Sunday 30 January 2011

9 miles today through Bottisham, Lode to the end of White Fen Drove. Not too cold and dry with no wind. Time was 1 hour 23'00".

A few Great Tits heard singing. About 5 Moorhens along Bottisham Lode, also a Grey Heron in a field to the North of Bottisham Lode. A male Kestrel seen by the farm at the start of White Fen Drove. Song Thrush in the dry moat round Quy Hall.

As I ran along Bottisham Lode a rabbit hopped across the road and down to the water's edge. It was clearly unwell. On my return I found that it had been run over on the road.

Saturday 29 January 2011 - Park Run

Today was the first birthday of the Cambridge Park Run. A good turnout with 218 runners. I finished 84th in a time of 23'35".

Thursday 27 January 2011

9k run to Bottisham and Lode this morning. Cold but dry. Time was 50'15".

Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Magpies and Wood pigeons seen. A Kestrel was at the end of the bridleway.

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Due to the overnight ran I kept to the road this morning, running the 5.2 mile loop round Bottisham. Weather was dry and not too cold. The sky was clear so quite light in the moonlight. Time was 45'55".

Not the best route for seeing birds, but a male Chaffinch was seen along Newmarket road just before Quy.

Sunday 23 January 2011

9 mile run to Bottisham, Lode and White Fen Drove. Weather was slightly drizzly at times, but not too cold. A slight breeze. Time was 1 hour 20'55".

3 sightings of Kingfishers along Bottisham Lode, probably 2 different birds. 1 seen on my way out along the tree-lined section, and then coming back 1 flew off across the fields towards the Lodestar area 1 seen in the same area as before. 4 Moorhens along Bottisham Lode and another at Quy pond as well as 4 Mute Swans. Otherwise not much else to see.

Thursday 20 January 2011

Same route as Tuesday. Weather was colder and some drizzle at times. The extra cloud cover meant it was darker this morning. A slower time, 2 minutes down on Tuesday at 56'50". Much drier underfoot today.

Not much to see today, but 4 Song Thrushes heard - 1 in Lode and 3 in Quy, at the Hall, the Park and Vicarage Meadow. A Green Woodpecker heard along the railway line too.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

After the mild weather at the weekend, it has got a lot colder again. No frost this morning, although that may come later in the week. I extended the 9k run to Bottisham and Lode to 10k by going to Quy Church and along Newmarket Road rather than Albert Road. Time was 54'52".

The water level was up at Lode Mill. The railway track and bridleway quite waterlogged in places.

Some early singing Blackbirds, Robins and Chaffinches in the darkness and a Song Thrush heard too. No much more seen when it got a bit lighter.

Saturday 15 January 2011

A 9 mile run through Bottisham and Lode to the end of White Fen Drove. The weather was fairly warm (about 11 degrees) but very windy. There was a head wind coming back. Time was 1 hour 22'45".

Not many birds seen. A Song Thrush was seen in Lode. 4 Moorhens again on the bank of Bottisham Lode. 2 Goldfinches and a Great-Spotted Woodpecker at the end of the bridleway.

Sunday 9 January 2011

A late morning run through Bottisham and Lode to White Fen Drove. Clear skies and quite warm in the sun, but with a strong cold wind. Frost still on the ground in the shade. 9.5 miles in 1 hour 21'35", slightly slower than last weekend.

Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue (CAMSAR) were out on a training exercise., some on foot and some on mountain bikes.

Not a lot of birds seen. Only notable sightings were a flock of 25 Yellowhammers along White Fen Drove and 6 Moorhens together on the bank of Bottisham Lode.

Thursday 6 January 2011

A 7.5 mile run this morning, through Bottisham and Lode, then through the fen to the Lodestar fields and back along the railway track.

Very dark this morning and cool and dry.

Too dark to see anything on the first half the run, but Blackbirds and Robins heard. Just enough light to see a Grey Heron along Bottisham Lode and a Reed Bunting in the usual ditch past the Lodestar fields. A large group of Jackdaws over Station Road.

Monday 3 January 2011

I avoided the mud along Quy Water today by running along the road route to Bottisham and Lode then continued out to the end of White Fen drove. Weather was dry but a little cooler than the last few days. 9 miles in 1 hour 21'16".

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the trees along Lode Road, Bottisham. 6 Moorhens seen along Bottisham Lode and a Kestrel. There were 3 or 4 Roe Deer in the field to the North of Fen Road. A flock of Yellowhammers were in the bushes at the start of White Fen Drove.

A Green Woodpecker and a Mistle Thrush were seen in the Lodestar field and a Buzzard flew into a tree here.

Again several Blackbirds and Fieldfares seen as well as Blue, Great and Long-Tailed Tits, Chaffinches and Goldfinches.