Three important lanes intersect Sparrowfeld, all of them lined with old oaks and scrub. All are designated Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation.
Many birds have been spotted along these paths over the years, and sixteen species are known to have bred, including our main summer visitors, Chiffchaff and Blackcap. Elm saplings, which support White-letter hairstreak butterflies, are starting to make a comeback, after Dutch Elm Disease significantly impacted the lanes in the 1970s.
East-west is Green Lane, which is said to be over a thousand years old, at one time connecting the villages of Malden and Morden. Next to the equestrian centre is a mound of earth with wildflowers that serves as a good vantage point for the Horse Fields. A Little Bunting was seen here in November 2022.
South of this is an alleyway between Mayflower Park and Sutton and Merton Cemetery known as ‘Pig Farm Alley’, named after a previous business. This is the historic boundary between the Parishes of Cheam and Morden, and the source of a famous ‘beating of the bounds’ dispute.
The lane ‘north-south’ between Morden Cemetery and the Horse Fields is also, mistakenly, called Green Lane on some Merton Council literature. The only patch record of Wood Warbler was here in 2020. At the far north end there is an area that looks like an overgrown garden. We have no idea who owns this, but it often has some interesting species, as does the overgrown plant nursery opposite.
Sparrowfeld Patch 