I vote "I loped along" ... However ... Loping implies jogging and people are usually less in tune with nature while focusing on breathing and punishing screaming muscles. I find myself wishing the speaker could have been ambling, strolling, meandering, wandering ... Something more prone to nature watching. But maybe that's the point, maybe you were jogging and the sight stopped you in your tracks?
Also I personally like the "flew away" where it is.
On the whole I like this ... I f eel like I was standing there watching it happen (maybe that's my problem with the lope/stroll issue ... I would NOT have been running) ?
The Soufflé isn’t the soufflé; the soufflé is the recipe. --Clara
Thanks for reading guys. I get what you're saying about "loping" guys, I think I might change it to "lilting". This was written in Iambic pentameter (or at least, trying to be), so I'd like to keep that line length/format the way it is for now, but I can see how separating "flew away" could be nice.