-Ferne, located between Dover and Folkestone, will hopefully soon be home to choughs for the first time in over 200 years (find out more on pages 16 and 17). It is also a great place to watch jackdaws which nest and breed on the cliffs. Another sociable corvid species, they gather in huge numbers, even creating displays similar to iconic starling murmurations. Jackdaws mate for life, pairing up in their first year and mating the year after.
3. Jays, the most colourful of our corvids, can be found on many reserves with oak trees as they depend on acorns for food. Jays will hoard acorns for the winter by burying them in the ground. Some of these acorns are never retrieved and germinate into oak saplings, helping the trees spread, reproduce and in the long term produce even more acorns for the jays! Finding a jay’s electric blue and black striped wing feather is still one of those magical “wow” nature moments and is a sign of good fortune in many cultures. Cromer’s Wood near Sittingbourne is a likely place to find them.
4. Magpies are the corvid species that you are most likely to see - their intelligence and adaptability have enabled them to thrive alongside people. They are principally black and white but with a rainbow sheen of blues, purples, greens and bronze on their wings and long tail feathers. A regular pair lives at Tyland Barn where they can be seen teasing local cats.
5. Many species of corvids can be seen at our Quarry Wood Nature Reserve. This quiet, hidden woodland on the greensand ridge is home to crows, rooks, magpies and jays. Rookeries high up in the trees are often heard before they are seen, especially in this woodland setting.
6. Ravens can sometimes be heard at Blue Bell Hill, along part of the scarp slope. Their presence is a very recent and exciting occurrence.

Corvid Identification Guide

Click the image below to see information on how to identify them.