Out for a run

I have a favourite running route which takes me along a bridleway, through a village and back home across the fields, and Tuesday this week was a perfect day for  run - chilly but sunny, with the muddy ground sticky but not slippery.

I always enjoy these runs - fresh air and lots to see, and changes to note as the year rolls on. The hedgerow along the bridleway seemed to be full of fieldfares today. They flew off ahead of me, with their distinctive soft 'chack chack' call. There doesn't seem to be a lot of hedgerow bounty left - only rosehips and ivy berries. Most of the hawthorn and blackthorn fruit has already been eaten. Over in the fields to the east was a huge flock of pigeons, put up to flight by me I guess. There must have been a couple of hundred. I'm sure the farmer would be delighted...

Near the start of my run, as I headed off down the bridleway, I spotted a bit of a commotion down the track to the west - a buzzard being harassed by three crows. By the time I had looped back round towards home, three crows (presumably the same ones!) were sitting happily in a field, with no sign of the buzzard. Job done.

Although the farmland just here is arable and fairly intensive there is still wildlife to spot, even at lunchtime. A skylark was flying and singing over one of the fields, and there's almost always a small flock of finches/buntings somewhere along the way. I've seen hares here too.

Back in my village, nearing home, I finished with a loop on the farm track around the cricket pitch. There were lots of goldfinches in the hedgerow; I'd hoped to spot some linnets too, but no luck today.

An enjoyable jog all in all -  beats the treadmill in the gym any day!