Thursday 25 April 2013

Due to overnight rain I avoided the potentially muddy areas and ran the 9km route through Bottisham to Lode Mill and back along the old railway line.

A Collared Dove was seen sitting on a nest on the side of a house in Lode at the same spot as last year.  Several firsts for the year today:
- Several Whitethroats heard (1 seen);
- Blackcap heard, where the track from Lodestar joins the old railway line;
- A male Bullfinch seen along the old railway line;
- 2 House Martins in Vicarage Meadow.

I also saw or heard, a Kestrel, 2 Swallows, several Yellowhammers, Chaffinches, Long-Tailed Tit, Geat Tits, Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Chiffchaffs and Skylarks.

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.

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.

11 October 2010 - Grand Rapids, MI

Our run of around 6 miles centred on Richmond Park in the NW suburbs of Grand Rapids. Setting out along Bristol Ave NW we turned into Richmond St NW passed the Washington Park Memorial Gardens then entered Richmond Park. House Sparrows and American Robins were seen along Richmond St. In Richmond Park we ran around the edge of the pond, which had many Mallards, Canada Geese and Ring-Billed Gulls.

We then turned onto Tamarack Ave and then right onto Sylvia St. This residential area became more industrial as we turned left onto Alpine Ave. Here we headed up to the railway line and turned left onto Parnell Ave just before the railway bridge. This road took us along beside the railway line into Walker township and back to Bristol Ave. More Robins were seen here as well as Mourning Doves and Blue Jays.

Turning left on Bristol Ave took us passed more industrial units then the West Catholic Central High School. As we crossed a small stream, just before the high school, a Great Blue Heron flew out. At the side of the road a bit further on was a roadkill Opossum.

Having completed the circuit we headed back down Richmond St again to the park where we headed into the woods at the edge of the park. This took us a steep hill and then back down again into the park. From here we headed home and saw a male Red Cardinal in a garden in Bristol St.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

A cold frosty morning - the first frost of the year. This made the road section very slippery so the time was never going to be good - 43'30" for the usual Lode Mill circuit.

Mallards, and Mute Swan family (2 adults and 3 young) along the river plus several Moorhens (6 together at the back entrance to Anglesey Abbey).

Blackbirds, a Robin, Kestrel and Green Woodpecker seen along the old railway track.




Mallard along Quy Water