A Traverse of Owl Country

After my muddy and frosty cross country slog on Saturday, I found I wasn't done with running adventures for the week, and today headed back to the owl country beyond British Gypsum (or whatever it is called now!).

I had no idea where it led, but I was determined to follow the track within to its conclusion.

It is a bleak spot on a grey day with the sun already beginning to sink down into the dirty grey blankets of the horizon. It is good country for owls - open, scrubby with plenty of cover for rodents, with a few bushes and trees for the raptors to perch in. It reminds me of the open wasteland near my work, where I have seen barn owls hunting at dusk.

Alas, I saw no owls. There were plenty of cawing crows, and as I ran along the broken surface of the track, I flushed out a small flock of brown birds from cover, probably partridges. The path led down to a farmer's field, I had an idea it might eventually lead the to the bridleway off the Hawton Road, but as I turned right, and the track became concrete, it became clear I was heading for the Cotham Flash area.

Magpies sat on fenceposts, seagulls wheeled overhead. I wondered if a flock of whistling wigeon would take to the air at my approach. No joy. The most exotic sight I had all run was a big flock of pigeons, aimlessly wheeling above some kind of field of brassicas.

But, it's a new route found, and assuming I can avoid any folk on off road bikes, it's one I'm going to be running a lot more in future. Especially as it naturally takes me back past Rumbles Cafe.

Astronomical Observations

Oh my poor blog, how I have neglected thee. Well, I've been a busy boy.

The weather has been superb this week, I have been out all of the days, and outside a lot of the nights. The milky way has been visible from my little urban "observatory" - I bet you can't take rum up Mount Palomar, and although not quite good enough to see the Cygnus Rift well, I've had lovely views of Messier 39, The Perseus Double Cluster, Messier 31, Messier 15, Messier 34 - I know, winter sights are back with us - The Mirfak Cluster, Messier 71, possibly Messier 56, Messier 13, possibly Messier 52 and the other in Cassiopeia. Messier 11 and other clusters unknown in Scutum. Ophiuchus Clusters

And the Milyway from Aquila to Auriga! More stars dripping off the surface of the sky, filling every bit of binocular field of view with glitter. Patti Smith sang in a song "It seemed that the sky was made of butter as the stars started to slip." I could see what she meant.

But the news is I confirmed La Superba on one of these clear nights! It is indeed such a deep red it is actually a pinky crimson under our sulphurous skies, and yes I had seen it before but not under good enough skies to get a real sense of colour.

Still think Mu Cepheii the garnet star is more dramatic though!

Bicycle Nature

So today, I've been off the running and cycling exclusively...

...so far. The day is not yet done...

But anyway, I headed off through Balderton and over the A1 to Hollowdyke Lane. No butterflies to be seen along here though, in past years there have been many many orange tips along here, today, as I cycled past fields of rape in bloom, nothing.

The building work at Fernwood has hacked some of the curious derelict charm of the old mental hospital site, and although the iconic tower remains, it is swamped amongst characterless boxes, and ugly piles of soil splotch the landscape. And the iconic Lightning is gone, making all that scrapyard area devoid of any redeeming feature.

Barnby Lane, swallows! A beautiful  specimen sat obligingly on a telegraph wire for me to sit and have a chat to; on behalf of the town I welcomed him to the area. In a fallow field nearby, a lapwing seemed to be doing a "Wounded Flight"  - taking off and sort of plummeting erratically. Nesting bird startled by a falcon? Or even my bike?

Still no swifts or martins in town, and aside from a couple of fluttering small whites spiralling around each other, no butterflies.

The river and castle looked stunning on my evening ride, but not sand martins or swifts to be seen.

Now about that run...shall I go?

Swallows and Hospitals

Went running at noon, not for any great weather or wildlife purposes, but actually to see the local "Hug a Hospital"  campaign in action.

I ran past the hospital three times, folk doing the hugging thought I'd gone crazy. First time round saw a couple of swallows fly overhead at the bottom of Boundary Road - the first I'd seen in town. Awkward head craning revealed still no swifts, and still no nesting Sand Martins - they are late by the towns standards.

By my second visit, the huggers had linked hands around the bits of the hospital I suspect they were actually allowed to link hands around, accompanied by BBC cameramen and local photographers. But 20 minutes later, they were all gone, point made, stakes pulled up, vanished into the night. But my mother was treated for heart failure there, and I'm glad they did what they did.

Wildlife not about so much today, saw three coromorants in formation from the museum cafe window though, an unusual sight. I wonder if the fishing was good?

Well that was annoying

Was doing a really good post about todays 15k run, around London Road Lake and Balderton Lake and beyond. Unfortunately my bloody Firefox crashed that tab and now I can't recover it! Bugger.

So to recap in note form.

1) London Road Lake is fairly bland although years ago I saw a white throated diver (or similar) here before the camo wearing camera wielding twitchers descended. I didn't realise what it was.

2) Pretty moorhen chick on the bank of London Road lake, like a black pom pom with comedy huge feet. Mummy likes nesting by the dyke at the Barnbygate end of the lake.

3) Bullfinches on clay lane, they seem to like it here amongst the hawthorns.

4) Butterflies out again, a few speckled woods in the nursery on Beacon Hill reserve. Was interested to note that Springwatch confirmed my own observations that Orange Tips have done very well this year.

5) I was thinking about my two hot as sci fi feature scripts I want to write as well as trying to see the pretty birdies and animals. I write all sorts you see!

So, bloody firefox wiped the better writing I did, although for all I know most of you think I'm rubbish and can't write for jack and should write no more than a sentence a day. I love writing, the achievement of it, but as I find it murderously hard to concentrate, it does not come easily to me. I just so want to be liked....*laughs*

Writing needs to be my life!

I suffered as they suffered

Thought I'd try something different today. Not really out of choice, but because I was fat and lazy yesterday, slobbering about all day reading and watching Scott Pilgrim over and over again.

Of course, today it rained like hell. All day. So, I decided to make the best out of it, and see who would be mad enough to be out, like me, on a rain jagging grey miserable damn bank holiday. If the wildlife was getting soaked, then so would I.

Today's route was London Road Lake - Field and Copse off Clay Lane - Beacon Hill Reserve - River. London Road Lake, the Grebes and Coots were out with their chicks, and the cute Moorhen was splashing about in the little dyke where the froggies and toadies live. But once again no Tufted Ducks, there's usually plenty of them gadding about. Wonder where they went.

Behind Clay Lane, I love this little patch of land, would be a good little reserve in its own right, nice little mixed habitat of grassland and copses. Still a bit of Hawthorn Bloom out, and a tree with some pink bloom on that was a bit too far away for the slightly off colour Si to investigate. But I will. Assuming I don't get flattened by a kid on one of those oversize off road skateboard things.

Beacon Hill, well there's a lot of rubbish been dumped in various places by kids, and all the rabbits were down in their various warrens. The nursery looks pretty with the dog daisies out, and there's a lot of Greater (White?) and Field (pink and white) Bindweed. No birdies though, and deffo no butterflies.

On the river, if there were any cormorants or herons or boring old mallards about, by now they wouldn't have been as soaked as I was.

But when I got home, after this 1 hour 10k or so route, someone was happy with the weather. A collared dove - not seen so many of these yet this year - was happily splashing and having a drink in a puddle on my drive - it's elegant form screeched at by a line of House Sparrows watching from a garage roof, gabbling away with all the delicacy for which they are famed.

PS - if I get decent weather, want to take a few photos by bike. So you don't get fed up with my words, y'all.

All was a blur

Today I ran, but feeling a bit blown out by yesterday's efforts and yesterday's headache, I just went for a 5k time trial.


I was pleased! I was able to get round my route in 20.35, two minutes faster than my record for this Tour De Northgate Railway Station and Beer Festival. Wanted to try and get some speed in my legs, rather than endlessly plodding over 7 to 10 miles. Alas it was a less than scenic route covered at high speed, any wildlife or interesting sights would have passed in a blur of fur and feather. I would imagine a lot of critters were in hiding waiting for the beer festival crowd to thin out and disappear so they could stuff themselves with fallen hot dogs.

However, when I got home I watched two Great Tits - one adult one immature I think - cavorting on the Sycamore hoovering up aphids upside down and all around as they flitted from here to there, seemingly as weightless as I wish I was.

So let's try the evening on Watership Down

Setting aside some of the very limited time I have during my twelve hour a day shifts, I went out for a run yesterday evening past London Road lake and across the western half of Beacon Hill reserve to see what my very tired self might see.

I was hoping for a warm, pleasant sunny evening where as an added bonus I might meet the woman of my dreams sitting waterside somewhere like a pre raphaelite painting. But no, it was cold and grey and windy and the only girls around would have to have been wearing unflattering woolen survival suits or something.

So, what did we see? Well, there seem two Great Crested Grebe chicks on london road lake, sailing along in the wake of what I guess is the female - but not a massive amount of interest. My first sighting of mallard chicks on the trent further along, but they were frankly already rather past the cute stage - surprised I haven't seen them sooner.

The standout sight of the evening, if a a fairly unexotic one, was on Beacon Hill reserve, where there was an absoloute army of rabbits more the sufficient to wipe out the combined forces of Hazel and Bigwig, and General Woundwort combined. Flashing white tails disappearing from the jogging predator in huge numbers, right down to kittens barely larger than my clenched first, it seemed. No need to get any volunteers to crop the grass up there, Notts Wildlife trust. These little blighters must be doing it for you!

And they are everywhere, greater numbers every year - outside my work, on Riverside Park, the sides of the roads. The foxes must be getting lazy...