Daily Nature Log
The Narrative
A warm 24°C–27°C afternoon with a gentle breeze made for pleasant walk conditions starting at 4:00 pm. The rich, honeyed scent of a garden buddleia greeted the start of the stroll, accompanied by a noisy rook complaining loudly from its perch atop a lamppost.
Around the recreation ground borders, Large and Small Cabbage Whites fluttered about, while a nimble Comma butterfly darted around brambles by the cemetery road entrance. Another rook posed nicely at the treetop along Cemetery Road. Inside the cemetery, butterflies kept up a busy, non-stop flight path. Up towards the top end, the mini-woodland planted a couple of years ago in the neighbouring field is establishing itself brilliantly, with young trees making strong progress. Between the rows, a few small partridges scrambled along the ground.
The heatwave’s touch was clear in the sun-burnt, dried grass, but resilience shone through in patches of bright yellow bird’s-foot trefoil and red clover still flowering in spite of the heat. Heading back past the allotments, a wood pigeon ducked swiftly into the hedge, and a white Labradoodle went by on a leash. The wildflower garden may have looked largely brown and spent, but hardy thistles showed off vivid purple blooms alongside straggly mallow peeking through dry dock seeds. Near the leisure centre, a brilliant flash of blue marked a tiny, elusive butterfly dancing along the care home’s privet hedge—far too quick for a photo! Overhead, 40 feral pigeons circled in two distinct flocks, while 15 more lined up neatly along the leisure centre roof.
Start Time. 4:00 pm
Conditions. Warm, gentle breeze, heatwave conditions
Distance. 2.4 miles
Duration. 55 minutes
Heart Points 19 (Google Fit)
Key Sightings
Large & Small Cabbage Whites, Comma butterfly, unidentified blue butterfly, Rooks, Wood Pigeon, Partridges, Feral Pigeons (35+), Buddleia, Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Red Clover, Thistles, Mallow
Copyright ©️ Text, photographs and videos Written by John Yeo – All rights reserved.
