Daily Nature Log ✍️
    A small brown butterfly fluttered in the long grass under the pine trees as I set off around the recreation ground at 5:00 pm. It was 20°C, but a brisk 16 mph wind gave it a crisp 16.7°C chill. Five corvids circled overhead, and a wood pigeon bolted as I circled the playing field.

    At Cemetery Drive, the local ‘friendly’ Pitbull gave his usual non-threatening bark from out of sight. Moving onto the cemetery pathways, another small white butterfly darted about while more corvids drifted over from the allotments.

    My shot of the day came when a striking green woodpecker alighted on a young tree—I managed two quick photos before it flew off in alarm. Up at the top field, I photographed yellow toadflax blooms while a white butterfly danced along the bottom of a hawthorn hedge, all against a lovely backdrop of evening sunshine lighting up distant fields.

    Near the rookery, rooks were gathering in force, filling the treetops. Heading back along Cemetery Drive, I was relieved to spot the same young wood pigeon in the exact spot as yesterday, safe from passing predators.

    Reaching the leisure centre, up to 20 feral pigeons lined the rooftop until a flock of 15 corvids dropped in among them, sending the sky into a sudden, chaotic flurry of wings in every direction. Nearby, a solitary wood pigeon sat quietly on a rooftop, and a lady out walking a brown and white Jack Russell slipped into a house along the way.

Distance: 1.84 miles
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Points: 20

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