Daily Nature Log ✍️

    We headed back to Felbrigg Hall for today’s walk. With the sun blazing at 22°C, I aimed for the shaded woodland trail, but found it closed for maintenance on an aged beech tree.

    After settling Margaret at the Squire’s Pantry with a pot of tea, I set off on foot. Dog owners were out in force despite the heat—I snapped photos of a spirited Cockapoo and a handsome Hungarian wire-haired Vizsla along the way.

     I ducked into the cool shelter of sweet chestnut and beech trees before entering the walled garden. The display was remarkable: thriving drought-tolerant flowers, fruit-laden trees, and white doves pottering near the dovecote, all kept in peak condition by hard-working National Trust staff.

     Crossing the parched pasture, I passed sheep unbothered by the stream of lead-led dogs, simply chewing their cud in whatever shade they could find. I pushed on as far as historic St. Agnes Church before looping back to rejoin Margaret for a well-earned rest.
Today I walked for 2.65 miles in 1 hour.
Google Fit awarded me 12 heart points.

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

Daily Nature Log
  At 6:00 pm, the wind made 20°C feel like 24°C, with a 14 mph easterly breeze under cloudy skies.
   Passing the five-a-side pitch, a man was walking a yellow Labrador while a few corvids fed on the lush, well-watered turf. Shortly after, I met a couple walking three familiar bulldogs; asking if the ‘family’ was keeping well raised a warm smile.

    In contrast, the recreation ground suffered under the ongoing drought—a desolate patch of dust-engulfed, crunchy brown grass punctuated by tough flowering thistles, though delicate pink field bindweed survived under the hedges.

   At the cemetery, small brown birds fluttered by the gates, and three rooks feeding in the top field fled as I arrived. Looking out, I managed photos of round hay bales in a distant field and a yacht framed behind the thirsty young woodland. A tiny moth darted past unidentifiable, and four or five cabbage whites fluttered by the hedge as I left.
  Above the golf course, two herring gulls glided on the thermals. Near the leisure centre, a black-headed gull flew past as a small flock of feral pigeons headed for the roof, where eight more were already roosting. On the main pitch, roughly twenty corvids and a pair of gulls grazed the green, while the local gull colony squawked noisily in their unique dialect. Further along, a man walked his Yorkshire terrier under the cool shade of the pines.
Distance: 1.94 miles
Time: 42 minutes
Heart Points: 24

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

Daily Nature Log
    Today’s daily walk was a 1.92-mile loop completed in 42 minutes (earning 17 Google Fit heart points) in warm 23°C air with a gentle 9 mph breeze.
    At the recreation ground, the contrast was striking: a hosepipe watered the lush green football pitch, while the adjacent cricket field lay brown and rain-starved—hard to believe it’s cricket season! Small cabbage white butterflies fluttered among the nettles along the perimeter.
    Reaching the cemetery road, there was no sign of the female pheasant today. After spotting a small brown butterfly near the brambles and stopping for a few ripe blackberries, I was greeted by the “friendly” Pitbull Terrier barking harmlessly from his garden trampoline, where I snapped a quick photo.

Moving through the cemetery gates, a single sparrow darted across the entrance, a woodpigeon rested on the concrete path, and several white butterflies hovered along the borders.
    Leaving the gates behind, a herring gull soared high overhead while a dog walker and his yellow Labrador led the way towards the leisure centre.
    On the leisure centre roof, a flock of feral pigeons had gathered into a roosting colony, while a solitary black-headed gull kept watch from a nearby rooftop by the care home. Further along, an energetic Comma butterfly danced around the nettles near the five-a-side pitch, and I spotted a familiar local out in the distance with his two Cairn Terriers.

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

I set off around the Norfolk Showground—a vast, field-like expanse framed by impressive trees, though sadly quiet on the wildlife front save for a high-flying wood pigeon. As I arrived, a family passed by with a yellow Labrador.

I wandered into the brick-built food hall, eyeing the eye-wateringly expensive meats and produce, making a mental note to bring Margaret along next time.

Outside, I snapped a photo of an intriguing dog; Google Lens later confirmed it was a Shiba Inu. Leaving the showground, I headed down the roaring Dereham Road towards the Longwater Interchange—noise enough to send any local wildlife into hiding. Along the way, I photographed a fine stand of Scots pine on some roadside waste ground. Across the roundabout, I explored an overgrown patch of parched, brown grass that looked as though it were recovering from a fire. Two sparrows darted into a thick patch of tall, pink rosebay willowherb, where I also spotted pink musk mallow, white wild carrot, fireweed, and some low-growing vinegar weed. rabbit faeces peppered the field, though the rabbits themselves remained strictly out of sight.

    Heading back to the hotel along the busy road, I watched a solitary crow vanish into the trees and snapped some white, daisy-like corn chamomile. Back at base, a hedge of unusual white buddleia caught my eye.

Today’s Stats: 3.74 miles in 1 hour and 24 minutes.

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

   Beating the building heat, I headed out early into a blustery 24°C breeze that made things feel a touch cooler. Along the way, I met a young man with a friendly, beautifully purebred chocolate-brown spaniel, a refreshing sight indeed. Nearby, cabbage whites drifted along the verges, while the factory rooftop gulls held their usual loud, raucous convention.
   On the playing field, a flock of about twenty rooks and jackdaws held the ground, framed by a vibrant spread of pink field bindweed along the borders. Moving on to the cemetery road, the goji berry hedge was positively alive with darting sparrows and small brown butterflies.
   The cemetery’s central path offered a grand turnout: wood pigeons, a magpie, sparrows, and a blackbird all feeding on the verges, surrounded by a flurry of cabbage whites and small brown commas. I paused to photograph a silver birch heavy with catkins and a rowan tree laden with ripening red berries, before cutting through the wildflower garden where small white butterflies zoomed amongst the blooms. Finally, I reached the leisure centre, where a lone feral pigeon stood sentinel on the roof.

The Stats
Distance: 1.82 miles
Time: 39 minutes
Google Fit: 22 heart points

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

   The sun was blazing mercilessly today, turning the walk into a bit of a scorcher despite a moderate westerly breeze doing its best to take the edge off.

   Heading towards the recreation ground, small brown butterflies were busy darting around the purple mallow flowers, while a lone gull kept a watchful eye over the factory rooftop colony. Near the cricket pavilion, white butterflies danced over the brambles, though the usual yellow evening primroses had mysteriously vanished. Further on, a trio of feral pigeons and a lone corvid held a rooftop meeting at the leisure centre, whilst six sparrows played hide-and-seek in the care home’s hawthorn hedge.

   Heading home past a couple of lounging wood pigeons and a lady exercising her Jack Russell, the houses blocked the wind completely. Trudging through that trapped heat made me thoroughly glad to call it a day on a shorter route!

Daily Stats
Distance: 2.05 miles
Duration: 45 minutes
Google Fit: 29 Heart Points

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

A Muggy Midsummer Stroll
   Close and muggy today, with a 7-mph easterly breeze taking the edge off the 20°C air. The gull colony was in full voice as usual, but a male blackbird on a nearby rooftop easily stole the show with a beautiful solo. Down by the cemetery road entrance, comma and cabbage white butterflies fluttered through the wildflowers.

  My ‘friend’ the Pitbull Terrier paced his boundary in silence—until a dog two doors down barked, triggering an immediate canine reply. Inside the cemetery, a pair of wood pigeons kept watch from separate concrete ledges, while a lady with a Cockapoo cross and a Pekingese followed in my wake.
   Heading past the main road wildflower garden, butterflies were everywhere, rushing about in the humid air, and a sparrow made a frantic dash into the hedgerow. Up at the leisure centre, seven feral pigeons sat in a perfect rooftop line-up, and a lady walking a black Labrador offered a friendly smile.

Clean Stats
Distance: 1.9 miles
Time: 40 minutes
Weather: 20°C (felt like 18°C), muggy, 7 mph easterly wind
Wildflower Bed Activity: Comma butterfly, cabbage white butterfly, assorted others, 1 sparrow
Avian Count: Gull colony, 1 blackbird (singing), 2 wood pigeons, 7 feral pigeons
Canine Encounters: 1 Pitbull Terrier, 1 barking neighbour, 1 Cockapoo type, 1 Pekingese, 1 black Labrador
Google Fit: 31 heart points

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

The Narrative
   The mercury sat at 18°C as I set off, though the bright sunshine bypassed a light WNW breeze to make it feel a balmier 20°C. Skirting the golf course towards the cliffs, I found the local jackdaws out in force, reclaiming the pristine greens alongside a supporting cast of rooks, crows, and wood pigeons.     Near the boundary fence, a brilliant clump of blue Greater Periwinkle added a flash of colour, matched by the frantic fluttering of comma and small white butterflies amongst the wayside shrubs.      One sprawling corner of brambles and green alkanet had been completely overtaken by a spectacular canopy of wild dog roses, whilst scattered poppies nodded in agreement along the path.
   Reaching the cliff tops near the boating pool, the canine parade commenced. First came a brown Cockapoo with its owner, swiftly followed by a vibrant patch of yellow bush lupins sharing soil with purple mallow and green alkanet—a veritable Garden of Eden for local sparrows, bees, and butterflies. Further along, a lively black-and-white mongrel bounded past to retrieve a ball, earning its young owner a polite nod and smile. From the vantage point of the cliffs, I paused to photograph the expansive low tide below, capturing a few playful spaniels, a golden retriever, and a scattering of gulls feeding on the sand.

   Turning back, I left the golf course behind—the jackdaws still holding their parliament—and noted a pair of feral pigeons holding court on a nearby rooftop. The final stretch offered a grand finale of local foot traffic: a young lady commanding a large Alsatian, more pigeons colonising the leisure centre roof, and a muzzled, stately white poodle escorting two youngsters. After a brief glimpse of a solitary small blue butterfly dancing through the shrubs, a lazy, laconic, and beautifully melodious blackbird song provided the perfect soundtrack to bring the morning’s trek to a beautiful conclusion.
Clean Stats
Distance: 3.13 miles
Duration: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Google Fit: 31 heart points

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

Narrative
   Setting out, the thermometer read 21°C, but a southerly wind of 9 to 14 mph made it feel a cooler 19°C. My first encounter was a small blue butterfly fluttering along the pavement hedge, though it successfully evaded my camera.
   At the children’s playground by the recreation ground, the trees were heavy with elderflower—promising a prolific autumn feast of elderberries for the local birds. Moving on to the outskirts of the cricket pitch, several small white butterflies danced in the weeds beneath the hedgerow. The alexanders have rapidly gone to seed, dying gracefully in our recent excessive heat. Nearby, pretty purple field-mallow bloomed in tiny clusters across the overgrown areas, while bright yellow buttercups bunched tightly in the top corner of the field.
   At the cemetery road entrance, I paused to photograph scarlet poppies growing amongst the nettles and docks. Two small brown butterflies whizzed past too quickly to snap; I couldn’t quite tell if they were commas or another small brown species. Inside the cemetery, wood pigeons and a pair of rooks pecked hungrily at the grassy verges while more white butterflies drifted by.
   Reaching the field at the top end, my approach sent a flock of corvids taking off in alarm. On the natural overgrown bank, bird’s-foot trefoil sparkled in the sunshine, interspersed with mallow, dandelions, and solitary scarlet poppies.
   Looping back to the main road, I captured a photograph of a pink digitalis—foxglove—just coming into full flower.

Single poppies continued to dot the landscape, including an unusual orange-coloured one springing up from the pavement. Finally, reaching the leisure centre, a lone feral pigeon watched from the rooftop while a sparrow darted into the gutters, where I suspect they nest and roost.
Daily Activity Stats
Distance: 1.69 miles
Time: 35 minutes
Google Fit: 25 heart points

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

The Walk
   The walk kicked off with the air sitting at a comfortable 19°C, though a brisk southwesterly breeze chopped the ‘feels like’ temperature down to a crisper 15°C. Down at the recreation ground, a sparrow made a swift dart into the hawthorn shrubs, which were absolutely jumping with birdlife. Tucked away beneath a choking blanket of dock leaves, nettles, and alexanders, a lone pink dwarf mallow flower peeked out. Just as I turned to leave, another nearly invisible pink bloom caught my eye between the brambles—a quick snap and a Google Lens check later confirmed it as valerian.

Two small white butterflies were fluttering around the weeds searching for nectar or a spot to land and spread their wings.
   Trudging along the outskirts, a grand total of two corvids were busy working the grass. I pushed past the thwack of the cricket nets and headed for the cemetery road, greeted by the muffled, familiar barking of my friend the Pitbull Terrier from behind his fence.
The sun had encouraged a carpet of red campion alongside the road and I took another photograph.
A lone sparrow held court on the hawthorns by the care home, whilst a solitary feral pigeon kept watch from the leisure centre roof to round off the trek.
The Stats
Distance: 2.31 miles
Time: 51 minutes
Heart Points: 27

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