Since the sighting of the pheasants at Turls Hill, that’s obviously been a big draw as far as my daily walk is concerned.
This time round, although I didn’t see the pheasants, I did spend some time watching four bullfinches feeding on a tree.
A day of rain – the first in quite some time – meant that I only saw two other people, both men about my age walking their dogs.
Although some people blatantly ignore the government’s instructions on social distancing, it’s amazing what a drop of the wet stuff does in terms of groups gathering.
There’s also been an increase in litter recently, mostly empty alcohol cans and bottles and junk food packets. Plus human excrement on paths.
It’s why I don’t normally head for the urban eastern side of where I live – whether for fishing or nature in general – but instead go west into rural terrain.
Still, if you can look beyond the human element and focus on the natural world instead, there’s plenty of positives.
That’s what I do, and if you’re an urban angler or naturalist, I guess you’ve learnt to do the same thing as well.
Birds seen this time round: wood pigeon, lesser black-backed gull, robin, house sparrow, blackbird, great tit, magpie, carrion crow, common buzzard, goldfinch, chaffinch, wren, blue tit, dunnock, bullfinch, blackcap.