One of my favourite pieces of music is 'The lark ascending' by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Inspired by a poem written by George Meredith, the piece vividly recreates the beautiful song of the lark as his silvery notes drift down from high up in the blue.

Many years ago I lived for a while in the Northamptonshire countryside.

Our house backed onto fields which stretched as far as the eye could see, where skylarks nested from March until September and sang from dawn to dusk.

Sadly those fields have now all disappeared under housing developments.

Until a few years ago, skylarks nested on Wimbledon Common but constant disturbance from uncontrolled dogs means they have not bred for a while.

Similar problems now arise in Richmond and Bushy parks where a proliferation of selfish dog walkers allow their pets to wander freely thus disturbing the birds, despite notices warning people of the nesting areas Skylarks are ground nesters choosing the rough tussocky grass alongside and in the shelter of anthills which have taken about a hundred and fifty years to grow to their present size.

Careless trampling away from designated paths can crush the nests or frighten the larks which may then desert.

It would indeed be a tragedy if one of our best loved birds were to vanish from the Royal parks too.