Sunday 21 April 2013

Good conditions this morning. I ran the 10 mile route along Heath Road to the Wilbrahams and back through Teversham Fen.  Apart from one short stretch along Little Wilbraham River where the path was still flooded it was pretty dry.

There were a lot of birds in the hedgerows along Heath Road, including a Corn Bunting, Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers, Chaffinches, a Meadow Pipit, Linnets and 2 Wheatears.  A Buzzard was seen here too and a Hare.

A Chiffchaff was heard on arrival in Great Wilbraham and 2 more at Little Wilbraham Fen.  4 Swallows were seen and a male Marsh Harrier was soaring over the reedbeds at Teversham Fen.

Wednesday 17 April 2013

A cool morning with the ground slightly damp after light overnight rain.  Today I ran the 8-mile route to the end of White Fen Drove.

A lot of wildlife was seen this morning:-
A Heron, Several Moorhens and a Swan along Quy Water.
A pair of Lapwings just before Anglesey Abbey - chasing off a Crow.
2 Green Woodpeckers heard (one seen) at Anglesey Abbey and another on the grass of the field along the track parallel to the railway line.
2 Chiffchaffs heard at Anglesey Abbey and another at Quy Hall.
A Jay was seen at Lode Mill.
A Fox walked across the road along White Fen Drove and a Hare was seen here too.
A Buzzard flew off from a telegraph post along the track to Lodestar.
2 Roe Deer were in the fields after Lodestar.
A Great-Spotted Woodpecker was seen in Station Road.
Also several Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Wrens, Dunnocks, Yellowhammers, Blue and Great Tits either seen or heard.

Friday 12 April 2013

An early morning run round the Bottisham loop today.

A Buzzard was seen in Albert Road.

Sunday 31 March 2013

Today I ran the basic 14.2km Heath Road route, I didn't want to endure the slippery mud of Teversham Fen again.  Conditions were much the same as Friday.

A Buzzard flew over the Newmarket Road at Bottisham.  Again several Yellowhammers and Chaffinches and 2 Hares seen in a different field. 3 Kestrels seen in various places.

Thursday 21 March 2013

A road-based run to Bottisham this morning.  Weather was dry but cool.  A reasonable time of 44'05".

A Buzzard flew across the Newmarket Road.

Tuesday 5 March 2013

An 8 mile run to Horningsea today.  The tracks are still generally fairly dry, except the end of the bridleway.  Finished in 1 hour 08:30.

A Buzzard was seen perched in a tree at Honey Hill.  About 150 Fieldfares were in the field just before the pink house.

A Reed Bunting was in the ditch from Horningsea towards Quy Fen.  Just before Quy Fen 3 Roe Deer were in the field to the North.  A Hare was seen just passed Allicky Farm.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

A good run this morning to Bottisham and Lode Mill.  Weather was cool and a little windy.  A new PB for this route of 42'41", almost 2 minutes quicker than previous best from earlier this month.

A large flock of House Martin over Mill Road in Lode and a Grey Wagtail at the Mill.  A Buzzard drifted slowly low over Station Road, Quy pursued as ever by a group of corvids.

Wednesday 19 September 2012

A cold morning today (around 6 degrees).  I ran the Lode 10k route.  The grass along Quy Water was a bit dewy, but fortunately the grass between the fields after Lodestar had been cut (although already growing back).  A good time of 50'33".

2 Jays were seen flying from Quy Water towards the old railway line.  A Heron was on Bottisham Lode and a group of Roe Deer were seen in the field towards White Fen.  A Buzzard was seen sitting on top of a telegraph pole along the track to the Lodestar fields.

Sunday 2 September 2012

A long run today in preparation for next weeks half marathon.  A 19km run through Bottisham, Swaffham Bulbeck, Swaffham Prior and White Fen.

2 Buzzards seen as I left Swaffham Prior.

Wednesday 22 August 2012

An 8 mile run to Horningsea this morning.  A PB time of 1 hour 03'29" about a minute and a half quicker than my previous best.  Not sure why the run was quick, but I seemed to have plenty of energy today.

A Buzzard was seen along the route and a Green Woodpecker.

Loch Nell, Kilmore Scotland

A 10k run along the side of Loch Nell at Kilmore near Oban in Scotland.  Lovely scenery, unfortunately it was raining throughout the run so we got rather wet.  After a short distance along the main road from Oban the route passed through the village of Kilmore and headed along the southern shore of Loch Nell before climbing a windy road above the western side of the Loch.

A Common Sandpiper and Little Grebe were seen on the Loch and at the point at which we turned back a Buzzard flew off from its perch on a telegraph pole.

Saturday 12 May

A good parkrun this morning.  The course was still a little muddy in places, but not too bad.  A respectable time of 22'03".

A few Chiffchaffs heard and a Buzzard was soaring over at the finish.

Tuesday 8 May 2012

A bright evening after all the recent rain, so I went out for a run as soon as I got home.  I set off for Wilbraham Fen, with no set route in mind.  After running down the main central path I crossed the wheat fields along the footpath near the windmill and came back to the start along Little Wilbraham River.  I then headed back down the central path and returned to Quy via the Six-Mile Bottom road.  A total distance of 9.2 miles.

A Buzzard flew up close along the hedgerow in d'Engaynes as I arrived.  In the main fen were Reed and Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings, 2 Cuckoos and a Short-Eared Owl.  Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Yellowhammers were seen or heard too.

When I got back to Quy there was a Hare on the cricket pitch.

Friday 27 April 2012

A run to Horningsea this morning.  Weather was dry and fine.  The ground was muddy in places after the heavy rain of the last few days, but fortunately the puddles were all avoidable.  A fairly slow run at 1 hour 09'49" for the 8 mile course.

3 Buzzards were seen, along the track to Allicky Farm along the byway before and after the pink house.  A Jay was also seen along the track to Allicky Farm and a Great-Spotted Woodpecker after the farm.  A Chiffchaff was heard in Station Road, Quy and a few Skylarks heard too.  2 Swallows were seen in Station Road and another 2 in Horningsea.

A Hare was on the track just before the bridge over the A14.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

I managed an earlier start today so I was able to run just under 10 miles to Oily Hall.  Weather was dry and not too cold.  Finished in a decent time of 1 hour 27'02" a new PB for this course.

6 Moorhens were seen along Quy Water and the adult Swans were mating just before Lode Mill (quite a romantic spot!).  No sign of last year's youngsters now.  A Green Woodpecker was heard in the woods opposite Anglesey Abbey.

A Heron was seen flying off along Fen Road.  A Buzzard was over Oily Hall and 3 more seen later between the old railway line and Quy Fen.  3 Roe Deer were also at Oily Hall.

2 Reed Buntings and 2 Skylarks in the usual place.  Several pairs of Partridges about.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Another cold morning - Lode 10k route again.  After heavy rain on Sunday and Monday the path along Quy Water at Anglesey Abbey was quite muddy in places.  A slow time again of 54'42"

The 2 adult Swans were seen on Quy Water, 1 juvenile was just before the mill and another was seen on the way back at the pond. 

A Buzzard was perched in a tree along Fen Road.  A flock of about 300 Fieldfares were on the grass at the Lodestar fields. 2 Skylarks seen today.  3 Long-Tailed Tits seen along the old railway line.

Friday 24 February 2012

I decided to start running the Lode 10k route again this morning, now that it's light well before 7.  Weather was fairly mild.  The course was a bit muddy in places, especially along Quy Water through the woods at Anglesey Abbey.  My time was reasonable for the time of year, although well down on my PB, at 54'12".

A Green Woodpecker was heard at the horse field. The Swan family were on Quy Water.  Just before Anglesey Abbey I saw a Heron and another one along Bottisham Lode.  A Jay was seen at Lode Mill and another along the old railway line.

5 Moorhens were seen along Quy Water up to the Mill and another 3 along Bottisham Lode.  A Wren was heard singing along Quy Water.  A Great-Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming in a house garden in Lode.  A Song Thrush was singing in the trees opposite the cottages on Fen Road. A pair of Kestrels were seen near the Jack of Clubs farm.

A Buzzard was flying over the Lodestar fields and a Reed Bunting was in the usual ditch between the 2 fields.  3-4 Skylarks were seen here and another 5-6 along the old railway line and bridleway.  One of the Skylarks was singing high above the field clearly displaying.

A Long-tailed tit, a few Yellowhammers and Goldfinches (Station Road) were also part of an impressive bird list today.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

A fairly tiring Lode 10k this morning - still recovering from Sunday's half marathon.  Weather was dry but cold, with a touch of frost in places.  Finish time was 51'25".

A female Sparrowhawk flew over the trees at the edge of Quy Park. Swan family and 8 Moorhens seen along Quy Water.

A Heron was again seen along Bottisham Lode and a Woodpecker flew past.  In a field to the right there was a single Roe Deer, 4 more were seen running across the sugar beet field.

2 Woodpeckers flew over the track leading to the old railway line.  At the end of the old railway line there were about 50 Lapwings in a field with Black-Headed Gulls.

On the way back along Station Road a Buzzard flew low over the rooftops.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Another late start so again just a short run to Lode. Weather was dry but quite cold. After a steady start for the first 3/4 of a mile I picked up the pace to finish in a PB of 36'03", over a minute quicker than previous best.

A Heron was again seen along Quy Water. At the start of Anglesey Abbey woods a Sparrowhawk dashed across the river. Today I counted 10 Moorhens along Quy Water, with another 2 at the mill pond and 3 at the Station Road pond. Several Blackbirds and Wrens heard in the woods at Anglesey Abbey.

12 Partridges were in the field at the start of the bridleway, a bit further on a Buzzard flew out from the oak trees. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard in Station Road and just before the crossroads another flew down the road.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Lode 10k route again this morning. Weather was dry and fairly bright. The ground was wet though due to overnight rain. A slower time today of 53'44".

2 Buzzards seen along Quy Water. One over the horse field at the start of the footpath heading towards to Quy Hall and a second one flew into the trees at the start of Angelsey Abbey. There were 2 Kingfishers here too.

A total of 16 Moorhens counted along Quy Water. A Grey Wagtail was seen at Lode Mill, initially flying up onto the roof and then down into the pond after the mill.

A group of around 15 Partridges again seen just after the sugar beet fields.

Several Finches and Tits seen along the track leading to Quy Fen.