Text below courtesy of Ashtead Common Newsletter

The arrival of spring means that we will soon see the return of skylarks to the Woodfield meadow. This little brown ground nesting bird is sadly considered a rare sight in the South East as their numbers are rapidly declining due to loss of habitat. Likewise, disturbance from humans and dogs has a negative impact on skylark; visitors and dogs who flush out nesting skylarks can cause them to leave their eggs which become easy pickings for predators like crows and foxes. 

With the first skylarks being heard on the Common already, we are encouraging all visitors to stick to the paths and keep their four-legged companions close or better still on a lead. As a community we can all do our bit to encourage skylarks to remain on the Common for everyone to enjoy their wonderful song.

Photo by Tim Nightingale

The same concerns also apply to Centenary Field, so please keep your dogs under control and on the lead. Please also stop them entering the pond. We have frog spawn and will have tadpoles. The dogs stir up the mud turning the water into a muddy soup.