Tuesday 14 May 2013

Back after a couple of weeks of no running, although I did a fair amount of walking last week in Poland.

A short 7km run this morning to Lode Mill.  The conditions were good and the ground was pretty dry.

A Barn Owl flew across Station Road as I returned.

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 - 23 April 2013

A very mild morning.  I ran the Lode 10k route today.  All the tracks were very dry.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming in Main Street, Quy.

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.

Ickworth 10k Hoohaah - Sunday 14 April 2013

A return to the site of my first ever competitive run for the Ickworth House 10k.  This is a wonderful National trust property in Suffolk.

The temperature was good for running but there was a strong wind.  The wind really made itself felt at times, to add to the complication of the 2 steep hills.  A further complication was the amount of mud along the stretches through the woods.  It was really hard to stay on your feet at times and this slowed me down a lot.

The run started off at a quick downhill, tail-wind pace of 4.04 for the first km and 4.17 for the second.  At the worst point my pace was down to 6.04 for the fifth km.  By this point any chances of a good time were well and truly gone.  I finished in a respectable 29th place (out of 207) in a worse time (by just 5 seconds) than my first run in 2008 of 52:03.

I heard my first Chiffchaffs of the year today and a Nuthatch.

Friday 12 April 2013

An early morning run round the Bottisham loop today.

A Buzzard was seen in Albert Road.