The mercury teased a mild 14°C, but a biting northerly wind had other ideas, chopping the real-feel down to a bracing 8°C. Undeterred by the 12 mph breeze, I set off from home to see what the local wildlife (and local residents) were up to.

   Foxy Lane got things started with a wood pigeon making a brisk, aerial dash into the pine trees. Turning towards the recreation field, I found myself trailing a young couple out with their two hounds—a small, white Cockapoo-type and a black spaniel. In an unscripted moment of high drama, the spaniel suddenly decided the grass was the perfect place to deposit his business. Cue the horror-struck lady owner, who swiftly deployed a plastic bag to save the day and clean up the grassy politics.

   Skirting the edges of the recreation ground, I spotted a duo of rooks dining at a distance. Meanwhile, my old friend the Pitbull Terrier was occupying his usual high ground—perched majestically on his garden trampoline—and offered up a couple of mandatory warning barks as I strolled past his kingdom.

   Inside the cemetery, a male blackbird put on quite a performance from an adjacent fence, clucking repetitively and grandly displaying his feathers. More rooks patrolled the grass verges as I pushed through to the far end. But the real spectacle came when I opened the gates to the field: a massive feathered flash mob of about 50 rooks and 10 wood pigeons, mingled with sundry other corvids, exploded into the sky in all directions. The air was thick with a clamorous symphony of avian alarm cries.

   Leaving the commotion behind, I headed towards the leisure centre, where five stoic feral pigeons were lined up on the rooftop like a feathered reception committee to wrap up the trek.

The Stats

Distance: 1.89 miles

Duration: 40 minutes

Google Fit: 23 Heart Points

Copyright ©️ Text, photographs and videos Written by John Yeo – All rights reserved.