Monday 26 July 2010

A gentle 10k run with Joanna this morning. Some ominous grey clouds produced only a few spots of rain at the start, otherwise it was dry and cool.


A Grey Heron was seen flying off along Quy Water and further on was sitting on top of a tree. 4 separate sightings of Moorhen chicks - 2 almost full-grown along Quy Water, A mother brooding some very small chicks along Bottisham Lode and then further along another single almost full-grown, followed by 2 almost full-grown.

Some large fish at Lode Mill. About 12 Jackdaws on rooftops in Mill Road.

A Kingfisher flew along Bottisham Lode and a male Kestrel was seen hunting. At least 4 Skylarks in the Barley fields and a male Reed Bunting.

A Green Woodpecker was along the bridleway. Very few Swifts and House Martins seen today.

Saturday 24 July 2010

Cambridge Parkun. It was quite a bit warmer than I expected. Got off to a slow start as stuck in the crowd for the first 500m. Overall my time was 23'53".

A Green Woodpecker was heard at the finish line and a Sparrowhawk was soaring over Tesco's car park.

Thursday 22 July 2010

10k this morning. Weather was warm and sunny and slightly windy. A touch of dew on the grass. A decent time of 53'41".

A large number of House Martins in Station Road again today. 2 separate fairly large Moorhen chicks seen along Quy Water. I nearly missed a lovely Kingfisher at Lode Mill as I was initially blinded by the sun as I turned the corner to cross the stream.

The Swifts in Mill Road were all up high today. 2 adult Moorhens with 2 small chicks along Bottisham Lode and also a Grey Heron. 1 Skylark seen over the barley fields and several Goldfinches and Chaffinches in various places. A Green Woodpecker was along the bridleway.

A Chiffchaff was heard along Station Road and the mother Swan and 2 cygnets were at the pond.

The path off Station Road along Quy Water.

Tuesday 20 July 2010

An evening run to Oily Hall (NT), a total distance of 9.8 miles. Weather was dry and warm, but I had a head wind for the final 4 miles. Generally a nice route however the field between White Fen and Oily Hall was very thistly and I had to stop after crossing it to remove the thistles from my socks and shoes. I got off to a good start but lost some time towards the end in the wind. Finished in 1 hour 30'21".

House Martins in Station Road. The skies above Lode were full of Swifts, well over 50, some low flying screaming ones too. 2 Moorhen chicks seen along Quy Water.

Oily Hall is being grazed by rare breed Longhorn cattle.

Several Swallows around the Polo Club. On returning to Bottisham Lode there was a Green Woodpecker and a Grey Heron. Skylarks were singing in the fields to the south of the lode. A Reed Bunting again between the barley fields. 2 LBB Gulls in a field near the railway line. A Kestrel seen over the bridleway.

Monday 19 July 2010

10k this morning. A rather slow run today - lacking in energy. Weather was dry and warm. Time of over 57 minutes was slow by recent standards.

House Martins and Swifts in usual places. Swifts screaming in both Station Road, Quy and Mill Road, Lode. In Mill Road a Swift was again noted going into the roof of a pink cottage.
A Grey Heron was along Bottisham Lode and at the junction with White Fen Drove there were 2 Partridges.

About 12 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls in the field between the poplar trees and the barley fields. It appears that there is a large movement of LBB Gulls at the moment in the county.

A Jay was along the railway track, a Green Woodpecker and a Kestrel along the bridleway. A Kingfisher was seen flying over Station Road pond. Several Goldfinches about in various places.

A lot of the encroaching reeds have been cut along Quy Water and Bottisham Lode by the Environment Agency. The water level is very low in the lode at the moment, don't know if this is just due to the drought, or whether it has been deliberately lowered for the reed cutting.

Saturday 17 July 2010

Parkrun this morning. Identical time to last weeks PB of 23'32". Weather was cooler today and a few spots of rain initially.

Friday 16 July 2010

10k run again this morning. Weather was warm, dry and sunny but rather windy. Along the track just after the half-way point 2 large branches had been blown off the Poplar trees. A steady run in a time of 55'36".

A significant increase in the number of House Martins in Station Road, with up to 40 birds present (fledglings?) A large number were sitting on the roof of one house.

A Buzzard flew out from the bushes along Quy Water just before Anglesey Abbey. A Grey Heron and a Kestrel were along Bottisham Lode. 2 Green Woodpeckers were near the poplar trees. Between the barley fields were up to 6 Skylarks, with 4 seen at the same time also a male Reed Bunting.

A Hare was in the field at the start of the bridleway.

Along Quy Water to the start of Anglesey Abbey. Buzzard flew out from the left.

Wednesday 14 July 2010

A gentle 10k run with Joanna this morning. Weather was dry and a bit warmer than the last couple of days.

5 Green Woodpeckers seen this morning - 1 at the pond in Quy, 3 together (presumably a family) at the start of White Fen Drove and 1 more near the railway line. House Martins and Swifts in the usual places. A Roe Deer was in the Barley fields and crossed the ditch and path right in front of me. A lot of fish (Roach/Rudd) at Lode Mill and along Bottisham Lode. A Jay was seen along the old railway line.

Still a good show of wild flowers along the railway track and the bridleway.

Tuesday 13 July 2010

A drizzly start to the day so I decided to run a route I've not been on for a while. This took me along the road to Bottisham and then into Lode before heading off to the start of White Fen Drove. Then back along my now normal route. The drizzle fortunately didn't get any heavier and cleared up by the time I was on the railway line. 7.4 miles run in just over 1 hour 4 minutes.

A Kestrel was over the cricket pitch in Quy. A Great-Spotted Woodpecker was heard between Bottisham and Lode. A few large fish (Chub) seen in Bottisham Lode. Not much else to report today other than a group of about 8 Goldfinches near the railway line.

Saturday 10 July 2010

Another Cambridge Parkrun today. Weather was very warm, even so I managed a new PB of 23'32". This is an improvement of just 7 seconds. For the first time I have achieved a WAVA score of over 60%.

Coots, Mallards and Greylag Geese seen on the lakes.

Friday 9 July 2010

Quite a bit warmer this morning. A 10k run today. Started very quick with a time to the checkpoint just after Lode Mill of 16'02" (best ever). Again built in some speed runs, but felt more tired today. 1 minute speed runs through Lode, along the railway track to the gate and in the final half mile. End result was my fastest ever 10k of 51'42". My previous best was my first ever 10k (Cancer Research Run 10k, Ixworth House, Suffolk in October 2008).

7 Lapwings flew over Vicarage Meadow as I left, but no House Martins here today. House Martins seen in Station Road and Lode as usual and again up to 20 Swifts in Mill Road. Heron seen along Quy Water and a male Kestrel along Bottisham Lode. A large fish was seen n Bottisham Lode, probably a Chub. 3 Skylarks today between the barley fields and a Green Woodpecker along the bridleway.

Wednesday 7 July 2010

8 mile run to the end of White Fen Drove again today. Weather was pleasantly cool after some light rain (and a few more spots in Lode). A quick start to the mill. I decided to try adding a few 1 minute speed runs which I did at just after 4 miles, just after 6 miles and again in the last half mile. It took a little while for my breathing to recover after the first speed run but the next 2 were easier. This resulted in my best ever time for this course by more than 2 minutes with a finish time of 1 hour 04'55".

House Martins in Vicarage Meadow (with 3 confirmed nests - all but 1 are hard to locate under the eaves) and in Station Road. Up to 20 Swifts in Mill Road, Lode. A Heron was seen along Bottisham Lode. The verges along Bottisham Lode (with the cow parsley having now finished flowering) have been cut, unfortunately no kingfishers seen today. 3 Yellowhammers heard singing along the grassy section of White Fen Drove.

Between the barley fields were 2 Reed Buntings and at least 4 Skylarks. A Greenfinch in Station Road, Quy.


A lot of wild flowers along the railway line and bridleway.

Monday 5 July 2010

A cooler morning today, but a bit breezy. 8 miles run to the end of White Fen Drove in a time of 1 hour 08'20".

Several House Martins in Vicarage Meadow, Station Road and Lode. The ones in Lode were up high, the Quy ones were lower and visiting their nests. A couple of Swifts over Mill Road. A Heron was along Quy Water as was the female Swan with her 2 cygnets. Song Thrush and Chiffchaff singing at the start of Anglesey Abbey woods. A female Grey Wagtail was sitting at the edge of the water at Lode Mill.

A male Kestrel was along Fen Road in Lode and here a wet track across the road appeared to be where a Deer had crossed the stream.

Between the 2 barley fields were 2 Skylarks and several Swallows were hunting low over the ears of barley. Along the track leading back to the railway line a lovely Little Owl flew across the track and then sat in a dead tree for a few moments, before flying off in the direction of Quy Fen. A Green Woodpecker was here too.

Finally a Kingfisher was seen at the pond in Quy.

Swan and cygnets

The pond on Quy Water along Station Road

Tuesday 2 July 2010

Too warm this morning so run was kept short at 4.8 miles. This run took me into Lode and back along the railway line.

Whitethroats seen and heard. A Jay was heard at Anglesey Abbey woods.