April 2024

24
Wanstead Village Directory
Fence defence
Skylarks successfully bred on Wanstead Flats last year, helped by
temporary fencing to prevent disturbance to these ground-nesting
birds. Please respect the fence again this year, says Mary Holden
Wanstead Flats has always been
known for its iconic groundnesting
Skylarks, but in recent
years, numbers have fallen. During the
2012 Olympics, a temporary police base
was installed on the fairground site, east
of Centre Road, and in the following years,
no Skylarks nested in that area, although
several pairs continued to breed among the
anthills on the other side of the road. These
birds represent the closest population
of breeding Skylarks to the centre
of London.
Numbers have been in decline nationally for
decades due to various factors, including
loss of habitat. The future for the Wanstead
Flats birds looked bleak. In 2020, no Skylarks
bred successfully on the Flats and our other
ground-nesting bird, the Meadow Pipit, also
stopped breeding. Drastic action was needed
to prevent the Skylarks from disappearing.
The Wren Wildlife and Conservation Group,
in conjunction with the City of London
Corporation, which owns and manages the
land, were determined to try and protect
numbers locally.
So, in 2021 and each year since, temporary
fencing has been erected around two areas
of the Flats between March and the end of
August. This has meant that the birds – whose
eggs and chicks are particularly vulnerable
to disturbance – have been protected from
heavy human and canine footfall during
the nesting season. This protection paid off
handsomely last year with at least four young
birds fledging – the best breeding success for
quite a few years.
We hope the Skylarks repeat that success
this year and that we will begin to see the
recolonisation of more areas of the Flats.
In order to reduce the use of single-use plastic
fencing, the City of London Corporation has
this year been experimenting with blue rope
to demarcate the two areas, and people are
politely being asked to keep out and also to
keep their dogs on a lead between Centre
Road and the football pitches.
The reaction of walkers to the new ropes
has generally been very positive and the
vast majority of people are willing to keep
out to protect the nesting birds. But like me,
many people are annoyed and perplexed
by those that wish to keep traversing the
area. A person or persons so far unknown
have been vandalising the ropes, meaning
they had to be totally replaced several times
last month.
Please respect the temporary fencing: the
future of our Skylarks, which bring local
people and visitors alike so much joy every
spring and summer, may depend on it. If you
see the rope being vandalised, please report it
to the police by phoning 101.
For more information about the Wren
Wildlife Group, visit wrengroup.org.uk
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com