Daily Nature Log ✍️

   The sun was out as Margaret and I set off, though a nervous ginger cat swiftly ducked under a parked car at our approach. Leaving Margaret back home, I pressed on into the cool 19°C air.

   At the recreation ground, a wild beach rose caught my eye, while a small white butterfly danced overhead—a tiny burst of pure kinetic energy. Corvids picked at the turf as I skirted the field and slipped into the cemetery, flushing out a pair of woodpigeons and a shy robin. Amongst the borders, yellow toadflax flared bright, and a juvenile bird—partridge or pheasant, I couldn’t quite tell—trotted off in the distance. The real showstopper was a magpie darting to a rowan tree, its plumage flashing brilliant iridescent green in the light.

    Back on the drive, a blackbird hunted in the shrubbery and a sparrow darted across the road. Beneath the Holm Oaks, a menacing black-and-white feline took one look at me and bolted beneath a hedge, all while a hidden ‘friendly’ Pitbull barked loudly from behind its fence.

    Reaching the leisure centre, a crow was staging a noisy performance from the roof peak, before relocating to a high lamppost to loudly proclaim its presence to the town. Down below, two ladies strolled past the pavilion with a white Scottie dog, eight feral pigeons lined the roof like spectators, and three final corvids saw me off across the grass as I wrapped up today’s walk.

Stats

Distance: 2.35 miles

Duration: 51 minutes

Heart Points: 20

Temperature: 19°C (Feels Like 17°C)

Flora: Beach rose, Yellow toadflax

Fauna & Wildlife: Small white butterfly, Cabbage white butterfly, Woodpigeons (2), Robin (1), Corvids (5 total), Magpie (1), Blackbird (1), Sparrow (1), Unidentified juvenile bird (partridge/pheasant), Feral pigeons (8), Cats (2), Dogs (Pitbull Terrier, Scottie dog.

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