News
30/11/2016

Autumnwatch - The Joys of Walking

Keeping your eyes open
I have a semi-regular morning walk - 3 or 4 times a week - to start the day off and have time to think. Lately, it's been turning into Autumnwatch as I've started seeing more and more wildlife.

My walk is suburban but includes a quiet stroll along a wooded path near a river. Apart from the usual animals and birds you would expect to see - pigeons, magpies, blackbirds, robins, squirrels and a group of mallards on the water - all sorts of other creatures have been putting in brief appearances.

Over the past few months, I've seen a grey heron a couple of times, a moorhen on occasion and, joyfully, a couple of brief glimpses of my first ever kingfisher. In the last couple of days, I've come across a fox family - a vixen and her two cubs - foraging on the far bank and today the egret pictured here put in an appearance.

I've always enjoyed walking and this one has reaffirmed both the joy of the exercise and the pleasure you can get from just taking your time and looking around. I wonder what will turn up next.