Running count

I did Parkrun on Saturday on route 7 in Troon. To distract myself from the driving wind and my screaming lungs, I decided to count the bird species along the 5k run – the route follows the prom along the shore, and then along a wall of dense sea buckthorn. The tally was 10 including a last minute redshank, as I stumbled towards the finish line. Plus another 5 as I walked home – bullfinches, curlew, oystercatchers, chaffinches, robin and a crowd of starlings which someone noted were “quite chatty when they’re all together like that”. Plus the loop marker of the route was the Millennium Milepost we painted with Eco-Ayrshire in 2019…..getting a bit rusty now after an alphabet of salty storms. Maybe all this noticing is what slowed me down...not quite a PB this time, more of a lame duck! :)