Broxhead Common Local Nature Reserve

Broxhead Common consists of 42 hectares of dry heathland and secondary birch/oak woodland. The Common is situated just outside the town of Bordon. using the A325 from the north and south or the B3004 east and west. The site entrance is towards the bottom of the section of the B3004 which runs between the A325 and Lindford road (Grid ref SU806369).

There is a sports pavilion situated at the southern end of the Common from which Lindford Sports Association manage football and cricket clubs.

Please do not disturb

Rare ground-nesting birds such as Woodlark and Nightjar are nesting at Broxhead Common. These birds migrate from as far away as South Africa to breed on our heathlands between March and the end of July each year.

Listen to a Nightjar at Broxhead

Recording by kind permission of John Nice

These birds are very vulnerable to disturbance, particularly by dogs. When disturbed, the birds fly away from their nests, using up vital energy resources and leaving their young vulnerable to predation by birds, foxes and snakes.

Please help to protect these very beautiful but sadly increasingly rare birds by keeping to paths when visiting the site, and ensuring that your canine friends do the same!

Thank you very much for your co-operation!

Please note that it is a legal requirement under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 that all dogs are kept on a short, fixed lead of no more than 2 metres in length on Open Access land between 1 March and 31 July. As a registered Common, Broxhead is covered by this legislation.

For more information please contact Susanne Frost, tel 02392 476411.

We will be holding two volunteer work parties at Broxhead Common on Saturday 8 October and Saturday 10 December, and need as much help as possible, so please come along and join us!

We will be removing young birch trees that are growing over areas of heathland, which will benefit rare species including birds such as the nightjar, as well as many species of insect. No experience is necessary and tools, tuition and refreshments will be provided, although you may wish to bring some water with you to drink throughout the work party.

The work party is open to everyone aged 7 and over, although volunteers aged 17 or under should be accompanied and supervised by an adult please. Please wear warm, waterproof clothes and sensible shoes. Meet in the car park by the cricket club for a 10am start. We will finish around 1pm, although if you need to leave earlier you can just let us know on the day.

For more details contact Susanne, tel 02392 476411, email at susanne.frost@hants.gov.uk.

The main focus of the management is on conservation, ensuring that the heath remains open and is not progressively encroached on by the areas of woodland. It is a common concern of the public that the felling of woodland or scrub takes away vital nesting sites for birds; but this is a misconception as many of our rarer birds are ground nesting species.

The reliance of these ground nesting species on heather for cover is one of the reasons why the management and preservation of heathland is such an important activity. Birds which nest in this way include the Dartford Warbler, the Stonechat and the Woodlark Amazingly these nest can be very close to paths.

Last year during the undertaking of a dawn bird census at Broxhead Common, a woodlark nest was found les than a metre from a path . Below is a picture of a Stonechats nest, this nest was located during bracken spraying, the parents were making quite a fuss so we stopped our activity and watched the birds in order to find their nest and make sure we did not inadvertently step on it.

One danger to ground nesting birds can come from dogs; heaths are obviously a pleasant and attractive place to walk dogs and and use of heathlands for such activities adds weight to the need for there conservation. However it is unfortunate that dogs can sometimes disturb nests if allowed to run freely over the heather. In order to make sure this does not happen it is best to try to keep your dogs to the paths that transect the heath especially during the breeding season in spring and early summer. In this way users of the common can do their bit to help conserve some of the increasingly rare heathland birds that help make Southern England's heaths such a pleasant place to walk.