Daily Walk & Wildlife Log
Narrative
    Winds at 11 mph gave the 21°C air a cooler 18°C edge as I set out. Next door’s lavender was buzzing with honeybees, while cabbage whites fluttered near the recreation ground. With football and cricket matches under way, birds wisely steered clear of the pitches, leaving the borders to the butterflies.

  Past the house, the “friendly” pitbull offered a warm bark before settling for a nap. Four sparrows darted around a hawthorn shrub alongside a swift blue butterfly. At the cemetery, white and comma butterflies fluttered among the fallen leaves. Then came the highlight of the day: a green woodpecker swooped across with its distinctive flight—far too fast for a photo! I did, however, snap three wood pigeons perched at the entrance.

    At the leisure centre, 30 feral pigeons circled the rooftop, settling into their regular roosting colony. Finally, I photographed some beautiful, trumpet-shaped bindweed flowers—pernicious plants hated by gardeners everywhere!
Daily Stats
Distance Walked: 2.73 miles
Duration: 1 hour 4 minutes
Google Fit: 19 heart points.

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

Daily Nature Log
   Out at 2:30 pm into a gentle 19°C north-east breeze (feeling more like 25°C).
   Five jackdaws sprawled on the parched grass beneath the pines by the recreation ground, while cabbage whites fluttered nearby. Over at the colony, the gulls were raising a deafening racket. Snapped a meadow brown—wings firmly shut, looking for all the world like a fallen leaf. More cabbage whites drifted restlessly along the goji berry hedge without landing.

    The “friendly” Pitbull Terrier was out cold in his garden, barely batting an eye as I passed the cemetery road. Inside, the pathways were buzzing with butterfly activity, including another zooming meadow brown. A solitary woodpigeon held its usual perch, while a startled flock of feral pigeons circled frantically over the leisure centre before settling on the roof. On a nearby factory rooftop, twenty gulls squawked back and forth, and I spotted a lovely comma butterfly tucked away in a garden border to finish.
Stats
Distance: 1.76 miles
Time: 38 minutes
Heart Points: 21

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

   When I stepped out today, it was a warm 27°C (80°F) with a gentle northeast-to-east breeze of 5 to 8 mph and a “feels like” temp hovering around 28°C.

   Over at the town football ground, a large hosepipe on a trolley kept the pitch lush and green, drawing in around 50 feeding corvids. On the recreation ground, the brown, rain-starved grass scrunched underfoot, though the tough, hardy yarrow held strong and a pair of jackdaws hopped about seeking sustenance.

    At the cemetery road entrance, a large cabbage white fluttered alongside several small whites. Beneath the adjacent hedge, shaded by goji berry shrubs, a female pheasant caught my eye—my photos hint she might be starting a nest, so I shall certainly be keeping watch. A holly blue swiftly darted amongst the whites, while the “friendly” Pitbull Terrier in a nearby garden completely ignored me.

    Two sparrows darted across as I entered the cemetery road, where a pair of wood pigeons lounged in the shade. Walking through the natural wildflower garden to the main road, a flash of yellow zipped past—a quick search later confirmed it as a Brimstone.

    Ten feral pigeons perched on the leisure centre rooftop (got a photo today), a lone sparrow ducked into the care home’s hawthorn hedge, and the local gull colony squawked loudly overhead. I also snapped the football pitch water-sprayer and caught a photo of Dolly Parton, the leisure centre’s adopted cat, relaxing in the bramble shade.

   Walk Stats: 2.09 miles in 48 minutes (19 Google Fit heart points).

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

At a warm 25°C, today’s walk delivered a bit of aerial drama. A pair of gulls noisily herded a flock of feral pigeons through the sky, eventually forcing twenty of them into a neat line along the leisure centre rooftop.

Along the route, corvids gathered on the football pitch, black-headed gulls inspected the cricket grass, and a vivid holly blue whizzed past the cabbage whites in the wildflower garden. To top it off, I found a bountiful blackberry bush—eating my fill on the spot and saving a handful to bring home for Margaret.

Walk Stats
Distance & Duration: 3.05 miles in 1 hour 11 minutes
Conditions: 25°C (feels like 29°C), 8 mph southerly breeze
Activity: 19 Google Fit heart points

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

Daily Narrative
   Today, when I began my daily walk, the air temperature was around 22°C to 23°C, with the “feels like” temperature (accounting for the wind) closer to 20°C under moderate winds reaching up to about 24-mph gusts.
   I noticed about 20 corvids and a single gull feeding on the green grass of the town football ground. A sprayer was still pumping out gallons of water, keeping the grass green, in stark contrast to the brown grass on the recreation ground. The wet grass was obviously bringing many worms to the surface, allowing the avian diners to feast.
    A few gulls were flying around the colony above the factory rooftops in the distance, emitting the customary cacophony of screams. Quite a few butterflies were flying around the borders of the recreation ground, mainly Cabbage Whites; these busy insects never seem to tire. They land briefly and take off again almost immediately.

    When I arrived at Cemetery Road, I noticed a couple of dunnocks flying in and out of the roadside hedges. A couple of gulls were flying around high above the golf course when I arrived at the leisure centre.

I noticed about 15 feral pigeons lined up along the edge of the leisure centre rooftop. A couple more were flying around overhead, possibly interlopers attempting to gatecrash the avian roosting spot.

Stats Summary
Distance covered. 2.74 miles
Duration, 1 hour 3 minutes
Google Fit Points,  28 Heart Points
Key Sightings~20 Corvids, Gulls, Cabbage Whites, Dunnocks, ~15 Feral Pigeons

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

Daily Nature Log
   I began my daily walk at 5:00 PM today; the air temperature was 21°C (about 70°–71°F) with steady northwest winds around 18 mph and gusts peaking up to roughly 32 mph. The strong wind was blowing straight towards me, almost knocking me off my feet!

     When I began walking around the outskirts of the recreation ground, I photographed a healthy-looking milk thistle growing well despite the recent drought. I also snapped a spread of yarrow flowers standing out in the centre of the sun-scorched brown grass.
   Reaching the entrance to the cemetery road, I spotted a holly blue butterfly settled on some brambles — a real stroke of luck to capture a photo of such an active little creature. Nearby, the usually prolific blackberry bushes were covered in dried-up fruit, another stark casualty of the dry spell.

   The gusty wind howling through the leaves of the holm oaks sounded just like waves rolling onto the seashore.

   As I entered the cemetery, several wood pigeons scattered into the air. Beside the allotment site, a row of pine trees was shaken so fiercely by the gale it felt like an audience’s ripple of applause swelling to a crescendo at the end of a performance. Above, five screaming gulls were effortlessly gliding on the wind with wings outstretched.
    Rounding off the walk, I passed the leisure centre where a solitary feral pigeon held court on the edge of the rooftop, while a black-headed gull pecked at the dry turf on the rec. Over on the town football ground, a large sprayer was blasting a powerful jet of water across the green grass, shared by three corvids, a wood pigeon, and another gull getting their evening meal.
Finally, I noticed the adopted Leisure Centre cat, ‘Dolly Parton’,  comfortable in a patch of long grass.

  Daily Stats
Start Time 5:00 PM
Distance 2.12 miles
Duration 46 minutes
Temperature 21°C (70°–71°F)
Wind NW 18 mph (Gusts to ~32 mph)
Heart Points 17 (Google Fit)
Key Wildlife
Holly blue butterfly, wood pigeons, corvids, black-headed gulls, feral pigeon
Flora Highlights
Milk thistle, yarrow, dried-up blackberry bushes, holm oaks, pine trees.

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

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.

Daily Log

   Starting out today, it was 23°C with a gentle 7–10 mph breeze—warm enough that I actually remembered to bring a water bottle for once!

    The sky was busy with about 15 gulls soaring and calling out, while down on the recreation ground, 20-odd rooks and jackdaws pecked at the parched grass. A trio of magpies darted through the hedgerow weeds, and a lone wood pigeon took refuge in the tall pines near the cemetery entrance. Cabbage whites were on a relentless, frantic flyby, refusing to sit still for a quick photo.

    Inside the cemetery, a single rook searched the turf as I followed the paths, passing rowan trees heavy with red berries, developing crab apples, and a cherry tree now bearing tiny green fruit where pink blossoms bloomed just weeks ago.

    Heading through the wildflower garden to the main road, more butterflies fluttered past struggling, drought-stricken plants. By the leisure centre, around 20 feral pigeons were putting on a show on the roof.

   Further on, I paused to picture a flourishing fennel plant—a resilient reminder of how tough some flora can be—before spotting 15 corvids enjoying the lush green pitch at the football ground, clearly benefitting from the groundsman’s watering routine. I wrapped up the route with a snap of some sun-scorched nettles along the bank.

Walk Stats

Distance: 1.8 miles

Time: 40 minutes

Heart Points: 22 points (Google Fit)

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

Daily Nature Log 

   When I set off, it was 15°C–16°C (feeling like 16°C–17°C) under a gentle 6 mph northerly breeze. Glorious sunshine brought out fluttering clouds of white butterflies.

   A lone wood pigeon kept watch from a rooftop, hunting for avian trespassers, while squabbling gulls echoed in the distance. Parched by drought, the recreation ground grass lay dry and dusty.

   At the cemetery road entrance, a comma butterfly rested on a goji berry hedge, and cabbage whites filled the cemetery air. Farther on, a corvid circled an empty field, a startled pigeon clattered noisily into flight, and small white and brown butterflies tumbled through the wild-flower garden.

   Ten feral pigeons lined the leisure-centre roof, twenty noisy gulls soared above the colony, and three jackdaws gave chase across the rooftops.

Part Two

Later in town, I spotted an Irish Wolfhound and snapped a photo of an impressive Bedlington Terrier.

Daily Stats

Time: 55 minutes

Google Fit: 29 heart points

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