What's He Up To Now!

Not a great week...

2012-02-12T22:55:00.000Z

For 2012, I’ve set myself the challenge of cycling at least 6,000 miles. Up until last Saturday (Feb 4th) all was going well. The weather had been mainly dry, if cold, and the mileage had been steadily adding up. In total, I’d covered 451 miles - 53 miles more than the same period last year. Now, just one week later, I’m 24 miles BEHIND last year! I hate snow!

The forecast had been for snow to hit Derby at around 3pm last Saturday and, almost to the minute, hit us it did. By late evening around four inches of snow had covered all the side roads and, more importantly for me, the cycle paths. Any thoughts of a Sunday morning ride were quickly forgotten. It was a day for drinking coffee in front of the TV and dreaming of spring.

The garden on Sunday morning.

By Monday, the gritting lorries had the main roads and bus routes clear of snow so I set off (slowly) on the ride to work. I’d planned on riding along the cycle paths at a nice steady pace and covering around seven miles. Just a few yards onto the path and I changed my mind! The new tyres I’ve fitted to the winter bike are a complete waste of time on snow, and I had to take my chances with the rush hour traffic, on the roads.

The tyres, Continental Travel Contacts, are claimed to be “the best thing I have ever had on a bike” according to one world touring cyclist, and “great on the road and not bad either when the road ends and some off road riding is required” on the Continental web site. Neither mention the fact that the tyre turns your bike into Bambi on ice! That said, they have proved to be spot on for the reason I did fit them... to stop punctures. They’re Kevlar reinforced.

Needless to say, the rest of the, very snowy and icy, week has seen me riding to work on the roads and, as a result, dropping a lot of miles. The total mileage for the week was just 25 miles - I often cover that distance with just one day's commuting.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to be able to get back to riding my usual routes to and from work and starting to claw back all those lost miles.

Roll on spring!

The Times Cities fit for cycling campaign...

2012-02-02T21:30:00.002Z

Taken directly from The Times website...

"In November, Times journalist Mary Bowers was just yards from arriving at work on her bike when she was hit by a lorry. Mary, 27, is still not conscious and is making a slow recovery in hospital.

Tragically, such an accident is far from rare. More than 27,000 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured on British streets in the past 10 years.

On the urban roads of Britain today cyclists need to be fit for cities. Cycling should be both safe and pleasurable. Ministers, mayors and local authorities must build cities that are fit for cycling.

The Times has launched a public campaign and 8-point manifesto calling for cities to be made fit for cyclists."

Please, take the time to click on the badge below, have a read of their page and pledge your support for this campaign.

Since I've been gone...

2012-01-30T22:18:00.000Z

Right, here goes. After being away from blogging for almost two years this update could well be hard going - both the writing of it and for anyone who reads it! I will try and keep the past 20 months brief, but I’ve said that before on many an update!

Birding

Updating things on the birding front is going to be very easy... I’ve more or less given up on it since the middle of 2010. What used to take up most of my spare time for the past 20 odd years now fails to grab me in the way it once did. The interest hasn’t left me completely, I still make a mental note of the birds around me at all times, but the binoculars and ‘scope rarely get an outing now.

Maybe this break will see me return to the “sport” with renewed vigour at some point in the future. And that could be the reason for the move away from birding - it was becoming too much like a “sport”! Year-on-year it had become a case of trying to see more species; see more species than someone else; see more species in a set time. Blah, blah, blah. You get my point. Oh, and then there’s the politics of birding these days...

Now that the pressure of the “sport” has been lifted I can relax again - I heard a Little Owl whilst cycling home from work the other night, and was rather pleased by it!

Cycling

What can I say? Cycling is the new birding! Almost all the time that birding used to take up is now spent on one of my three bikes. I also ride to and from work each day. Wind, rain, snow, ice, even sunshine. I commute by bike. And, even though I only live just under 3 miles from work, I tend to ride a route of between 10 and 15 miles to get there! Committed? Or should be committed? I’m still trying to work that one out!

In much the same way as I used to list all my bird sightings, I have been logging the miles of each and every cycle ride and setting myself mileage targets for the year. In 2009, I wanted to ride a total of 3000 miles. I reached 3573. In 2010, my target was 4000 miles. I managed to ride 4211. Last year, I upped my game a little and wanted to ride 5000 miles. By the end of the year I’d covered 5364 miles.

Ready for another Sunday morning ride.

A brief stop for food and water.

May 31 2010. A lovely day with lots of warm sunshine and very little in the way of a breeze. I rode my best bike for just under 6hrs and covered 100 miles! My first, and so far, only 100 mile ride! There have been many rides since that have been up around the 80 mile mark but a second century ride is yet to happen. Maybe this summer I’ll have a crack at it again.

The Bad Boy, outside Derby Cathedral.

Motorsport

After years of racing in autograss, my mate Gary has moved away from the sport. He even cut up the old MG that he had won so many races in. Gary says it was because the car was so battered and twisted after all the hard racing. I think it was so no one else could get their hands on his “back yard technology”! There’s still not been another MG ZR that has done as well in the sport.

2011, and Gary was back behind the wheel of another MG. This time though, it was a little bit more advanced. The number 219 was now to be seen in the world of Rallycross. The old 1800cc engine, from the grasser, had been reworked and fitted to an ex rally car shell. Many people questioned his choice of car and engine - in a sport where an 1800 engine is a little small - but it’s a combination Gary knows and his budget isn’t huge compared to some in the sport.

All ready to go, at the first meeting of the season.

After the first meeting of the season things didn’t look too promising. The car was underpowered, didn’t handle too well and had developed an annoying fuel pressure problem that we couldn’t trace and had never experienced before. We left the track in 16th position in the championship, out of 23 cars that raced. Not what we were used to.

Ready to do battle.

Up and running.

We all know we have a problem, but who has the answer?

Round two of the championship and, after a number of changes to the car, Gary took 2nd place in the “A Final”. Things were starting to come together. At the 4th round of the championship Gary took his first outright “A Final” win. Not only was the car now running as it should but it was proving to be capable of running with the best. Or at least Gary had learnt how to make the car run with the best!

An “A Final” 2nd place in the next round, followed by a 3rd place in the “A Final” at the penultimate round of the season saw Gary with a one point lead in the championship! What should have been a season of learning the sport, and trying to develop a competitive car, had turned into a season that could, possibly, see Gary become the Super Modified Champion in his rookie year! No pressure then!

The final meeting of the year was at Knockhill in Scotland. Due to the distance, and also work, I couldn’t attend this meeting so had to rely on text updates and “live” internet timing to keep a track on how the day was going. Luckily, Gary handled the stress of the day better than I did.

The meeting was hit by heavy rain for much of the time and track conditions were poor to say the least. A combination of the rain and also a lack of track knowledge saw Gary struggle in qualifying. Heat one saw him down in 3rd place, heat two he finished 6th and in heat three could only manage 5th place. If there was any chance of taking the championship he had to win the “A Final”.

On the way to victory!

In the end, it all came down to a rain shortened, re-run, final race of the season. Gary came out on top, took the win when it mattered most, and was crowned “Super Modified Champion of 2011”! Well done, mate! You deserved that one!

New window decals for the 2012 season.

On show at Autosport International.

There you have it - a very quick re-cap of the past couple of years. Sort of!

I’ll be back again soon, unless enough of you post comments below promising me large amounts of cash if I stay away!

Ta ta!

A return?

2012-01-28T22:25:00.000Z

It's been almost two years since I last posted here but... I MAY be about to return with a new, compacted version of my Blog.

Down, but not out...

2010-05-05T21:00:00.003+01:00

At the end of my last update I was thinking about an early start to the following Sunday morning so that I could try and catch up on some birding - that didn’t happen. Instead, I missed out on both my birding and cycling for the whole of the following week; I was laid up with an attack of shingles! The rash came out on my head, neck and face, looked none too good and hurt like hell - I do not recommend it as a way of getting time off work.

After that little set back it’s been a case of, once again, trying to play catch-up. Over the past weekend I managed to fit in just over 12 hours of birding and as a result added a further 14 species to the “10-Mile List”. Previously to that, on May 24, a short cycle ride to the pub (I was only allowed soft drinks!) resulted in my first sighting of a House Martin this year. Beer gardens have their uses, even when alcohol is not involved, as this was the 100th species located within my recording zone this year.

So, onto the past weekend’s birding. It started off with an hour of garden watching on Saturday lunchtime. By just sitting on the kitchen door step, binoculars in hand, I recorded 11 species with Sparrowhawk, 2 Common Buzzard, House Martin and Swift being of note. The group of around 40 Swift were my first of the year.

The remaining 13 new species all came from trips to Willington, and also Barrow-on-Trent, gravel pits over the holiday weekend. They were, in the order located, Garden Warbler, Cuckoo, Common Tern, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Redshank, Sandwich Tern, Wheatear, Reed Warbler, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Hobby, Yellow-legged Gull and Yellowhammer.

The bird of the weekend has to be the Sandwich Tern. This was the first time I’d ever recorded this species in Derbyshire let alone within my 10-mile zone. To make it just that little bit more special, I found the bird myself and managed to get the two friends with me at the time onto the bird before it flew off as quickly as it had appeared. A couple of photos of the bird, not taken by myself, can be found in the DOS photo gallery along with a great photo of the Cuckoo that was showing well the same morning.

The “10-Mile List” now stands at 114 species, 12 less than I had at this time last year. There is still a lot of birding to come this year but I’m starting to think that, maybe, I’ll not be beating last years total.

Bringing the birds up to date...

2010-04-16T22:30:00.002+01:00

No, I haven’t given up on birding, cycling or for that matter blogging - I’ve just been a little too busy to post any updates. Okay, so I’ve just been plain lazy and couldn’t be bothered!

Over the past month I’ve managed to add another 16 species of bird to this year's “10-Mile List”, five of which I came across whilst cycling.

March 16 - Chiffchaff alongside the River Derwent in Derby.
March 25 - Sand Martin in flight over the River Derwent in Derby.
March 28 - Red-legged Partridge by the roadside in Ingleby.
April 8 -Willow Warbler alongside the River Derwent in Derby.
April 15 - Grey Wagtail alongside the River Derwent in Derby.

The other 11 species were all located last Sunday morning when I managed to drag myself out of bed at 6:30AM and then spend over five hours birding in the Trent Valley. This area is fast becoming my second (outdoor) home, as I seem to be spending more and more of my free time there. If I’m not birding in the area then I’m cycling in it. The year ticks were, in the order I came across them, Common Whitethroat, Grasshopper Warbler, Green Sandpiper, Sedge Warbler (my earliest record for this species), Blackcap, Little Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Swallow, Linnet and Ruddy Duck.

After a rather half-hearted approach to listing this year I have now managed to locate a total of 99 species within 10 miles of home. This time last year the total was 120 species! I have a lot of ground to make up if I’m going to pull that little deficit back. Maybe another early start is needed this Sunday.

The local list, and beyond...

2010-03-14T23:00:00.001Z

After a good morning’s birding last Sunday I awoke on Monday to another dry, bright day. The idea of spending it inside, at work didn’t really appeal but I had no choice, the money pays for the bikes I enjoy so much and also for the fuel to go birding! I did try and make the most of it though by taking a bit of a diversion on the ride to work. I went in search of Cetti’s Warbler.

Two Cetti’s took up residence by the River Derwent last spring and it looks like they have managed to survive the harsh winter we’ve had here. Both birds have been heard singing over the past couple of weeks and on Monday I was lucky enough to hear one of them. Maybe if I had had the time the bird would have shown itself but, for now, I’m happy to have species 83 on the “10-Mile List”, even if it is a “heard only” .

-----------------------

Yesterday, Lynda and I spent the day birding in Thetford Forest with the Derby RSPB Group. This is a trip I look forward to each year. The birding is usually good, the weather okay and the walk, at both sites, is enjoyable too. This year proved to be just as good, if not better, than any in the past.

The day started off at 7:30am when the coach left Derby. By the time we were on the outskirts of Nottingham I was already dozing off to sleep! The trip to Thetford, by coach, is not the quickest of journeys so it gives you plenty of time to catch up on the shut-eye. I did managed to be awake in time for the breakfast stop on the A17 - a sausage & bacon sandwich - and also to see a group of around 40 Golden Plover fly alongside the coach at one point. Two zebras and two camels, outside of a circus tent, completed the excitement for the journey.

Santon Downham, as usual, was the first venue we visited and although I recorded just 30 species it was a very rewarding couple of hours of birding. Just a matter of yards from the coach and we were watching a group of 8 Crossbill. Whilst admiring these stunning birds we were interrupted by 3 Marsh Tit as they flew around above us and then landed in a small bush by the roadside. A little further down the path and we came across 3 Yellowhammer, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and the first of many Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit and Blue Tit.

As we continued on towards the open heath area my thoughts started to turn to finding Woodlark, one of the target species of this trip. It was at this point that I was mugged! That’s right, mugged! By a group of sheep! They had decided that they were hungry and that my beef and onion pie was going to be on their menu for lunch. What they didn’t realise is that I’m rather well know on the RSPB trips for my love of food and that I do not share it! They stood no chance.

The bandits move in for the kill...

The ring leader!

Once past the sheep we soon heard a Woodlark singing. That was the easy part, we then had to try and see it. After at least ten minutes of scanning the ground around the area we thought the birds were we finally spotted a Woodlark. It was flying around above us! What Lynda and I thought were two birds singing from the floor turned out to be just one bird in song flight. I was so used to seeing these elusive little brown jobs on the ground that I never even thought about looking up! As we moved on from the Woodlark we also added Jay to our day list as a single bird flew from the cover of a small wood by the railway line.

Brambling was the next species we located with around half a dozen birds feeding on the railway embankment and also showing well from the lower branches of a group of beech trees. As we started to head back to the coach we paused for a short while in a small wooded area by the church and located Wren, Treecreeper, Siskin and Goldfinch. The walk along the river was rather quiet but did turn up Mallard, Pheasant and Green Woodpecker. Lynda and I also managed distant views of a Goshawk that would have taken bird-of-the-day award if it had been just a little closer. As it was, the views were just too distant, and too brief.

The second part of the day was spent at Lynford Arboretum and the, now, rather grandly named Lynford Water. For years we have visited the arboretum and also checked the gravel pits at the rear of the car park. Now that the gravel extraction has finished we are able to visit Lynford Water... the same gravel pits but without the machinery and with some information boards! Actually, that is a little unfair. They have done a lot of work to landscape the area and have also put in a number of gravel paths and a hide. It was from the hide that we came across possibly the most unexpected bird of the day, a Mediterranean Gull. Ten Common Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull and around 200 Black-headed Gull were also present. Other birds on the lakes included Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Gadwall, Tufted Duck and a female Goldeneye.

In the arboretum we located Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Greenfinch, Siskin, Goldfinch, Lesser Redpoll and another group of 8 Crossbill. At least 3 Hawfinch were in the usual trees at the back of the arboretum and they showed well despite the light not being too good. Two Redwing were also in the trees here and a small group of Pheasant were feeding in the field, one of which was one of the pure white ones that we have seen here in previous years. The walk back to the car park turned up a Moorhen, Wren, Robin, a couple of Song Thrush, a single Goldcrest and also another Marsh Tit.

In total, 41 species were seen at Lynford. When including birds seen from the coach, from Santon Downham and also Lynford we recorded 51 species in all. It may not be a huge total but it did include some great birds.

Five more...

2010-03-07T23:00:00.000Z

The “10-Mile List” has suffered a little of late, with no serious birding having taken place since the end of January. On Thursday, a brief stop-off at Alvaston Lake, whilst cycling to work, gave me another new species for the year, a Common Gull. I’m not quite sure where all the Common Gull have been hiding over the past three months but this is the longest it has taken me to see one locally at the start of a year. Species 78 was duly added to the year’s list.

A rather lazy start to today saw me arrive at Willington Gravel Pits at just after 9:15am with the sole aim of seeing the Whooper Swan that has been on the reserve for the past few weeks. The walk down the lane was rather quiet with just Willow Tit and Bullfinch being of note. The heavy overnight frost, that was still lingering where the sun hadn’t managed to melt it, and the clear blue sky made for a pleasant walk all the same.

In the lane.

Viewing the main area of water from the first viewing platform, soon revealed that, thankfully, the Whooper Swan was still there and I had species 79 for my local year list. Having already seen Mute Swan and Bewick Swan in Derbyshire this year, the Whooper means I have now seen all three of the UK swans in the county, in the same year, for the first time since I started birding.

Other birds out on the water included Little Grebe, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Shelduck, 10 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 20 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye and 7 Goosander. Two or three Water Rail were calling deep within the reed beds but, of course, they never showed. A pair of Oystercatcher were another new species for the year and they spent a while flying around the reserve before coming to rest on the spit. A couple of Snipe were seen skulking around on the edge of Gull Pit and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull was roosting on the spit, along with a small number of Black-headed Gull.

Four Buzzard were seen in flight at the rear of Flyash Pit, a single Lapwing flew over and both Pheasant and Green Woodpecker were heard but not seen. Yet another new species for the year was a single Skylark that flew low over the third viewing platform whilst in full song. By now, time was getting on a little and I had to head back to the car. On the way back up the lane I stopped off at the first viewing platform again and was rewarded with close views of 8 Curlew as they flew slowly overhead and onto the reserve. The call of the Curlew has always been a favourite of mine and I was very pleased to hear all of this group calling as they flew by. A great end to the morning's birding.

The addition of Common Gull, Whooper Swan, Oystercatcher, Skylark and Curlew takes the “10-Mile List” on to 82 species.

Happy cycling...

2010-03-02T22:20:00.001Z

I post nothing here for weeks and then it’s two updates within 24hrs! This time it’s the cycling that is the subject of my random waffling.

The improvement in the weather during much of February enabled me to use longer, and drier, routes to and from work most of the time and as a result my average daily mileage has crept up a little. The total mileage for the month was just a fraction short of 200 miles, not bad seeing as I missed a whole week of riding whilst on holiday. As of now, my total mileage for the year is 467 miles. I’m already over 70 miles ahead of my mileage at this point last year but it’s a very long way to go until I reach my 4,000 mile target for the year!

As well as the target I have set myself for the year, I also want to complete my first 100-mile ride this year and, perhaps, take part in one or two long distance sportive rides too. The Cannondale Bad Boy, that I purchased last spring, proved to be a great incentive to increase the distances I rode and set me up for a great summer of cycling. The longest ride I did on the bike was just over 70 miles and, at the end of it, I still felt in good shape - that was when the idea of doing 100 miles in a single ride started to look like a real possibility for me. With all of that in mind, and the fact that me and my knees aren’t getting any younger, I made the decision over the winter to treat myself to the kind of bike I’d always admired but never actually owned.

Please meet the reason I was so excited in last night’s blog post, my new Cannondale CAAD8!

Cannondale CAAD8.

VERY green, and surprisingly comfortable.

The "gear box"!

Brief spec is...

CAAD8 54cm frame.
Carbon fibre front forks.
Shimano Tiagra gearing and levers.
FSA Omega triple ring (30/39/50) chainset.
SRAM (12-26) 9 speed cassette.
Shimano R540 SPD-SL pedals.

I’ve also invested in a pair of Shimano road cycling shoes too. These shoes, and the matching pedals, now mean I’m locked securely onto the pedals whilst riding and also “look” like a real cyclist when I walk in them! You know the look.... a bit like Daffy Duck on ice! All stiff footed, clomping around like a Shire horse and with no grip whatsoever!

Shimano SPD-SL shoes.

I’ve ridden the CAAD8 for just over 23 miles since I picked it up on Saturday and it’s a case of so-far-so-good. The riding position is very different to my two other bikes, and the tyres are so thin that they’re almost non-existent, but once I’ve put a few more miles in I’m sure it is going to be a long and happy partnership.

Roll on summer!

February, all wrapped up...

2010-03-01T22:30:00.000Z

Seeing as I only managed one update on here during February I guess I'd better try and bring things up to date a little!

The best part of the month, by a huge margin, was spending a week at Center Parcs. We’ve been countless times before but I still love it just as much as ever. The food, the drink, the wildlife, the messing about in the swimming pools, the water slides, everything. And also just being able to relax and do absolutely nothing too! Being able to spend the week with very good friends was the icing on the cake - thank you, Mark, Sheila, Adam, Charlie and Ben! When can we go back? Highlights, for me, included...

Monday, our evening meal was in Huck’s, the American themed restaurant. Here, I was able to sample my first ever “Pat’s style” Philly Cheese Steak. This combination of shaved roast beef, sautéed mushrooms and onions on garlic bread covered with melted cheese is something that my American friends have raved to me about for years but I’ve never seen it on a menu over here, until now. I think it’s fair to say that it may not be the healthiest thing to eat on a regular basis but it was well worth the wait and I loved it! The ice cream that I shared with Lynda went down rather well too!

Cheese Steak.

Ice cream - for two!

On Tuesday Mark and I took ourselves off to the spa for 3 hours of chill-out time. Perhaps “chill” isn’t the best word to use when describing the spa as the steam rooms have temperatures that are just about hot enough to cook your Christmas Pudding in! The effect is certainly relaxing though and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Our evening meal on Tuesday was in the Italian restaurant and was equally as enjoyable as the one the previous night. Pizza was the most popular choice with our group, closely followed by pasta. I chose Risotto, just to be different. Lynda & I also shared an excellent bottle of wine, which certainly helped lighten the mood - it was very, very good! Ben, in true Ben style, provided the entertainment. All he needed was a spoon.

Ben and his magic spoon.

Wednesday started off rather more energetically - Mark, Sheila and I went for a run before breakfast! Now that is something I don’t tend to do when on holiday I can tell you! We only covered a distance of around 2½ miles but it was enough to make my legs burn for the rest of the day and part of the following one too. I may cycle a lot but I use a totally different group of muscles for that, apparently!

Chaffinch.

Greylag Geese.

Mute Swan.

The rest of the day was much more relaxing. We spent time watching the local wildlife coming for food we had put out, we went swimming, and we sat in the warmth of the swimming dome reading and listening to our MP3 players. Life was good in there. Outside, it was very cold and snowing. The evening was then spent in the on-site pub where, once again, we all ate and drank plenty. Somehow, whilst waiting for our food to arrive, we found ourselves taking part in our own mini music quiz. I’ve still not quite worked out how it happened but we certainly dragged up some strange songs/artists between us! Nena - “99 Red Balloons”! Splodgenessabounds - “Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please”! Hmm, maybe I’ll stop there!

Thursday saw a more gentle start to the day. Breakfast in one of the restaurants, a gentle stroll around the forest and village paths and then a game of ten-pin bowling. I enjoyed the game very much, even though I played terribly and finished with a score of 118 - somewhat short of the 180/190 games I used to play years ago. It was still great fun though. The lighting in the bowling area was a little different to your run-of-the-mill alley as well!

The bowling alley.

We didn’t have an evening meal as such on Thursday but instead chose to spend time, after dark, in the swimming dome. The place takes on a totally different feel once the sun goes down and the subtle, coloured, lighting comes on. Food wasn’t missed out on though and we made good use of the fast food available inside the dome. A quick stop off at the on-site supermarket, on the way back to the villa, allowed me to pick up some extra supper to go with the cold beers that we had waiting in the fridge. Well, when you’re on holiday you have to eat and drink at every opportunity, don’t you?

An evening by the pool.

Friday was the final day of our break and once again we returned to the swimming dome, before Lynda and I spent a very relaxing afternoon at the spa. In the evening, before heading for home, we enjoyed another great meal in Huck’s - I had the Cheese Steak again, Lynda finished the holiday off with a cocktail!

Lynda with her cocktail.

As a result of our holiday, the weather and also work, I’ve not been out birding at all since the end of January. No new birds have been added to the “10-Mile List” but I have picked up a few species for the year outside of the area. A brief trip to Hampshire gave me views of a Red Kite as we drove along the A34 near Oxford.

At Center Parcs I did manage to keep an eye out for birds around our villa and also spent an hour or so in the wildlife hide. By the end of the week I’d recorded a total of 40 species. New birds for the year were Egyptian Goose and Siskin. All being well, I should be able to get back to my local birding again this coming weekend.

So, that just about wraps things up - apart from the cycling. That will be updated in the next day or two with (for me) some exciting news and photos! Safe to say, I’m feeling like a little kid at Christmas and have a grin from ear to ear!

Steady progress...

2010-02-07T22:55:00.000Z

It’s been a mixed couple of weeks since the last cycling update. Mixed weather, mixed fortunes and, as a result, a mixed attitude to my riding!

The last week of January saw a run of dry, ice-free days and so I was able to continue my push for some slightly quicker average speeds. Most rides came in at around the 16.5 to 17.5 mph average. The one bad day was Friday 29th, I picked up another rear wheel puncture just as I arrived at work. What should have been an easy job to fix turned out to be a bit of a nightmare - stripping the inner tube out of the wheel revealed not one but three punctures! I’d clearly found a lot of broken glass somewhere.

February hasn’t treated me too kindly, weather wise, so far with two icy rides, 3 in heavy rain, 4 on wet roads after rain and just one ride when everything was nice and dry. As a result, the bike I use for bad weather and winter riding was in a bit of a state by the time this weekend arrived. This morning I treated it to a bit of a clean up. Two hours spent out in the garage had things back in order and ready for another week of commuting. Hopefully the weather will be a little better this coming week.

Just some of the things needed to keep a bike running!

All clean, oiled and ready to go - just the wrong way up!

I hope Lynda has finished with the washing-up bowl!

My total mileage for the year now stands at just under 300 miles, 294.57 to be precise. If the weather picks up a little, and the roads dry out, I’ll be fetching the Cannondale Bad Boy out of hibernation in the next week or two and start getting some longer rides in. Roll on summer!

Insomnia has its benefits...

2010-01-31T23:00:00.000Z

I’m not sure whether I’d had too much fresh air on Saturday morning or whether a couple of beers and a bowl full of Pringles were to blame, but I did not sleep well at all last night. I managed to see every single hour on the alarm clock during the night and by 6:00am I gave up on the idea of sleep and got up, had breakfast and headed off out birding. Overnight there had been another heavy frost and it soon became clear that the council hadn’t gritted any of the roads, it was very icy even on the main roads and dual carriageways.

At just before 7:00am I arrived at Shipley Park and the moment I switched the car off I was aware of a Tawny Owl calling not too far away, a new species for my year list. As I opened the car door a second Tawny called back to the first one, this then set the first bird off again! This carried on for a couple of minutes whilst I was pulling on my coat and walking boots and then, all of a sudden, one of the calls became a lot louder - one of the Tawny Owls had landed in a tree less than 30 feet away! As this point I’d like to thank Leica for making such amazing optics - my 8x42 binoculars were pulling in more than enough light for me to get great views of the owl!

Sunrise over Shipley.

As the sky was now starting to show a little more light I headed off in search of my target species, a Short-eared Owl. The SEO had been reported at daybreak most mornings for almost a week so I was reasonably confident that I’d be able to locate it. The owl had other ideas and didn’t show at all. I did manage to get good views of two more Tawny Owls though, so the morning wasn’t without its highlights. Once it became clear that the Short-eared wasn’t going to show I briefly checked the lake and scrub area around the old American Adventure theme park. In total I managed to record a total of 24 species before heading back to the car.

Although I didn’t make any counts, birds of note included Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Green Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Bullfinch and, of course, the 3 Tawny Owls. I was starting to feel the cold, I was tired, but I was also very happy! At 8:45am I was back in the car enjoying the warmth from the heater as I headed back towards home.

As I left Shipley the plan was to drive straight back home and spend the rest of the day inside, perhaps trying to catch up on some sleep. Just a couple of miles from home and I changed my plans. I decided to try, once again, for Whooper Swan at Ambaston. I spent a further hour checking the River Derwent here and still didn’t locate the swans. I’m slowly starting to think that they may well have left the area. Birds I did see included 9 Mute Swan, 4 Goldeneye, 2 Goosander, a male Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard, 1 Snipe, 12 Fieldfare and a Jay.

With the time now 10:00am I was really starting to feel the pull of a warm house and a large mug of coffee, but chose to delay both just a little longer and checked Ambaston Gravel Pit. This proved to be good decision as the very first bird I put my ‘bins on turned out to be a stunning male Red-crested Pochard, another new bird for my “10-Mile List”. I did manage a couple of record shots of the bird but they, unfortunately, didn’t turn out too good. Either I was too cold and shaking the camera or the duck was equally as cold and shaking as much as I was. The result was a number of slightly blurred photos!

Red-crested Pochard.

Sharing the water with the pochard were a Little Grebe, a Great Crested Grebe, 2 Mute Swan, a pair of Wigeon, 2 pairs of Gadwall, 22 Tufted Duck and 60 Coot. A female pheasant was skulking about at the edge of the reed bed, a couple of Black-headed Gulls and 5 Stock Dove flew over. Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, 12 Fieldfare, a Blue Tit and a couple of Magpie were also noted. At 10:45am I set off for home and that mug of coffee, complete with a tot of whisky!

Tawny Owl and Red-crested Pochard move the “10-Mile List” on to 77 species.

Saturday stroll...

2010-01-30T19:00:00.000Z

A relaxing morning’s birding kicked-off at Swarkestone Lake today, with a gorgeous, clear blue sky and a light covering of frost on the ground. It was cold, around -4°c, but that was just another plus as far as I was concerned - I’d much rather have a cold winter's day than a very hot summer’s one. Just so long as it’s dry that is!

A frosty approach to Swarkestone Lake.

One of the very first birds I came across was a stunning male Smew. The bird had been around for a few days and was the main reason I’d decided to start the day here. After missing out on this species last weekend I was rather pleased to find this one so quickly. Unfortunately, the bird kept its distance and I was unable to even attempt photos.

Other birds of note, of the 27 species recorded here, included 1 Little Grebe, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 65 Canada Geese, 4 Teal, 92 Tufted Duck and 2 Goosander. Away from the water a Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, a few Redwing and 4 Bullfinch were the pick of the bunch. Just a short distance from the lake a group of 64 Greylag Geese were feeding in a field alongside the entrance to the sailing club.

Swarkestone Lake.

A quick scan of the fields and river by Swarkestone Bridge revealed a large herd of swans grazing. The total count was 85 Mute Swan, but not a single Whooper again. I’ve still not given up on finding Whooper within my 10-mile zone but they are proving to be rather tricky so far!

From Swarkestone it was just a short drive to Willington Gravel Pits where I spent a couple of hours just enjoying the day and unwinding after a none-to-enjoyable week at work. A steady stroll along the lane to the viewing platform at the end, an hour or so viewing the two main pits, and the walk back to the car resulted in a total of 46 species, plus one fox.

Flyash Pit, Willington.

Birds noted in the lane included Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 8 Redwing, 2 Willow Tit, 2 Goldfinch and 4 Bullfinch. A Song Thrush kept me entertained for a while as it smashed it’s way into a snail shell and sightings of Treecreeper and Goldcrest were both noteworthy for this site. The Treecreeper is the first I’ve seen here since 2002 and Goldcrest is a species I only tend to see around once a year on the reserve.

On the water, which is now ice free, were a Little Grebe, 9 Mute Swan, 1 Pink-footed Goose, 74 Greylag Geese, 68 Canada Geese, 2 Shelduck, 60 Wigeon, 1 Gadwall, 30 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 30 Pochard, 12 Tufted Duck, 4 Goldeneye and 8 Goosander. Mallard were also noted but once again I failed to do a count. Birds in flight included 2 Buzzard, 2 Lapwing, a small number of Black-headed Gulls and a single Jackdaw.

Sleeping Wigeon.

The addition of Smew and then Greylag Goose takes my “10-Mile List” on to 75 species.

Two missed, four gained...

2010-01-27T22:20:00.000Z

I set out for my morning’s birding on Sunday with just two target species in mind, Whooper Swan and Smew. After 2½ hours moving between various sites in the Trent Valley I gave up, the swans and Smew were nowhere to be seen. The morning did however provide some rather good birding with a total of 52 species being seen.

Highlights from a brief visit to Aston-on-Trent gravel pits were 3 Shelduck, 4 Gadwall, 30 Pochard, 6 Goldeneye, 2 Buzzard and 2 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine and 1 Kingfisher. The three raptor species proved to be the best part of the day with some great views of all 5 birds interacting with each other. Watching the Peregrine being mobbed by the other birds more than made up for the missing Smew!

Next stop was the River Derwent at nearby Ambaston village. Here, I had hoped to catch up with a small group of Whooper Swan that had been in the area since early in the month, again I missed out. My hour-long search wasn’t without some small reward though with 2 Pink-footed Geese, 5 Goldeneye, 2 Goosander, 3 Stock Dove, 6 Pied Wagtail and 80 Fieldfare being amongst the 20 species recorded.

The next hour or so was spent driving slowly around the Swarkestone/Barrow-on-Trent area in search of another Whooper Swan that had been reported, on-and-off, for a few days leading up to the weekend - once again, I failed.

With a little over an hour left before I needed to be heading home for lunch I decided to spend the time birding an area that I hadn’t visited for a number of years, the canal and river at Weston-on-Trent. The mix of habitat here - the canal with it’s wooded banks and the river and flooded fields - gave me a total of 30 species, the highest of the morning. The walk from the church, along the canal and then up onto the bridge over the river, gave close views of Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Tufted Duck, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Marsh Tit and Goldfinch amongst the numerous other more common birds.

Retracing my steps back to the car took a little while longer than the outward walk due to spotting a feeding station placed on the edge of a garden, high up on the wooded bank. In the short time I stood and watched the feeding station a total of 14 species visited it. If only my own feeders were so busy. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Jay all put in an appearance but were overshadowed by two species that were new to my “10-Mile List” this year - a male Brambling and around half a dozen Tree Sparrow. The Brambling was the first I’d ever seen within my 10-mile zone, my first in South Derbyshire and my first in the county for almost four years. Maybe I should get out more?

On the final part of the walk, from the canal back to the car, I came across 12 Fieldfare and 24 Redwing. One last scan over the flooded river revealed a total of 44 Mute Swan - but not a single Whooper!

With four new species located during the morning - Shelduck, Marsh Tit, Tree Sparrow and Brambling - the “10-Mile List” now stands at 73 species.

Stepping up a gear...

2010-01-23T16:00:00.000Z

With the milder weather continuing over the past week I’ve been able to up my game a little on the cycling front. Now that the cycle paths are ice-free my average speed, for the daily commute to and from work, has risen from a little over 10mph to almost 17mph and I’ve once again been able to choose my route based on mileage and not safety.

Since Monday morning I’ve covered a total of 80 miles and my mileage for the year now stands at 180 miles, 26 miles more than this time last year. The week hasn’t been without the odd hitch though; on Wednesday morning I had to stop and fix a rear wheel puncture, six miles into a nine-mile commute. The ride home from work today involved having to ride through a flood that was about 30 feet long and 2 inches deeper than I had pedal clearance for. With hindsight, choosing another route may have been easier and would certainly have meant that I didn’t arrive home with two rather damp feet!

All in all, not too bad a week for the cycling, and we didn’t even get the extra snow on Wednesday!

Riding out the storm...

2010-01-16T14:15:00.000Z

It’s been tricky at times but I may just have come through the big freeze relatively unscathed! Right now, locally, all the snow and ice has gone and the temperature has reached the dizzy heights of 6°c. And about time too, I reckon. The snow had been fun to ride in but when it all started to turn to sheet ice it took on a rather more dangerous side.

On Wednesday morning the ice caught me out and I found myself sliding down the road on my backside again. Luckily, this time I was moving at a lot slower speed and the fall was rather more graceful and a lot less painful too! Getting back to my feet and then on the bike proved to be a little tricky though as the ice was rather extensive. One lesson I have learnt from this latest fall is don’t tell any one at work! If you do, then expect ridicule!

Someone I work with thinks they're funny!

All the ice has meant that I’ve been choosing my routes to and from work based on safety and not mileage this week, so I’ve only covered 40 miles. With 100 miles now covered since the start of the year I’m a little behind this point last year, but that can easily be pulled back. There’s a long way to go but that 4,000-mile target will be beaten... once we get the heavy snow forecast for next Wednesday out the way that is!

Ice, snow, bikes and birds...

2010-01-10T23:00:00.000Z

I don’t know about you but I’m getting just a little bored with the weather so far in 2010. Ice, snow, sleet, slush and even a touch of rain today, I’ve put up with it all over the past week and I’m ready for a change! Problem is, it looks like we’ve got at least another week of it to come. Great!

Cycling.

My cycling year started off steadily and then got even more steady. The roads and cycle paths on Monday, and again on Tuesday, morning were very icy. By Tuesday evening I was cycling home in snow. On Wednesday morning things had deteriorated to such an extent that Lynda didn’t like the idea of driving to work - we both chose to walk.

The walk to work.

Lynda, enjoying the snow!

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday I was back on the bike and actually starting to enjoy the adrenalin rush from riding on packed snow and ice. The minor roads were not so good but the cycle paths were not only smooth but offered a surprising amount of grip from the packed snow. By the end of the week I’d clocked up 60 miles. It’s not my best mileage for a week's commuting but at least I’ve been able to get a few miles under my belt.

Birding.

This morning I was faced with a decision - get out birding for a couple of hours or stay in the warmth of the house watching the snow fall and the freezing cold wind batter the trees, and anything else in it’s path. I rather enjoyed my walk, even if it was cold and a little thin on the ground bird wise!

As pretty much all still water is now frozen solid in the Trent Valley I decided to spend a little time in search of woodland species. With the roads still not fully free of ice in places I chose to head to Elvaston Castle - it’s close to home and I could reach it easily on roads that had been gritted. In a little over 2 hours of birding I managed to locate a total of 31 species, five of which were new for the year.

Elvaston Castle, and the frozen lake.

With the two lakes being almost completely frozen over, as expected, waterfowl were very thin on the ground with just Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Teal and Mallard being recorded. Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Kestrel each gave brief views but didn’t hang around for long and the only gulls were a group of 36 Black-heads that were roosting on the ice of the main lake. Robins were much in evidence with at least 12 being noted; no doubt making the most of the food that people put out around the woodland paths here. A number of Redwings also showed well as they feed in small groups around the woods and allowed much closer views than usual. Three Treecreeper were busy searching for food until they all met up on the same tree. They then seemed more interested in the territorial battle that ensued than finding food to help them survive though yet another freezing cold day and night.

On reaching the bridge over the main lake I set up my own mini feeding station for the birds and put out a mix of seed and crushed peanuts. Within moments the birds were queuing up in the trees waiting for me to retreat to a safe distance. In total, 11 species came for food - Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Jay and Magpie. A single Goldcrest was flitting around in the trees here and a small flock of Long-tailed Tits moved through without stopping. The nature reserve within the park was a little quiet but it did hold 2 Grey Heron, 6 Teal, a single Kestrel, a pair of Pheasant and 3 Bullfinch.

The nature reserve.

The addition of Coal Tit, Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Jay and Nuthatch takes the “10-Mile List” onto 69 species.

Something's out there!

2010 - Here we go again!

2010-01-03T21:15:00.025Z

On New Year’s Eve, I posted here that I had not yet decided on my approach to birding in 2010. By the time I’d dragged myself out of bed on New Year’s Day it was all sorted. The “10-Mile List” is underway once again! To anyone reading this for the first time, that means I’ll be recording all the bird species I come across within a 10-mile radius of home, which is on the southeast edge of Derby. Just like the past two years, I expect a good proportion of my birding to take place at Willington Gravel Pits but I’ll also be making the effort to try and get to a number of other local sites too.

The new year kicked off in traditional style, a mid-morning start to the day after the previous evening’s food and drink. Lynda and I then went for a walk around Alvaston and Elvaston to clear our heads, and also to get my bird list underway! By the time we returned home, after a walk of just under 5 miles, I had a year list of 30 species. The pick of the birds seen included 2 Little Grebe and 3 Goosander on the River Derwent, a Sparrowhawk, 30 Fieldfare, 50 Redwing and 2 Goldfinch as we walked through the centre of Alvaston and a Great Spotted Woodpecker as we entered the grounds of Elvaston Castle. Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush and Long-tailed Tit were noted close to the new Alvaston by-pass.

The River Derwent.

Walking back towards home gave us an opportunity to check on the progress being made with the new industrial park that is being built alongside the Alvaston by-pass. Although I cycle this route most days it has been during the hours of darkness for a while now. Seeing the site in daylight revealed the progress being made... very little! Apart from a few new access roads, and the associated street lighting and signage, nothing much has happened in the past 16 months.

September 2008.

January 2010.

September 2008.

January 2010. Not a lot changes!

On 2 January I added another four species to the list with Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Dunnock and Jackdaw all being seen from the garden at home.

This morning saw my birding year get into full swing with a visit to Willington Gravel Pits. I was awake by 6:30am, loading my things into the car by 7:30am and in the service area on the A50 eating a full English breakfast by just after 8:00am! In my eyes, there is no better way to start a morning’s birding than with a plate full of sausage, eggs, bacon, beans, tomatoes and mushrooms. Two slices of toast and a large mug of coffee just topped it all off! By 8:45am I was walking down the lane at Willington. The ground had a covering of frost, the sky was a beautiful, clear blue and the temperature was a refreshing -5°c. It had the makings of a nice day!

Breakfast awaits!

After walking just a few feet from the car I had my first new species of the year, a Kingfisher. The bird was perched just a couple of feet above the small stream that runs alongside the lane, looking somewhat put out by the ice that covered it’s hunting grounds. Moments later and it was flying off up stream, no doubt in search of open water and the hope of a meal.

A rather frozen Willington.

Lapwings at Willington.

The gravel pits themselves were, as I expected, rather quiet due to much of the water being frozen over. What was lacking in quantity was certainly made up for by the quality of the birding. Ducks were represented by 30 Wigeon, 6 Gadwall, 10 Teal, 110 Mallard, 4 Shoveler, 4 Pochard, 8 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye and 1 Goosander. A Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and 2 Peregrine took care of the raptors. The wader list was made up of 700 Lapwing (yes, I did count them all), 49 Golden Plover and 3 Snipe. A Green Woodpecker spent a while perched in a small willow tree in the middle of the reed bed and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling, but not seen. Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Willow Tit, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch and Bullfinch all added to the interest but couldn’t quite make the cut when it came to trying to pick “Bird of the Day”. The three species I short-listed were Bittern, Pink Footed Goose and Stonechat.

The Bittern really should have taken the award for best bird, but it just didn’t want to show itself well enough! For around half an hour it sat in the reed bed giving us views of it’s bill, head, wing, back and even a leg. It point blank refused to show all of the parts at the same time - a point lost.

The Stonechats, there was a pair, showed very well and in some of the best light I’ve birded in for years. Although they never came overly close, the views were superb both with the bins and the ‘scope. But, they lost a couple of points (one each?) due to them not being the scarcest of birds. Harsh, but true!

So, the Pinkies get my choice as “Bird of the Day”. Yeah, I know, “How the heck?” Well, it was just one of those moments... the weather, the light, the sound, the vision, the unexpected. There were 30 geese and they had formed a perfect V formation, they were heading north-west and so I guess they were moving between feeding grounds on The Wash and the Lancashire coast. The sound of a Pinkie calling is one of the true sounds of winter birding for me and that, added to the perfectly clear blue sky and the stunning light made for a truly stunning sight. For me, at least, bird(s) of the day!

By the end of the morning my “10-Mile List” had reached 63 species but there was the possibility of just one more new bird, Bewick’s Swan. A short journey back along the A50 and I arrived at Church Wilne, a small village between Sawley and Draycott. After a very slow drive around a couple of narrow, and ice covered, roads I managed to locate a small group of swans. Sure enough, there was the Bewick in with about 12 or 14 Mute Swan. Another tricky species safely ticked off.

After just one short walk and a separate morning’s birding the “10-Mile List” stands at 64 species.

"You lookin' at me?"

A rather cheeky fox at Willington!

2009 - Game over!

2009-12-31T19:30:00.000Z

It’s New Year's Eve and I have lots of food and drink to consume. This will be a brief update!

Since my last blog I’ve managed to stay upright whilst cycling to and from work (more by luck than judgement with all the snow and ice we’ve had) and I’ve covered another 180 miles, bringing my total for the year to 3,573 miles. I set myself a target of 2,500 miles in 2009, so I’m rather pleased with the final outcome.

The birding has really taken a backseat over the past few months and as a result my “10-Mile List” hasn’t grown quite as well as it perhaps could have. Having said that, I did add Tawny Owl to the list on December 22 - a male bird calling in Alvaston Park as I cycled home after work. This was the final addition of the year and leaves me with a total of 138 species on the “10-Mile List” for 2009, two more than last year.

So, 2010. I’ve already set myself two targets for my cycling next year - I want to ride at least 4,000 miles during the year and also complete a single ride of 100 miles or more. I managed a ride of 70 miles back in October so the step-up to 100 shouldn’t be too much of a problem, I hope! If I can ever pick a bike that I really like then there may well be another purchase to be made early in the New Year too. I’ll be taking the plunge and finally becoming a Tour de France look-alike. As for the Lycra, it remains to be seen if I dare go that far!

I’ve not yet decided how to approach my birding in 2010. The challenge of chasing “ticks” within 10-miles of home over the last two years has certainly got me out and about a lot more but has also made it somewhat of a chore at times. If I’ve been alerted to a bird within my recording zone I’ve felt that I had to make the effort to go for it. At times, this has taken some of the pleasure out of my birding. I’ll see how things work out during the first month or two of the year before making a decision on how I’ll continue.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

Pride comes before a fall...

2009-12-07T21:35:00.001Z

How true the above statement proved to be last week! On Monday evening I was rather proud of the fact that I’d managed to spot a folded £20 note laying by the side of a cycle path whilst I was riding home from work. The rain was falling, the wind blowing, I was riding at a fair pace and the path was completely unlit but my ageing eyesight was still keen enough to see the cash. I stopped, picked up my treasure and continued on my way, a little better off and rather pleased with myself.

On Friday morning I was riding to work, along the same stretch of cycle path, when I experienced “the fall”. It wasn’t just a fall; it was a big fall followed by a big impact, a slide and an abrupt stop! Mountain bike tyres, speed, freshly laid tarmac and ice don’t mix well, apparently! I’m still not quite sure exactly what happened but, to cut a long story short, I went around a bit of a curve and hit some ice that sent me crashing to the ground.

The impact with the ground would have been bad enough but I somehow managed to get my left leg trapped under the frame of the bike as I fell. That meant that the full length of the slide along the ground (around 15 feet) was carried out on the inside of my left knee and my left foot. The end result was a pair of cycling leggings with a large hole in, an over-shoe that looks like it had been subjected to a shark attack and a left knee that looks like the leftovers from a butchers block. My right wrist also aches and my left shoulder feels a little tight - the good news is that the bike came out of it almost unscathed!

The remains of my over-shoe.

This morning I decided that I ought to give my somewhat tattered flesh time to heal and so didn’t use the bike to get to work but went in the car instead. Tomorrow, I’ll be back on the bike. There is no way I can cope with all the traffic two days running! I may well have to ride a little slower than usual, perhaps a good thing, but at least it will be more enjoyable than sitting in a traffic jam.

On a more positive note, I’ve now cycled almost 3,400 miles this year. I’d quite like to predict what my total distance for the year is going to be but that may just be tempting fate a little too much, and I’ve also seen the weather forecast for the end of the week.... ICE!

November in a nutshell...

2009-11-29T17:00:00.000Z

It doesn’t take much to work out that things have been very quiet here for the past month - no news means no blogs. But, as the end of yet another month is just around the corner I guess I should make a bit of an effort to keep the page up to date. So, here goes...

Lynda and I were both off work for the first week of November and, although we didn’t have too much planned, the poor weather meant we spent much of the time indoors. Monday was spent over in Nottingham walking around the shops. I can’t really say we went shopping, as the only things we purchased were chocolates! Admittedly it was very nice (and slightly expensive) chocolate but that was the sum total of our purchasing! Hotel Chocolat does, however, come highly recommended in this house!

Nottingham Council House.

Nottingham Market Square.

Whilst in Nottingham I managed to get my cycling fix by spending a little time looking around the Evans Cycles shop. Somehow I got out of the store without spending money, a rare event indeed these days! We would have looked around Nottingham Castle too, if it had not been closed. I guess Monday would be a good day to try and storm the castle if the need arose - nobody would be home!

Robin Hood - the only one left at the castle!

Whilst on our way back to the train station we passed Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, England’s oldest inn. I’d have loved to have stopped off here for a pint or two but as time was running short we had to make do with a quick photo of the outside. At least I now have a reason to go back to Nottingham.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.

The rest of the week was spent relaxing at home and eating out at lunch times. We visited three different pubs for lunch; The Bonnie Prince at Chellaston on Tuesday, The Dog and Duck at Shardlow on Thursday and The Newdigate Arms at West Hallam on the Friday. Wednesday was a healthy day - we stayed out of the pub and went for a walk around Elvaston Castle instead! After all the recent rain I had hoped to be able to photograph lots of different fungi but there was very little showing. We did manage to stay dry for the whole of the walk so that was something at least.

Elvaston Castle.

Much of November has provided a feeling of déjà vu on most days - I’ve ridden the bike to work, often in the rain, and almost always on wet roads. I’ve ridden home again in the dark and often in the rain or on wet roads. I’ve also picked up yet more punctures, two in the space of four days! The first left me pushing the bike the last half a mile home, the second was a slow puncture that saw me ride home, in the pouring rain, at near record speed so that I could get back before the tyre deflated fully. The rain was falling so heavily on that occasion that the air leaking from the tyre was actually blowing bubbles in the water! The bike was thrown in the back of the garage in disgust that evening and I didn’t go near it for another two days. Despite the weather, and also my bike, I have managed to keep adding a few miles to my total each day and have now covered a total of 3,331 miles this year.

That just about brings things up to date other than a few photos taken yesterday at the latest round of the Notts & Derby Cyclo-cross League. The racing took place at Sinfin Moor Park, which is just a short cycle ride of around 3 miles from home. Even after all the rain we’ve had in the past few weeks the course looked to have stood up to it very well and, from my view as a spectator, rode pretty fast. In true cyclo-cross style there was a fair amount of mud around but it tended to be the sort of stuff that didn’t clog up the bikes to any great extent. I’m still waiting for the official results to be posted on the league website but I’m pretty sure that Geoff Giddings, of the Raleigh Avanti team, managed to snatch victory on the line after a very fast sprint finish that saw the first two riders cross the line almost as one.

The charge away from the start line.

Steady on the down hill.

"Scream if you want to go faster!" But maybe take your road reflectors off!

Working together.

Team Raleigh on a charge!

The 1, 2 and nearly 3.

Just bikes...

2009-11-01T23:15:00.002Z

One way or another, cycling is slowly taking up more and more of my time. If I’m not riding one of my bikes I’m fixing or cleaning them. If it’s not my bikes then I’m out watching someone else. If I have to stay at home, I try and find cycling to watch on the TV! I think I may be getting the bug!

A couple of weeks ago Lynda and I went to the Moorways Sports Centre, which is just a short walk away, for the National Trophy Cyclo-cross racing. Riders from all over the UK took part in the day's racing as well as riders from Germany, Belgium and, I think, France. The weather wasn’t great but at least the light rain that fell for a time added to the excitement - if you were watching and not riding that is! The sharp, off-camber downhill turns caught many of the riders out and resulted in some rather impressive face plants. Luckily, everyone got straight back on their bikes and carried on as if nothing had happened.

This was only the second cyclo-cross event that I had been to, and the first big event, but I’m hooked. I already have other events pencilled in the diary that I’d like to attend. If anyone out there fancies sponsoring a total novice to the sum of around £3000 I’d be happy to take your money and spend it on the equipment needed for me to have a go!

And that was just the warm up!

The sprint away from the start line.

The transition from grass to tarmac.

The climb out of the sports arena.

Over the planks.

L to R... 3rd Jan van Dael. 1st Johannes Sickmueller. 2nd Paul Oldham.

My own cycling has been ticking along nicely each week and I’ve covered a total of 3,120 miles since the start of the year. Now my goal is to reach 3,500 miles this year - 1,000 more that I had initially hoped for. October was my best month of the year so far with just over 412 miles ridden. I also managed my longest single ride so far last month, a 70-mile hack around South Derbyshire! The ride should have been a 55 miler but I got carried away and just kept on adding extra bits to the pre-planned route I had in mind. In the end, the only reason I returned home when I did was because I knew that there was a roast dinner waiting for me! There was no way I was going to risk a burnt, or worse still, no dinner!

The past week has seen the run of warm, dry weather come to an end and I’ve had to contend with a number of wet rides to and from work. The Cannondale is now tucked away in the back of the garage and will be staying there until I can be sure that it’s not going to get a soaking on wet roads. If that’s not a good enough excuse then how about “I can’t ride it because it has no lights”?

Lynda and I are now off work for a week so I’ll start November with little or no cycling. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that I can make up the mileage later in the month and hope I don’t have too many pub lunches over the next few days! Yeah, like that is going to stop me!

High days and holidays...

2009-10-12T22:00:00.000+01:00

Last week Lynda and I took a few days off work. We had nothing really planned and just went with the flow. On Monday, after a couple of much needed extra hours in bed we headed into Derby. This was the only part of the break that was planned; we wanted to take a ride on the big wheel in Derby Market Place. Okay, so it’s not the London Eye but it was still well worth it! The wheel is 60 meters in height and gave us views much like the ones we had from the top of Derby Cathedral last summer. The information at the ticket office states that the ride lasts for around 15 minutes, we were on the first ride of the morning and it lasted for at least 25 minutes.

The Derby big wheel.

Lynda.

The Guildhall.

The Cathedral and the new Jury's Inn.

Me, with a load of steel work.

The new Cathedral Green.

The Guildhall tower and clock.

The Market Hall.

The Market Place.

After our big wheel adventure we spent the rest of the morning in Derby, shopping. The pain of this was eased, for me, by a stop at Muffin Break for elevenses - a slice of bacon and onion quiche and a mug of Cappuccino soon had me smiling again! I’m not a shopping fan but I do like coffee shops! Actually, that’s not quite true... Lynda took me to Costco on the way home and treated me to a mixed case of Wychwood Brewery beers. Now that IS my kind of shopping!

After stopping off at home to unload the shopping, and for me to change into my cycling clothes, we headed off to the bike shop to collect my Cannondale which had been in for it’s free 6-month check-up. All was pretty much as I expected with the bike, it had had a new chain fitted due to the original one having stretched but nothing else was needed - or so I thought. Before the chain was fitted the shop had told me that I really should be fitting a new gear cassette and front chain rings. Okay, so I’ve covered almost 1,000 miles on the bike but there was no way I was paying out almost a 3rd of the price of the bike after only 6 months! I told them to fit the chain and I’d see how things went. Needless to say, on the ride home a couple of the gears were skipping.

First thing Tuesday morning - well, okay, about 10:0AM - I went shopping for a new rear gear cassette for the bike. A little bit of internet research the night before had turned up a cassette that had a slightly wider set of gear ratios that would give me an extra 2 or 3 MPH for the same pedal effort. These were soon in my possession and, after a quick stop off at work to borrow a torque wrench, fitted to the Cannondale. After a short test ride to make sure everything was working as it should it was time to think about lunch - off to the pub we went! Lynda and I decided that we’d give The Bonnie Prince at Chellaston a try as we’d never been before. It turned out that the pub had only re-opened that day due to a complete refit. The pub was very nice, the food excellent - we’ll be back at some point in the future.

Wednesday, and it was shopping time again. This time it was a couple of garden centres that we visited. At the first we picked up a load of winter bedding plants that are now safely in the garden and at the second Lynda found a couple of Camellias that she instantly fell in love with and just HAD to have! The fact that they were priced as “two for one” just added to their appeal. The Camellias are also safely planted in the garden where we eagerly await them bursting into flower next spring! With all the plants we needed safely stowed away in the car there was nothing left to do but retire to the pub for lunch again. This time we finished up in another new to us hostelry, The Seven Wells at Etwall. The Seven Wells is part of the same chain as The Bonnie Prince so the menu was almost identical. Once again the food was excellent and we were left feeling full but not quite bursting - the Ruddles County ale was also very much to my liking! I can’t wait for our next time off work!

Autumn colour...

2009-10-11T22:45:00.001+01:00

Okay, this post is late, very late, but here goes anyway!

A few weeks ago - September 20th! - I spent a very enjoyable few hours out birding in the Trent Valley, visiting both Ambaston and Barrow-on-Trent.

The birding at Ambaston was okay but nothing spectacular. A small number of summer migrants were still enjoying the early autumn sunshine with 8 Swallow, 1 Reed Warbler and 2 Chiffchaff being recorded. In contrast, 4 Wigeon were a sign that winter is just around the corner - these being my first of the autumn. Two Snipe were also probably birds that had returned to the area after breeding elsewhere. Other birds of note included 5 Little Grebe, 9 Mute Swan, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 80 Black-headed Gull, 5 Stock Dove, 3 Grey Wagtail and a Jay.

As I had left the house before Lynda was awake I took the opportunity to borrow her camera and managed to capture a few shots of the autumn colours...

From Ambaston I moved on to Barrow-on-Trent where once again the birding on offer was okay but I didn’t turn up anything unexpected. As things were a little quiet I decided on a bit of counting - I tend to count birds quite a lot when it gets quiet! Some of the better numbers were... 34 Cormorant, 122 Tufted Duck, 170 Lesser Black-backed Gull and c1000 Black-headed Gull. The highlight of the morning though was the number of Common Buzzard, 15 of them soaring over the lake! This was by far the largest number of Buzzard I had ever seen together in the county and it is a sight that will stay with me for a long while. Some of the other birds seen included 2 Kingfisher, a handful of Swallow and House Martin, 2 Reed Warbler and 4 Yellowhammer.

Before heading home to Lynda, and my Sunday lunch, I rattled off another few photos on what had turned into a glorious autumn morning. I must try and sort out a new camera for myself at some point in the near future!

Another target met!

2009-09-15T22:30:00.001+01:00

At the beginning of the year I set myself a little challenge, I wanted to try and cycle at least 2,500 miles this year. At the time, I thought it should be attainable if I didn’t chicken out of riding to work when the weather was bad and also threw in a few longer “fun” rides at weekends. Well, today I passed the 2,500 mile barrier!

On the whole it’s been an enjoyable experience so far if you ignore the five punctures I’ve picked up, the numerous soakings when I’ve been caught in the rain and the occasional close call with cars/vans/buses that treat cyclists as target practice! February 3 is one day that stands out above most this year; it was the day I lost the use of all but one of the 21 gears on my bike due to the whole of the gear mechanism freezing up! Conditions that day were not good!

The purchase of the Cannondale Bad Boy in April had a positive effect on my riding and I soon started to up the mileage I was riding. In early May I completed the 40-mile Vale of Belvoir sponsored ride for the British Heart Foundation, the following morning I rode for another 25 miles just to spin my legs out. There have also been Sunday morning rides of 30 miles, 40 miles (twice), and a 50 miler. I also got a little carried away on a rather nice Sunday morning in June and returned home with 60 miles under my belt! The plan is to work up to a 100-mile ride at some point next year. Well, that’s the plan!

At the end of Sunday’s birding blog I posted a couple of photos taken with my phone, that’s because I’ve killed my poor old digital camera! After being with me for more years than I can remember, and taking over 7,000 photos, the Kodak gave up the ghost on September 5. I’d cycled over to Allestree Park to watch the cyclo-cross racing and after taking just two photos the camera died. The last ever pictures from the camera are below!

Cyclo-cross at Allestree Park.

As for the racing, I don’t think I’ll be taking it up any time soon. The standard of riding in the senior’s race, and the quality of the bikes, was way above my level! I hope to attend more rounds of the race series over the next few months, hopefully with a fully operational camera!

"10-Mile" update...

2009-09-13T23:20:00.000+01:00

Six weeks ago I was on a birding high after adding Bittern to my “10-Mile List” at Willington, I was also a little unsure as to whether or not I could reach last years total of 136 species within my recording zone. Well, all that is history. My total species count now stands at 137!

The five new species are...

Osprey. Whilst on a cycle ride on August 23 I was lucky enough to have an Osprey fly slowly over me as I headed into Mickleover. I managed to get very good views of the bird as it passed overhead and it was the highlight of a great, 52-mile, ride. I think I deserved that one, even if only for being crazy enough to be out riding for 52 miles on a Sunday morning!

Dunlin. I had to double-check all my records for the year before I added this one to the list - I couldn’t believe it had taken me until August 30 to see a Dunlin locally! Three Dunlin were seen at Willington Gravel Pits on a rather quiet Sunday morning when the only other notable sightings were of a single Hobby, 2 Green Sandpiper, and a Kingfisher. Things were so quiet that I even resorted to counting the Canada Geese! I recorded a total of 492, slightly less than the 500 Black-headed Gull. Well, I did say it was a quiet morning!

Shag. I had planned on a bike ride on the evening of September 6 but a quick check of the sightings on Birdguides had me heading off to Willington instead - a juvenile Shag had been located. Not only was this a new species for the “10-Mile List” it was also the first I’d ever seen inland. Other than the Shag it was yet another very quiet visit. A Buzzard showed well at the rear of Gull Pit and 23 Snipe were seen in flight. Summer lingered on in the form of Common Tern, Swallow, House Martin, Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler.

Greenshank. A very brief visit to Aston-on-Trent Gravel Pits this morning resulted in species number 136 for the year. I had hoped for something a little bit special to match last year’s total, but I’ll take the Greenshank all the same! To be fair, it was a rather smart looking Greenshank and it did show very well - but it was still a Greenshank. Green Sandpiper, Dunlin and Chiffchaff were the other notable sightings.

Little Egret. This has always been a bit of a bogey bird for me in Derbyshire; I only saw my first in the county last summer. Today, at Barrow-on-Trent, I found 5 of the things and, in the process, moved my “10-Mile List” on to 137 species for the year. I’ve been trying to locate one of these little white herons all summer without any success so I was rather pleased that Little Egret was the species to take my total ahead of last year’s. Also at Barrow were 105 Cormorant, 17 Grey Heron, 100 Tufted Duck, 7 Buzzard, 2 Chiffchaff and 2 Jay.

Two very poor photos of a Little Egret. These were taken with my mobile phone through my ‘scope - the reason why will become clear in my next blog post!

With just over 3 months still left of 2009, can I move the list on to 140 species? I really haven’t a clue!

132 - a lucky number?

2009-08-03T21:30:00.000+01:00

Almost a year ago I posted a blog here about how I’d finally added Little Egret to my Derbyshire birding list and that the Egret was also species 132 on my 2008 “10-Mile List”. Well, 132 must be a lucky number for me, or Willington Gravel Pits is my lucky site!

Yesterday morning I had planned on getting up early and going out birding. In the end I stayed in bed until after 9:00AM and just couldn’t be bothered with the prospect of flooded paths, mud and a lack of birds! Staying at home and doing a bit of work on one of my bikes held much more of an attraction for me - that was until I received a next message from one of the county's most active birders. A Bittern had been seen at Willington Gravel Pits! It took me less than half an hour to gather together my telescope, bins and camera and drive to the reserve.

I had to wait for over an hour for the Bittern to show but when it did I was far from disappointed - the bird did two separate fly-pasts, high above the main pit, before deciding to settle in the reed bed. The views were by far the best I’d ever had of a Bittern and it was my first for Willington. It was also a new species for the “10-Mile List”, number 132. I was one happy chap.

By now it was approaching mid-day and I was starting to think of getting home so I could work on the bike - the Bittern had other ideas. Just as I was about to leave it climbed out of the reeds and started to walk about in the open! This was too good to be true! I’ve seen a few of these birds over the years but never before have I seen one show so well, it was more like watching a Grey Heron.

I did get a few photos but they didn’t turn out too well, I blame the strong breeze that was blowing for the blurred images. It had nothing to do with my hands shaking with excitement! Well, I don’t think it did!

At first it's just a head...

... then the whole bird!

Then it went walk-about!

The “10-Mile List” is now just 5 species short of beating last years total - maybe it can be done, maybe not. Oh, and the bike did get it’s chain, gears and rear mech. cleaned and serviced later in the afternoon too! Not a bad result all-in-all!

2009-07-19T23:00:00.001+01:00

Good evening! Yes, it is I, the blog owner. I know it’s a little unusual but I am here to post an update - a brief one, but an update nonetheless! So, what’s been going on? Well, as you may have guessed by the lack of posts here dear reader, the answer to that is “not a lot”!

On the birding front a combination of work, bad weather and bad timing (on the birds behalf) has seen me miss a number of species that I would have loved to add to my “10-Mile List”. I have managed to add one more tick to the list since my last update - Spotted Flycatcher on June 28. The “10-Mile List” now stands at 131 species.

Last month I said that I’d try and post a few photos from around the garden, but I didn’t. Sorry Sarah! I did actually take the photos (using my phone) but never quite got around to uploading them. Here they are...

Despite the constant rain we’ve been getting the plants are surviving and have actually grown and continued to flower! If it ever stops raining we may be able to get out in the garden and enjoy them. Some hope!

Another victim of the rain was the Ashbourne Highland Gathering that should have taken place today; it was rained off. Luckily, the Saturday entertainment went ahead as scheduled and that meant we were able to see Clanadonia and also The Red Hot Chilli Pipers perform. Clanadonia played three “free shows” around the streets of Ashbourne during the afternoon before opening the main evening concert for the Chilli Pipers.

Clanadonia, on a rare visit south of the border, came to have fun and have fun they did! Their shows were full of the usual mix of great music and humour. Their antics when not performing had me smiling the whole day through. Quite what the sales girl in Costa coffee thought when a certain band member (in full tribal garb) tried to trade a Wombles CD for coffee I hate to think. When three of the band burst into the shop later in the afternoon and played a brief drum and pipe show the staff had their thoughts confirmed... crazy!

Yes, that IS me in the last picture! After years of avoiding being dragged up to “shake” with the band I finally got caught yesterday!

A brief rain shower interrupted a possible hunt for trolls, under a small bridge in the town, as the band did not want the drum skins getting too wet before the evening show. Seven tribal warriors then took over the local Boots chemists and stored their pipes and drums in the middle of the shop until the rain passed! No one seemed to object for some reason. As a thank you the band did play their final set of the afternoon outside the shop, and left them a free CD. Boots had been “tribalised”!

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers gig later in the evening was very well attended, close to 1000 people, and proved to be a great show. It was the first time I’d seen the band play live, having previously only seen them on TV and YouTube, but I’d love to see them again given the chance. The mix of bagpipes, drums, guitars and rock music may seem a strange combination but the Chilli Pipers carry it off to perfection.

So, there is my none too brief an update. I’ll be back again as and when something happens other than rain!

There are more photos from Ashbourne HERE!

Just a little quiet...

2009-06-21T23:20:00.000+01:00

Okay, time for an update! I know it’s not like me to go for so long without blogging but there really hasn’t been anything to blog about plus, I’ve been way too busy! Sounds kind of daft that doesn’t it... nothing to blog, way too busy! Make your mind up Rich!

The cycling is becoming more and more enjoyable since I purchased the new bike and I’ve been steadily clocking up the miles each week. I’ve also taken up a keen interest in the weather forecasts since the Cannondale arrived - if there is even the smallest chance of rain the old bike is fetched out of the garage for the day! So far I’ve managed a total of 415 rain-free miles on the new Bad Boy! My total distance for the year has now reached 1455 miles, so I’m well on target to reach my goal of 2500 miles by the end of the year. As well as cycling to work and back each day I’ve also been out for three longer rides since my last blog post. The first ride was a steady 20 miles, the second a more respectable 30 miles and then, last Sunday, I got a bit carried away and rode for 60 miles! As you can tell, I’m getting on rather well with the Cannondale!

A couple of weeks ago Lynda and I decided at the last minute to go and see The Bad Shepherds play in Derby. I’d never seen them before, only heard one track of theirs (via the internet) and didn’t really know what to expect. What a choice of gig for a Friday night! In fact, a great choice for ANY night! The Bad Shepherds are Andy Dinan (fiddle), Troy Donockley (Uillean pipes, cittern, whistles, vocals), Maartin Allcock (twelve string guitar, bass, vocals) and Adrian Edmondson (vocals and “trash mandolin”). The first three may not be too well known to many readers of this blog but Adrian Edmondson most certainly will be, as the violent punk rocker Vyvian in the 1980’s comedy series The Young Ones.

The Young Ones.

The band play a set that is made up of cover songs, almost entirely 70’s and 80’s punk songs. The twist - they play them all in a “folk music” style! Yes, it sounds strange, crazy even, BUT it works! The gig was brilliant and I’m already making plans to go and see The Bad Shepherds again soon!

The Bad Shepherds.

My birding has run out of fuel somewhat and I’ve “hit the wall”! Since we returned from the RSPB long weekend away I’ve only been out with my ’bins and ’scope twice within my 10-mile zone. The dreaded “been there, done that” syndrome I suffered with a few years ago has returned. I just can’t seem to get excited about chasing around after birds at the moment. I have added five more ticks to the year list though... Common Scoter at Foremark Reservoir on May 1st. Garden Warbler and Turtle Dove, again at Foremark but on May 24th and then later on the same day I added Garganey and Hobby at Willington. The “10-Mile List” now stands at 130 species. All I need to do over the next 6 months is find another 7 new species and I’ll have bettered last year's total. Sounds easy when you look at it like that but I reckon it’s going to be rather more challenging!

Bempton cliffs.

Flamborough Head.

Yesterday, Lynda and I went with the Derby RSPB Group to Bempton and also Flamborough. The number of birds seen wasn’t too impressive but I didn’t mind because I got to see Puffins! No matter what level you enjoy birds at Puffins can never fail to make your day better, they’re THE comics of the bird world I reckon. I just love ’em!

Puffins.

A combination of the excellent viewing facilities and also the use of my ’scope meant that photos of the sea birds were reasonably easy to obtain. The results could have been even better if the weather had been kinder to us. Cloud and occasional rain showers tried to dampen things down a little.

Razorbills.

Kittiwake.

Gannet.

Later in the week I’ll try and post a few photos from around the garden... just so Sarah can see what we’ve been up to out there so far this year! If I’m not too busy that is!

A week in Wales...

2009-05-25T21:45:00.005+01:00

Around 20 years or so ago Lynda and I discovered a little holiday hideaway on the Welsh coast, the village of Aberporth. Since that first visit we’ve returned many times - we’ve lost count but it must be about 12 or 13 times. Last week, we spent yet another week relaxing at The Penrallt Hotel, this time in one of their self-catering cottages.

Our holiday cottage.

The weather wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t all that bad either. We hadn’t planned on doing much other than relaxing, eating, drinking and also going to a gig on the Thursday night. No break would be complete for me without a small amount of birding at some point so we spent a few hours at the Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve, Mwnt beach and also Aberporth beach. By the end of the week I’d recorded a total of 67 bird species. Most of these I could easily see here within my 10-mile zone but one or two were birds that would be considered as scare or unheard of in Derbyshire.

Sighting of the week was without doubt the two Chough that we saw at Mwnt, closely followed by the numerous Red Kites that we came across. Cetti’s Warblers were singing and showing well, for Cetti’s, at Teifi Marshes. Fulmar, Gannet, Shag, Kittiwake and Guillemot were the pick of the sea birds but waders were very thin on the ground with only Oystercatcher and Curlew being found. A couple of Wheatear were on Mwnt along with a Rock Pipit and a single Grey Wagtail was spotted in Cardigan town centre. Swift, Swallow and House Martin could all be seen from our cottage whilst Sand Martin were present at Teifi Marshes. As well as the Red Kites we also saw plenty of Buzzard, a couple of Kestrel and a Peregrine that was hunting over Aberporth village.

The indoor swimming pool, and also spa pool, at the hotel was put to good use on a couple of occasions but nothing like as often as we used the hotel's catering facilities! The Penrallt has always been very good when it comes to food but the standard was higher than ever this year. Even though we were in a self-catering cottage we found ourselves eating in the hotel every day - and also enjoying the delicious cappuccino coffee that they make too. The bar met with my approval the moment I spotted a bottle of Talisker whisky! The free WiFi connection available in the hotel lounge came in handy too - just how did we ever survive without the internet?

Before we set off on our holiday Lynda had been checking the internet for events in the Aberporth area, her searching came up with a gig in Cardigan by the Michael McGoldrick Band. I have to admit I wasn’t aware of this band before Lynda found them but I’ll now be keeping a look out for them in the future - the gig was great! Michael McGoldrick is a superb Uillean pipe player and also an amazing flute player. Checking out his past work on the internet revealed a huge list of names that he has performed with in the past - Kate Rusby, Eddi Reader, Sharon Shannon, John McCusker and also bands such as Capercaillie and Shooglenifty all appear. There was also an awesome Bodhran player in the band - John Joe Kelly - who kept me spellbound throughout the whole gig. His Bodhran solo was one of the highlights of the evening! The gig left me on such a high that it wasn’t until we set off back to the cottage that I realised just how hungry I was - a quick stop off at the local supermarket for supplies soon sorted that out. I was cooking myself a Chicken Jalfrazi a short while later!

As we spent much of the week doing very little I don’t have too many photos but here are a few of my favourites...

Aberporth.

Teifi Marshes.

Water Buffalo, in Wales?!

Poppit Sands.

Mwnt.

We almost always see Dolphins whilst in the Aberporth area, this year this was as close as we came!

BHF ride...

2009-05-10T23:15:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was my sponsored cycle ride in the Vale of Belvoir and I’m pleased to say I completed the 40 miles without any problems. The weather was good - dry and bright with only a steady breeze - the route superbly signed and marshalled and the sausage, bacon and egg sandwich I had after the ride was great! You can’t ask for much more!

Belvoir Castle.

Lynda and I arrived at Belvoir Castle at around 8:00AM giving me plenty of time to sign in and to get the bike out of the car and the front wheel back in place (I have to remove it to get it in the car!). I then went for a quick warm-up ride up and down the entrance road to the castle.

Ready for the off.

At just before 9:00AM the organisers called the riders to the start line and then began to release people in batches of around 30 at a time. I hung back a little and set off at the back of the 3rd group. The first mile or so was a bit slow going due to all the riders that were trying to get out of the park and onto the open road. After that, things settled down and I was able to pick up speed a little. I wanted to ride an average 16mph so that I could complete the ride in 2hrs 30min and that’s just how it worked out.

The riders gather...

Only 40 miles to go!

Much of the route was reasonably flat but there were also three or four punishing climbs too. Two of the hills saw many riders having to revert to the “pushbike” mode of transport and get off their machines and push. Somehow, I managed to spin my way to the top of all the climbs without having to get off my bike! The amount of cycling I do may have helped me up the hills but I think a lot of it was to do with riding the new Cannondale - it’s just so much lighter than my old bike!

The fastest part of the ride for me came at just after 30 miles when the route took a short but steep descent towards the village of Branston. The GPS tracker on my phone clocked me at 40.9mph down the narrow country lane. If only I’d been pedalling the bike I may have been able to push that speed up a little! As it happened, I was too busy looking out for potholes and gravel to have time for spinning the pedals as well!

At the end of the ride I felt much better than I’d expected I would. My legs felt good, I certainly wasn’t out of breath and my energy levels felt okay too. Although there were a number of refreshment stops on the route I chose to ignore them and instead carried my own energy drink and flapjack bars. I ate and drank at regular intervals, whilst on the move, and it certainly kept me from “hitting the wall” and running out of energy.

The end of the ride!

So, all in all, a great time was had. If this event is run again next year I’m pretty certain I’ll be taking part. The GPS tracker on my phone did highlight one little “issue” though... the ride is advertised as a 40-mile route. My GPS reckons I did 40.51 miles! Perhaps having to weave my way through the crowds and then up the steepest of the climbs accounts for the extra distance!

Thank you to the British Heart Foundation for organising a great event and THANK YOU to everyone that sponsored me!

Whilst I took part in the ride Lynda took a walk around the castle and grounds - you can see more photos HERE.

Today, I woke up feeling none the worse for the cycling yesterday so took the bike out again. I told Lynda I was going for a steady ride around the local roads and would be back within 20 minutes or so. An hour and a half later I returned home from a 25 mile ride! I sort of got carried away!

One last push...

2009-05-08T21:57:00.002+01:00

In less than 12 hours I’ll be starting my sponsored bike ride for the British Heart Foundation. The weather isn’t looking too bad and I’m all set to go!

I’ve had quite a good day today raising sponsorship - my total stands at £220 at the moment - but I really would like to reach my £250 target. The Justgiving web page is still open so please consider making a donation. Every single pound can make a difference to someone's life.

http://www.justgiving.com/richardcrooks

BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION UPDATE...

2009-05-07T21:15:00.004+01:00

There is now less than 36 hours until I take part in the Vale of Belvoir cycle ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation. My sponsorship drive is going okay, but it’s not going great! I really would appreciate more sponsors!

So far I have pledges totalling £155 and I’d like to thank everyone that has sponsored me so far.

Please, if you haven’t done so already, visit my Justgiving page and add your name to the list.

Thank you for your support everyone!

http://www.justgiving.com/richardcrooks

I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

2009-04-30T22:30:00.002+01:00

Once again, I’m raising money for the British Heart Foundation and I need YOUR help.

Every year, thousands of people die prematurely from heart disease. It remains the UK's single biggest killer and for the increasing number who survive, life can be frightening and hard. The British Heart Foundation is the nation's heart charity. Every day they save lives, through pioneering research, providing vital information to help people reduce their own heart health risks, campaigning for change and supporting and caring for heart patients.

In 2005, 2006 and 2007 I took part in sponsored walks for the British Heart Foundation, last year I decided on a change of event and a change of transport and took on the challenge of the 36 mile Hearts First Robin Hood Bike Ride. I enjoyed the mud and pouring rain of that ride so much that I’m now having a go at the 40 mile Vale of Belvoir Bike Ride on May 9.

I know it’s only a matter of months since I last asked for your help but please dig deep in your pockets, search under the cushions on the sofa and raid the piggy bank, give as generously as possible to help the British Heart Foundation help others less fortunate than ourselves.

You can sponsor me on-line via my Justgiving web site at...

http://www.justgiving.com/richardcrooks

Thank you for your support.

Rich

RSPB Long weekend...

2009-04-29T23:15:00.000+01:00

Last weekend was our annual long weekend away with the Derby RSPB Group, we were based in Bournemouth and visited the RSPB reserves at Arne and Radipole, Portland Bill and also Durlston Country Park. As a group we saw or heard a total of 107 species with Lynda and myself managing a list amounting to 76 species. The number of birds was down a little on past years but the weekend itself was, as usual, of very high quality.

On Saturday we visited RSPB Arne, a reserve with a mixed habitat of heathland, mature woodland and also tidal marsh. Birds of note here included Little Egret, Spoonbill, Whimbrel, Curlew, Stonechat and a pair of friendly Wheatear that gave us some very close views. Large numbers of Sika deer were also seen during our walk around the reserve.

RSPB Arne.

Wheatear.

At 4:45PM we left Arne and headed for the Riviera Hotel in Bournemouth. As with all the previous long weekend trips we’ve been on with the group, the non-birding side of the break is equally important - good food and a bar are as important as the birds! This year’s hotel provided us with superb food, both at breakfast and the evening meal, and also had plenty of space to relax with friends over a few drinks at night.

My birding started just before breakfast on Sunday when I took a stroll down to the sea front. Although I didn’t take my ‘bins with me I was still able to add Sandwich Tern to my trip list with numerous birds fishing just off the shoreline. Once back at the hotel a full cooked breakfast set me up for the day.

Bournemouth view.

Our first stop off on Sunday was RSPB Radipole in the centre of Weymouth. Despite it’s urban location this reserve is still rather scenic and also provided the group with some great birds. Great Crested Grebe, Shelduck, Gadwall, Teal and Tufted Duck were all present as was the somewhat dubious Hooded Merganser that has been on the reserve for some while now. I’ve recorded my sighting of this bird but reckon that it’s almost certain to fail the “wild or not” test of the BOU!

RSPB Radipole.

Other birds of note at Radipole included Marsh Harrier, Swift, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Blackcap. We also managed to get a couple of views of Bearded Tit as they flew, very quickly, over the reed beds!

From Radipole it was just a short coach ride to Portland Bill where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Portland could have been the perfect location for a few hours of birding if only the weather wasn’t so nice! The morning had started off dull and misty with one or two heavy rain showers. The wind was also rather strong and coming in off the sea, great for a bit of sea-watching. The problem was the rain cleared away, the sun came out and the bird movement suffered as a result. I did manage a count of around 320 Manx Shearwater in a little over an hour but failed to see any skuas at all.

Portland Bill.

Gannet, Shag, Turnstone, Guillemot, Razorbill and Rock Pipit were all seen at Portland along with a single Whimbrel that was wandering around the cliff top rocks. I would imagine the Whimbrel was a recent arrival on this side of the Channel and was resting up before continuing its journey north. Our birding for the day came to and end at 4:30PM when we set off on the return journey to the hotel. The evening was spent relaxing over another great meal and a few more drinks.

Turnstone.

Monday was our last day of the trip and unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse. It was raining heavily as we ate breakfast and continued to do so as the coach drove to Durlston Country Park. We spent four hours at the Country Park and the rain persisted for much of that time. By far the most welcome sighting here was the Lookout Cafe where we enjoyed getting dry whilst having a bite to eat!

The Lookout Cafe.

What birding we did do resulted in sightings of Fulmar, Gannet, Peregrine, Guillemot, Razorbill, Stonechat, Whitethroat and, surprisingly, our first two Great Tits of the weekend! At just after 2:30PM our coach started the long journey home, just as the rain started to pour down again. It wasn’t the ideal end to the weekend but it certainly didn’t ruin it either.

As we headed north along the A34 towards Oxford a Red Kite flew low alongside the road and gave most people on the coach one last new species for the weekend - those that weren’t fast asleep that is! I was lucky enough to be awake at that moment!

Willington hits the big time...

2009-04-24T22:05:00.002+01:00

For the second time this week I took the shortest route home from work that I could, on the bike, so that I could be at home as quickly as possible, and once again it was all down to a bird. Well, in this case, 11 birds! All afternoon my mobile phone had been going off with updates on a rather special event at Willington Gravel Pits. At one point the texts were coming in so often that I had to switch the phone off - work was very busy and I was getting too distracted! I was also getting just a little bit worried that the birds would move on before I could get to “the ponds”.

At 6:45PM I pulled into the lane at Willington to be met with a mass of parked cars. They were all over the parking area, the grass verges, the pavement along the road and part way down the lane. A couple of cars were trying to find a space as I drove straight past them and down the lane - my contacts had told me to avoid the roadside panic and to drive down the lane as the parking was easier down there. They were right and this saved me an extra few minutes.

So, why the rush? Why the sudden influx of cars? Well, if you’re a keen birder you’ll have worked it out by now or even been to Willington yourself. I was there for the Whiskered Terns! Whiskered Tern has only been recorded on one previous occasion in Derbyshire and that, apparently, was back in 1883 when one was shot on the River Trent near Barrow. I wasn’t responsible for that horror as I wasn’t around on that day! I’ll certainly remember this day for a while though!

The terns showed very well from the end of the lane with all 11 being seen together on a number of occasions. Just one of these gorgeous birds would have made my day, if not my year, but to see them in such numbers and on my local patch was pure magic. Not only are the birds a great county record they are also believed to be the largest group of Whiskered Terns ever seen in Britain. Birding history was being made and it was happening within my “10-Mile Zone”!

As well as the terns I also managed two other new species for the year, Common Tern and Cuckoo. My sighting of the Cuckoo managed to raise a bit of a laugh amongst a few of the visiting birders too. I’d heard it calling for a while but could not locate it, when I did it was through my ‘scope and it was some distance away. I let out a quiet “yes, got ya!” under my breath, or so I thought. I was heard by one of the other birders who enquired just what I’d found - they all found it somewhat amusing that 11 Whiskered Terns were flying around and I was watching a Cuckoo! Each to their own I guess!

So, three more birds for the “10-Mile List” which now stands at 125 species.

Cetti's - by bike...

2009-04-22T22:00:00.000+01:00

I left work in a big hurry this evening, rode like the wind on the new Cannondale all the way home, quickly grabbed my binoculars, changed to my old Claud Butler bike and then set off to ride the 3 miles to the site of the Derbyshire Cetti’s Warblers. Less than half a mile from home and I was cursing the old bike again - the gears were skipping badly once more. Jumping back on the old bike again made me realise just how good the new one is! Still, the route to the river Derwent is far from smooth so there really wasn’t any other option, apart from walking. I rode on and continued to curse under my breath.

Almost before I stopped the bike by the river I heard a Cetti’s calling, I had species number 122 for my “10-Mile List”. As I got off the bike I heard another, more unwelcome, sound. It was, yet again, the dreaded “hissssss”! I’d picked up a rear wheel puncture. Maybe it was the bike’s way of paying me back for relegating it to second best? Luckily, I had all I needed to fix the tyre in my rucksack and did so whilst listening to the two Cetti’s singing from across the river.

In the ¾ hour I spent by the river the Cetti’s never showed but I wasn’t really expecting them to. A “heard only” tick is good enough for me on this occasion. If the birds stay around a while longer I may try again to see them but next time I’ll talk nicely to the bike on the way there!

The new Bad Boy...

2009-04-21T21:50:00.002+01:00

After all the stress of last week I was more than happy when the weekend arrived, even though I did have to work on Saturday morning. Normally, after a bad week at work, I look forward to getting away from phones, computers, cars and people and I head off birding, that wasn’t going to be enough last weekend. I needed something more. I needed retail therapy!

Now, me and shopping are not the best of friends. Never have been, never will be. The only time I feel as though I’m even close to enjoying shopping is if there are “boy’s toys” involved. A quick phone call on Saturday morning and I was all set for a shopping trip that I knew would be right up my street. I was going to treat myself to a new bike!

The idea of a new bike has been running around in my head for months now but I kept talking myself out of it for various reasons. I wasn’t sure if I wanted/needed a mountain bike, a pure road bike or a hybrid. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to pension off my trusty old Claud Butler either - we’ve been together a long time you know! A couple of problematic rides on the old bike, combined with a bad week at work, finally made up my mind. I WAS going to treat myself!

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet the new Bad Boy! A Cannondale Bad Boy to be precise, and its a none too shabby little cruiser.

Cannondale Bad Boy.

I wasn’t sure about the colour at first, it’s a semi matt black finish, but at the price I couldn’t let that put me off. As it’s a 2008 model the price had been dropped from £450 to £399. When it came to paying for the bike in the shop both myself and the sales staff got a bit of a shock as the computer price was set incorrectly. After much button pressing on the PC, a calculator and two other PC’s I finished up paying the grand total of £279! I came away feeling as though I’d just robbed them in broad daylight - not that I’m complaining!

So far I’ve covered almost 35 miles on the Cannondale and it feels pretty good. The higher gearing, narrower wheels and almost slick tyres mean that the bike is quicker on the road than the old one but I’ll now have to avoid some of the rougher routes that I used to ride occasionally. Like any form of transport you have to make compromises at times I guess.

One neat little trick I do like about the colour of the bike is the material used for the frame decals, it's light reflective. In normal light the decals appear to be a satin black colour. Add an extra light source, such as car headlights, and they light up a very bright silvery-white colour.

Natural light...

... with "flash light".

Missing out...

2009-04-20T22:00:00.000+01:00

On a couple of occasions recently I’ve raised the question as to whether there is such a thing as too much information when it comes to birding. The past seven days have confirmed it for me... too much information is bad for your health! Well, my health at least!

The stress levels started to creep up on Tuesday morning when I received news that a Cetti’s Warbler had been located just a mile or so from my work place. This was only the 3rd ever record of the species in the county and I was stuck at work with no chance of getting away. As it turns out there are now 2 Chetti’s singing in the same location, and I’ve still not had chance to go and “tick them off”. Fingers crossed they’ll hang around another day or two.

On Wednesday things really started to go down hill. The messages from the local grapevine were coming in thick and fast - Kittiwake and also Arctic Tern had both been located at Willington Gravel Pits. Once again, I was stuck at work! Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat were also reported but at least they would hang around for a few months.

Thursday arrived and with it come enough text messages to raise my blood pressure to dangerous levels... Barnacle Goose, Whimbrel, Little Gull, Common Tern and yet more Arctic Tern were all seen at Willington at some point during the part of the day I was working. This was really turning into one of those weeks when I should not have been at work! By 6:15PM I’d managed to get away from work, cycle home, pick up my birding gear and drive to Willington. I arrived in time to see 8 Arctic Terns and also 2 House Martins, both new birds for the year, but I missed out on everything else.

On Friday it was the waders that showed up. Sanderling, Dunlin and another Whimbrel spent time at Willington whilst I spent time at work. The “10-Mile List” was really missing out and I was thinking of selling my binoculars and ‘scope or throwing my mobile phone in Alvaston Lake. No phone means no text messages, means no bird info and less stress!

On Sunday I finally managed a full morning of birding. I was out of bed at 5:45AM and at Willington Gravel Pits by 6:30AM hoping and praying for something to come along that would make up for everything I’d missed during the week. Well, I waited and waited and waited a little more. All I had to show for my efforts was one new bird for the year, Lesser Whitethroat. The only other birds of note on a very quiet morning were a single Arctic Tern and a Grasshopper Warbler that was heard a number of times but never seen. A brief stop off at Barrow on Trent proved to be equally quiet so I headed home in plenty of time for lunch. A huge plate full of roast pork and vegetables made me feel so much better.

So, bird wise it’s been a case of what might have been. I’ve missed out on 7 species I need for the year and have yet to find time to go after the Cetti’s. Tomorrow evening I may well try and rectify that.

Arctic Tern, House Martin and Lesser Whitethroat now take the count for my “10-Mile List” to 121 species.

The Easter break...

2009-04-13T22:45:00.000+01:00

Friday... The forecast was for a dull, cloudy start and then rain by late morning. It turned out to be just so. I decided against any birding and instead took a trip to the garden centre with Lynda. Garden wise, it turned out to be a reasonable choice as we picked up some cheap bedding plants (that need growing on) and also a few rather nice alpine plants too.

By the time we returned home the rain had started and we then spent the next hour or so potting the plants up whilst trying to shelter from the worst of the rain under the open garage door! Any normal people would have taken the car out of the garage so that they had room to work inside or, better still, left the job for a dry day! I guess we’re not so normal!

The alpine tub.

Bedding plants.

Bird wise, the garden centre trip cost me dearly! Osprey, Avocet and Tree Pipit were all seen at Willington Gravel Pits during the morning, the place I’d have chosen for my birding if I had gone out!

Saturday... Lynda had an appointment with her chiropractor mid-morning so that meant I would be left without the car for the morning. I could either stay home or be dropped off somewhere en route and be collected later. I chose to be kicked out of the car at Long Eaton Gravel Pits for a few hours.

I spent just over 3½ hours strolling around the old gravel pits and also along the adjacent river recording a total of 50 species. Birds of note included Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall and Goldeneye; Sparrowhawk and Kestrel; Great Spotted and also Green Woodpecker; around 30 Sand Martin and a single Swallow; Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff; 2 stunning male Yellowhammer, numerous Goldfinch and also 3 Linnet.

New birds for the “10-Mile List” were Blackcap (3 singing males), a single Swift and also 2 Common Whitethroat. Just a few hours after I left Long Eaton I received reports that a Little Tern had been seen there, twice! Another bird missed!

Sunday... I started the morning off at Long Eaton Gravel pits in the vain hope that the Little Tern may put in another appearance - it didn’t. I spent just over an hour waiting for the tern before moving on to Aston-on-Trent Gravel Pits. This was another “just in case” stop off as the wandering Avocets had been spotted here late on Saturday evening. Of course, by Sunday morning they’d wandered off again! I did hear my first Grasshopper Warbler of the year though so that was some consolation, and also species 115 on the “10-Mile List”.

Species 116 was both unexpected and rather welcome - it was a Jay! Yes, after more than four months of trying I finally found the elusive Jay! Well, to be honest, the Jay found me - I was driving along the A50, heading for Barrow-on-Trent, when it flew across the road and landed in a roadside tree. I was overjoyed but I somehow think the moment was lost on the bird - it didn’t even wave as I passed by.

Barrow kept the year list ticking along by providing me with my first Wheatear of the year. Wheatears are common enough in the north of the county but within my recording zone they are only passage migrants - next stop the Derbyshire moors or somewhere even further north. I spent 2½ hours at Barrow, recording a total of 42 species. Notable sightings included 12 Shelduck (my highest count of this species here), 2 Buzzard, a Red-legged Partridge, numerous Sand Martin, 2 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff and a female Blackcap.

The only minor downside to the day? Two Avocet turned up at Aston-on-Trent Gravel Pits late evening just as I’d settled down to watch the golf on TV! Three days in a row I’d missed out on birds within 15 minutes of home!

Monday... I started off with a very quick visit to Aston, just so I could be certain of not seeing the Avocets. I succeeded in my task, the Avocets had moved once again. I did manage to get brief views of the Grasshopper Warbler that I had only heard the day before though so that species is now a full tick on my list and not just a “heard only”.

The rest of Monday morning was spent at Willington Gravel Pits. I was on the reserve for almost 3½ hours, much of it on the viewing platform at the end of the lane. All the expected resident birds were to be seen along with a good number of migrants. Sand Martin and Swallow were over the pits whilst Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap were in the lane. A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling close to the viewing platform for a while whilst at least four Sedge Warbler were singing and displaying in the reed beds. One bird was particularly showy and constantly returned to the same bush to sing, that was until a Sparrowhawk flew by causing the warbler to turn its attention to staying alive! The Sedge Warblers were species 118 on the “10-Mile List”.

Sedge Warbler, in full song.

The Sparrowhawk flys over!

Just as I was about to leave a pair of Jay flew low across the reserve... I wait four months to see one and then they start turning up everywhere!

So, that’s the Easter break over with. All I have to look forward to now is another week at work and I can’t say I’m too excited about it. Still, if you look hard enough you can just about see next weekend on the horizon!

"I can see the weekend from here!"

One more try...

2009-04-10T19:30:00.000+01:00

Having to work with computers all day means that sometimes I really can’t face spending time after work trying to put together a blog post that actually makes sense and is almost worth reading. I’ve had that problem this week! Last weekend's birding was both enjoyable and rewarding but my brain just couldn’t get into gear when it came to blogging - I tried at least three times to do an update and gave up each time.

On Sunday I visited two different sites during the morning and was pleased to see Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover and Redshank back on breeding territories at both. Chiffchaff were much in evidence and Willow Warbler were seen, and heard, at both sites - species number 108 for the “10-Mile List”. Two pairs of Yellowhammer, one at each location, brightened up the day with both their song and stunning yellow plumage. Skylark also filled the air with song and showed well in the clear blue skies. Spring was definitely in the air.

With a wider mix of habitat at my second location of the morning I managed to see a larger number of species - 51 in total - but failed to add any new “year birds”. As the weeks roll by duck numbers continue to decrease locally but the pools here still held a number of species with 6 Shelduck, 3 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 12 Teal, 2 Shoveler, 12 Tufted Duck and 2 Goldeneye present. There were also a number of Mallard but I never take time out to actually count them! Other birds of note included 4 Buzzard, 2 Red-legged Partridge, Common Sandpiper, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker, 4 Sand Martin and 4 Linnet. The waders mentioned earlier added to the site total and made for a good mornings birding. At just after 12:00PM I headed for home and my Sunday roast.

Late on Sunday afternoon I headed back out again, to Foremark Reservoir, and was able to add species 109 to the “10-Mile List” in the form of a female Red-breasted Merganser. The bird had been at Foremark since March 31st but work had prevented me from going for it until Sunday. Luckily, the Merganser hung around and I managed to see what is a rather scarce bird this far south in the county. On the downside, Foremark was heaving with people out enjoying the sunny weather so I quickly moved on to Willington Gravel Pits for a couple of hours.

Willington proved to be a lot quieter both in terms of people and birds seen - just 35 species. Two Wigeon remained on Gull Pit along with 6 Gadwall, 6 Teal, 8 Shoveler, a Pochard and 27 Tufted Duck. A Buzzard was perched on a fence post at the back of the reserve. Waders included Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Curlew and Redshank. A group of around 40 Sand Martins flew low over the water a couple of times before heading off into the distance again. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Chiffchaff, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting were all seen in the lane. As the sun set it was time to head home once again, with yet another week at work to look forward to - great!

On Tuesday evening I made another flying visit to Willington after work, this time it wasn’t to the main reserve but to the Canal Scrape area. This wasn’t to be a relaxing evening watching birds but a battle to add yet another tick to my “10-Mile List”. The wind was howling, the rain clouds were heavy and very low, the light was terrible. To make matters worse the water was as choppy as the North Sea in November! Somewhere out there a Black-necked Grebe was waiting to be found. I knew that from all of the text messages that I’d been sent by other birders during the day!

Whilst searching for the grebe I picked out a group of 6 Yellow Wagtails (species 110 for the list) feeding around the edge of the water and a short while later located the bird I’d come in search of. Black-necked Grebe, another reasonably scarce bird for Southern Derbyshire, becomes species 111 on this years “10-Mile List”.

*certain location details left out due to breeding birds.

The joys of spring...

2009-03-31T21:10:00.002+01:00

I’d planned on having two days of birding over the weekend... make the most of being off work, get out and about early both days, track down one or two species that have so far given me the slip (I still need that Jay!) and also catch up with any fresh migrants that had appeared. That was the plan; the reality was no birding at all on Saturday and just a little over 5 hours on Sunday.

Saturday’s plans were, quite literally, blown away by the weather - I just couldn’t face yet another day of being buffeted around by the wind having cycled to and from work in it all week. Then, if the wind wasn’t bad enough, we were subjected to heavy rain, sleet and even hail showers during the afternoon. I was more than happy to stay home in the warm! Sunday, as forecast, was a much better day; the clouds had blown away overnight, the wind had disappeared and the sun was out all day. I was up and about before the sun was up properly even though we’d lost an hour in bed due to the change to British Summer Time.

The sun comes up...

I arrived at Barrow-on-Trent just as the sun came up and spent a very pleasant couple of hours just ambling around the lanes, fields and lake there. Bird wise there wasn’t too much to get over excited about but it turned into one of those mornings where the only things that really mattered were being close to nature, being able to relax and to forget about everything else going on in the world. As the sun climbed higher in the sky so the bird song increased... Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird and Song Thrush all competed for my attention. In the distance a Great Spotted Woodpecker hammered out an accompanying beat on a dead tree and a Chiffchaff joined in with it’s own repetitive, but charming, chorus line. Even the Wood Pigeons and Collard Doves had something to add to the tune.

Common Buzzard.

A single Common Buzzard, sat high up on a leafless tree, made for an impressive sight as the early morning light threw the whole scene into silhouette - not a good way to pick out plumage detail but a great way to spend a little time on a Sunday morning! Further into the walk I was treated to close views of Red-legged Partridge, Pheasant, a stunning male Yellowhammer, Goldfinch and also Linnet. The more notable species on or around the lake included Great Crested Grebe, Shelduck, Gadwall, Oystercatcher and Common Sandpiper. As I started to head back to the car a number of Skylark rose up high in the sky and commenced their song flight. They obviously get out of bed a lot later than many species, or birders for that matter! By the time I returned to the car I’d recorded 41 species and, more importantly, lowered my blood pressure by around 95%.

The lake at Barrow.

From Barrow it was just a short drive down the road to Willington where I spent a further 3½ hours. The species count here was a little higher - 52 in total - but again there wasn’t too much to shout about. Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler, Pochard, and Goosander were amongst the pick of the bunch on the water whilst a Kingfisher was a welcome sight over it. The only raptors seen were Buzzard and Sparrowhawk, but seeing 3 Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk soaring together made up for the lack of species.

Waders were rather thin on the ground with Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Redshank and Snipe being the only species to report but hopefully this will improve over the next few weeks. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a return visit by last year’s Avocet. I wouldn’t mind the odd Godwit or even a Little Stint too! The lane and the small area of woodland by the canal held Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker, 2 Song Thrush, at least 4 Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit and Goldfinch. A small flock of Linnet were feeding close to Canal Scrape and a female Bullfinch showed briefly near the second viewing platform in the lane.

By the time I returned home I hadn’t added any new species to the “10-Mile List”, I hadn’t found that elusive Jay and I hadn’t stumbled across any newly arrived migrants. None of that mattered though because the morning was just about perfect as it was!

2009-03-23T22:10:00.002Z

I had a break from birding over the weekend and instead concentrated on the cycling. After work on Saturday morning I set about cleaning the bike and making sure everything was ready for a ride on Sunday. A couple of hours spent on the bike had it all cleaned, adjusted and lubricated. The old girl still scrubs up pretty well even after all these years.

Sunday was a dry, bright and, at times, reasonably sunny day but there was a bit of a breeze blowing. Not bad cycling weather but I would have liked it just a little less windy. The route for my ride was chosen as a way of (forgive the phrase) killing two birds with one stone - I got to do a ride of almost 25 miles and also went to visit my mum for Mother’s Day!

I set off from home at just after 9:00AM, took the direct cycle path route to Pride Park and then in to the river gardens in Derby. Here, I stopped for a short time to remove my winter gloves and change to short fingered summer gloves - it was a lot warmer than I thought once I got going.

The view as I changed gloves!

From the river gardens I continued on up the riverside path to Darley Fields before taking to the road and heading for Little Eaton. Much of the ride from the edge of Derby to the village of Little Eaton is on a cycle path so the traffic here isn’t too much of an issue and I was able to make reasonably good progress. Passing the Little Chef at the bottom of Abbey Hill and smelling bacon cooking did have me thinking of taking a break though!

Once in Little Eaton I had to take to the roads as the cycle track comes to an end. There are rumours of the disused coal train line being turned into a cycle trail here but that will be a while yet, if it happens at all. Taking the back road from Little Eaton to Coxbench will have added a little to the distance I rode but the road is much quieter and safer. I was able to enjoy the views, and bird song, without traffic racing past all the time.

The last part of the ride, from Coxbench up into Horsley Woodhouse, was the only section of the ride that tested me in any way - the road constantly climbs for around 1½ miles with a particularly steep section leading out of Horsley village. As a kid I remember regularly pushing my bike up this hill, yesterday I rode up it reasonably easily. Either bikes have improved or I’m a lot fitter now! The ride of just over 12 miles took me 50 minutes - not my best average speed for a ride but I did have to contend with a head wind for much of it.

After spending time with my mum, and re-fuelling with a Mars bar and a bottle of Lucozade, it was time to head back home again. I did an exact reverse of my route and with the aid of a tail wind and also the advantage of riding down hill through Horsley and Coxbench I managed to knock a full 6 minutes off my outbound time. I made it home in 44 minutes, averaging almost 17 miles an hour, a much more respectable speed.

Since the start of the year I’ve now covered 594 miles on the bike - less than 2000 miles till I reach my target for the year!

Even though I haven’t lifted my binoculars this past weekend I have managed to add one more species to my “10-Mile List” and also enjoyed a few other good sightings. On Saturday morning, whilst cycling to work, I came across 6 Sand Martins over the river Derwent near to Pride Park. These were the first I’d seen this year and become species number 107 on the “10-Mile List”.

Other birds of note included 4 Goosander, 4 Song Thrush and numerous Chiffchaff along the river path and also some superb views of 4 Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk soaring directly overhead as I cycled through Little Eaton. Maybe they thought I was about to become their next meal?!

A super Sunday...

2009-03-16T21:00:00.000Z

Saturday, in Thetford, had been a good day out but yesterday was a much better morning! And I was birding within my 10-mile zone again too. I set the alarm for 6:45AM but didn’t need it - I was out of bed and having breakfast by 6:30AM.

Unfortunately, in blog terms, we have now reached the time of year when some of my birding details become a little vague. I’d hate for anything I post here to endanger the breeding success of the birds I come across so I’ll be a little less specific at times.

So, back to Sunday morning. I set off with the intention of finding my 2009 bogey bird, a Jay. It goes without saying that once again I failed. By the time I returned home at the end of the morning I had managed to locate 8 new species for the “10-Mile List” so the missed Jay was soon forgotten, for now! The glorious weather helped lift my spirits even more - it really was an altogether pleasant day.

In four hours of birding I recorded a total of 56 species. For the “10-Mile List” Ringed Plover, Linnet and Chiffchaff were all located within minutes of each other and a Swallow gave brief views as it flew through. Other birds of note included half a dozen Wigeon, 14 Gadwall, 2 Oystercatcher, both Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker, numerous Skylark in full song, a mixed flock of Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits and a male Yellowhammer that looked absolutely stunning in the early morning sunshine. A pair of Bullfinch were busy ripping the leaf buds off a hawthorn bush and a male Reed Bunting drove me mad with its non-stop calling. Is it just me or does anyone else find the call of Reed Bunting rather tedious?

Ringed Plover.

With the zone list now at 102 for the year it was time to move on to my second location of the day. Here, I came across two more Chiffchaff almost as soon as I got out of the car and moments later came close to being hit by a pair of Kingfishers that were chasing each other around for the next hour or so. Red-legged Partridge was the next new bird of the year when a pair took off almost from under my feet as I crept along a hedgerow to get better views of a large goose flock. Luckily, the partridges didn’t spook the geese too much and I was able to get a count of 92 Greylag Geese, 35 Canada Geese and a single Pink-footed Goose. There’s no way of being certain but I’d imagine the Pink-footed is the same one I saw at Staunton Harold Reservoir back on January 4.

Pink-footed Goose.

Ducks seen included 88 Wigeon, 6 Teal, a female Pochard, 23 Tufted Duck and 3 Goldeneye. Two Buzzards gave a superb display as they soared together overhead and a male Kestrel made a number of unsuccessful hunting attempts before giving up and perching on a fence post. Four Oystercatcher spent all of the time I was on site falling out with each other, very loudly, and a small number of Lapwing were displaying.

A Little Ringed Plover made it onto the “10-Mile List” as species number 104 and was quickly followed by a Common Sandpiper and a White Wagtail. Just like last year, White Wagtail is still not a BOU British species but, like last year, this is MY game with MY rules! I list it! To finish off the morning I walked back to the car via a more wooded area and picked up Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit and Blue Tit and another superb male Yellowhammer. Whilst putting all my gear back in the car I was visited by a couple of Chaffinch and a House Sparrow that were obviously after an easy meal - they were out of luck as I’d already eaten my two cereal bars!

The “10-Mile List” has now reached 106 species for the year.

Thetford Forest...

2009-03-15T23:15:00.000Z

The trip to Thetford Forest yesterday produced the goods once again - some great birds and also some reasonably good weather too. The day also started off a lot more relaxed than last month’s RSPB trip; we remembered to set the alarm on Saturday night and didn’t have to rush to catch the coach! The rain that had been forecast for much of the morning started to fall just as we left the house, but had stopped by the time we reached Derby. From then on it was a dry and bright day. Once again, whilst waiting for the coach, we had good views of the Derby Cathedral Peregrines.

Derby Cathedral.

Santon Downham was our first stop of the day and provided us with a total of 33 species, which, spookily enough, is exactly the same as last year’s trip! Woodlark is always the main target bird for us at this location and, after a bit of searching, we struck it lucky once again. At least two larks were seen and in the end they gave great views to everyone on the trip. Whilst watching the Woodlark, and making sure everyone else got to see them, I also picked up Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Yellowhammer, numerous Siskin and a Jay. March 14 and this is the first Jay I’ve seen all year! Where are they all?

A little further along the path from the Woodlark Lynda and I caught up with a small group of our party that said they had found something of interest - it turned out to be an Adder! They said it was a way of thanking me for finding the Woodlark. Little did they know, if there’s one thing I HATE its snakes! I did manage to build up enough nerve to get a quick photo but came out in a cold sweat in the process! I was not a happy bunny at this point and moved swiftly on!

Want a better photo? Take your own!

The walk back to the coach, along the river path, was a little quieter than usual but we did manage to see a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a pair of Grey Wagtail, a small flock of Redwing and a Goldcrest. A Water Rail provided many of us with outstanding views as it fed on the riverbank. The bird spent long periods of time out in the open and was not in the least worried about people passing by on the path, most unusual for this species.

Our second site of the day was Lynford Arboretum, just a short drive away. The arboretum, and nearby lakes, were rather quiet compared with previous visits with just 32 species being seen by Lynda and I. We have no complaints about the quality of birding here though as we got to see Hawfinch, a site speciality, and also a group of 12 Crossbill. The Crossbill gave themselves away by calling loudly as they approached us through the woods and then settled in the top of a tree right in front of us. We got great views of the birds but unfortunately only one other member of our group was close by at the time, the other 45 or so missed out! Maybe in future they’ll not be so keen to show me snakes in return for Woodlarks!

Other birds here included Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted and also Green Woodpecker, Song and Mistle Thrush, Treecreeper and Siskin. Two albino Pheasants were also seen. As we walked back to the coach at the end of the afternoon we came across a rather nice carving that had been created on a broken tree trunk - I don’t think I’d fancy meeting this guy in the dark!

Coming soon...

2009-03-10T22:50:00.000Z

Longstanding readers of this blog will be familiar with the logo below. Those of you that have only very recently had the misfortune to stumble across my random chatter will be seeing a lot more of it over the coming weeks...

Not the best week...

2009-03-08T23:00:00.000Z

After a rather long run of birding blogs it’s time to catch up a little on the cycling - and one bit of birding too!

So far this year I’ve covered just over 440 miles on the bike on my daily commute to and from work. Apart from the run of snowy weather a couple of weeks ago I’ve also managed to stay dry for most of the 90 rides I’ve completed - that all changed on Tuesday! On the ride home from work I got well and truly soaked! Not only did it pour down with rain but it was very, very windy and at times there was also a fair amount of sleet in with the rain. I got wet, the sleet stung my face and, to cap it all off, I could hardly make any forward progress due to the headwind! Not the most enjoyable of rides.

Wednesday morning’s ride in to work was equally enjoyable - I suffered yet another rear wheel puncture. And, to add insult to injury, it was on the same section of cycle path that all my other recent deflations have occurred. This left me with the option of either stripping the rear wheel and tyre out of the bike and repairing the flat at the side of the road or walking the last 1½ miles to work. I chose the latter and now wish I hadn’t. Walking at a much higher pace than I would normally, in shoes I use purely for cycling, left me with a badly blistered right foot! Next time I’ll go for the roadside repair!

Having had time to reflect on the latest puncture whilst repairing it at work and also riding back home at night I decided it was time to take action... I’ve written to the local council about the amount of glass and general road debris that is on the cycle path and have asked if “urgent consideration can be given to “road sweeping” the cycle path”. I await a reply.

Straight after work yesterday afternoon Lynda and I went out for a short walk along the river Derwent at Ambaston. Not only did this add another 2½ miles to Lynda’s walking mileage - I cycle as much as I can; Lynda walks as often as she can - but it also added another bird species to my “10-Mile List”, a Whooper Swan. The Whooper has been in the area for a while now and I thought it was high time I went and tracked it down. In the end it was easy enough to locate the bird but walking for 2½ miles with a badly blistered foot was somewhat painful. As a result of the bad foot, and the rather dodgy weather forecast for today, that has been the only birding I’ve done this weekend. Next weekend we’re off to Thetford Forest with our RSPB Group so it’s fingers crossed for good weather and good birds again.

My “10-Mile List” now stands at 98 species.

In and out of "the zone"...

2009-03-01T23:30:00.000Z

After a somewhat difficult week at work I was more than ready for my two days off this weekend. I ought to have treated myself to a few hours extra in bed, to try and catch up on lost sleep, but sacrifices had to be made if I was to get my target birds this weekend! On Saturday I was out of bed at 6:00am; this morning it was 6:45am - no rest for the wicked as they say.

Saturday’s first birding site was Allestree Park and I was in search of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Last year I had been lucky enough to locate two birds at Allestree so I was reasonably hopeful of success again this year, especially as other local birders have reported seeing them over the past week or so. It took me almost two hours but in the end I did manage to track down a male Lesser ‘pecker and it showed well for around 5 minutes, drumming away at a dead branch all the while. I tried for photos of this tiny little woodpecker but failed miserably! I blame the wind for moving the branch, and also my ‘scope, around too much. The cloudy conditions didn’t help either, as there was very little light getting through to the camera lens - enough excuses yet? Last year's photo wasn’t great, but it was better!

A very blurred Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!

Allestree entertained me for almost four hours in the end and I managed to locate a total of 35 species. I wouldn’t normally spend so long here but I was hoping to find a Jay in the woodland, a bird I also need for my “10-Mile List”. Once again, I failed to see one. For a couple of weeks now I’ve been thinking that there is a distinct lack of Jay in the Derby/Trent Valley area and, having spoken to one or two other birders, this is looking to be true. Next weekend I plan on trying a site that should almost guarantee me a sighting - we’ll see.

Of the species seen at Allestree the more notable included Great Crested Grebe (a pair displaying to each other), 10 Mandarin Duck, Sparrowhawk, 8 Stock Dove, 4 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 Song Thrush, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and a flock of 20 Siskin. The Mandarin showed well for a change and the Siskin gave views down to less than 15 feet at times. A Green Woodpecker was calling for much of the morning but never showed itself. Seeing it’s little cousin more than made up for that though.

Mandarin Duck.

Having taken a few hours break back at home for lunch, and a quick sleep in front of the TV, I headed back out again for the last 2½ hours of daylight at Foremark Reservoir. Yes, I know, on Monday I said that I’d not be returning there any time soon but the thought of adding that Iceland Gull to my “10-Mile List” was just too much of a draw for me and I had to give it another go. I was the first birder to arrive at the reservoir so at least I had the pick of the benches - not that any of them are comfortable or warm - and I started to scan the gulls that had already started to settle on the water.

I’m pretty sure that there was a Caspian Gull in with the Herring Gulls but, almost as soon as I got the bird in my ’scope and in focus, it took flight and I never relocated it. As the afternoon drew on more birders arrived and more eyes meant more birds located in the 1000’s of gulls that were now in the roost - I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was enjoyable but at least there was lots of birds to look at!

At 4:35pm the “excitement” started... someone had spotted an Iceland Gull flying over the reservoir! As the bird was called out I actually felt my heart rate increase slightly; was I getting excited about a gull? Surely not? The Iceland Gull settled on the water some distance from us but due to it’s size and colouring it still stuck out like a sore thumb amongst all the other birds. A short while later and we were treated to a second Iceland Gull - it too was some distance from us but showed better as it landed on a sandbank.

By now the light was starting to fade and I was getting ready to pack up and head for home. Luckily, I held on until just after 5:30pm and was able to add one more new bird to my count, a Red-necked Grebe. The grebe has been on the reservoir since early February but has proved tricky to locate at times, so I’d never bothered. On Saturday evening it appeared out of nowhere right in front of us! Although not yet in full summer plumage the grebe was still a very smart looking bird, much better than any gull in my opinion. Not counting the possible Caspian Gull, I recorded a total of 19 species at Foremark.

Today, I have been birding outside of my 10-mile zone. I had planned on going to Willington but was talked out of it by my birding friends Mike and Chris. We went off twitching some of the local Derbyshire goodies. It was an enjoyable morning and, thankfully, I’ve not heard of anything special turning up at Willington in my absence!

We met up at 8:00am at Cromford, near Matlock, with the aim of seeing Hawfinch. I’m pleased to say we achieved our goal. In recent days and weeks up to 15 Hawfinch have been reported at this location but this morning I had to make do with just three birds. If just one of those birds could relocate itself to somewhere closer to home I’d be more than happy!

Cromford also provided good views of Little Grebe, Grey Wagtail, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Nuthatch and Goldfinch. The highlight for me of the 20 species seen here wasn’t the Hawfinch but a pair of Dipper. Okay, Dipper isn’t a particularly scarce bird when compared to Hawfinch but not only did they show very well they were both heard singing on a number of occasions too. A great start to the day.

The river at Cromford.

From Cromford we moved on to Carsington Water. Here I noted a total of 34 species in what proved to be a rather quiet 2½ hours. The reservoir held all the usual suspects such as Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye. A female Scaup was seen from Paul Stanley hide and a single Great Northern Diver was seen from Lane End hide. The walk to the bay overlooking the wildlife centre gave sightings of Nuthatch, Bullfinch, and Tree Sparrow.

A total of 46 Barnacle Geese were grazing in one of the fields by the reservoir and 7 Ruddy Duck were doing their best to blend into the background - just in case someone decided they needed culling! Don’t get me started on that one! A single Buzzard was soaring over a distant hillside and a Curlew was heard calling but was never seen.

At 12:30pm I left Mike and Chris to continue the day on their own as I needed to be back home in time for lunch. The birding had been okay but Lynda’s homemade lasagne was always going to take priority, even if I’d been birding within my 10-mile zone! A text message from Chris late this afternoon revealed that I’d missed out on a further 2 Great Northern Divers, a Common Scoter, Curlew, Little Owl, 3 Stonechat and a male Hen Harrier. All good stuff but they missed lasagne!!!

With the addition of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Iceland Gull and Red-necked Grebe my “10-Mile List” now stands at 97 species.

Introducing a few friends...

2009-02-27T22:05:00.000Z

I stopped off at Alvaston Lake again on the way to work this morning. There were no new birds to be seen, and there are no longer any Goosander or Pochard on the lake, but my resident friends were more than happy to see me arrive with their breakfast!

Jemima the Puddle Duck!

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

2009-02-24T21:35:00.003Z

I set off for work, on the mountain bike, this morning and within 100 yards had a decision to make. There was just the hint of rain in the air - should I take the long route to work or the short? I decided on the longer, 6 mile, ride so that I could stop off at Alvaston Lake to feed my little friend Jemima the white duck! She doesn't answer to her name but does resemble Beatrix Potter's Jemima Puddle Duck!

On the way home from work this evening I encountered a Harris's Hawk hunting along the banks of the River Derwent, at the rear of Pride Park Stadium. This has left me with a decision to make - should I count what is without doubt an escaped bird on my "10-Mile List" or not? The BOU has this species on the "Category E" list (Species that have been recorded as introductions, transportees or escapees from captivity, and whose British breeding populations (if any) are thought not to be self-sustaining). I guess the decision has been made for me. The hawk misses out on a place on my list!

Having arrived home and given the bike a quick service it was then time to eat. I sat down to my pancakes and had a decision to make - should I have lemon juice, orange juice, maple syrup or a mixture of each on them? Five very large pancakes later and I'd overcome that little problem! I love pancakes with anything on them!

Now... shall I have a beer or a whisky? Decisions, decisions!

Three more of them there gull things...

2009-02-23T21:45:00.002Z

Yesterday afternoon I subjected myself to (what I think is) one of the most mind numbing aspects of birding... a gull roost! Why do people do it? For over 2 hours I sat on a wooden picnic bench, with my eye fixed to the eyepiece of my 'scope, and stared out at thousands of small, medium and large white, grey and black blobs! And all for nothing - well, almost nothing.

I begrudgingly dragged myself over to Foremark Reservoir in the hope of adding Iceland Gull to my "10-Mile List" but the gull had other ideas and failed to come in to the roost. It wasn't a total waste of 2 hours of my life though as I was lucky enough to get Herring Gull, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull, all of which were new birds for the year. If it hadn't have been for those three species I think I could quite easily have thrown my 'scope and binoculars in the reservoir and then jumped in after them! If anyone is planning on trying for the Foremark Iceland Gull feel free to use my bench... I don't think I'll be needing it any time soon!

Oh, one more gull issue before I move on... Yesterday morning I washed the car, it looked great, all black and shiny in the sun. I parked at Foremark and within minutes around 200 Black-headed Gulls had spotted something in the car park that must have looked like food. Shiny black car + gulls = one heck of a lot of sh*t! I washed most of the car off again, in the dark, once I got home!

Before Foremark, I had stopped off at Barrow upon Trent Gravel Pits, a site I'd not yet visited this year. I failed to locate the Red-legged Partridges that I had hoped for but did pick up one new species in the form of Meadow Pipit. Four Scaup were on the main lake, a male and 3 females - I assume they were the birds that have been on Swarkestone Sailing Lake for the past month or so.

In total I recorded 33 species in just over an hour with some of the more notable being a Shelduck, 180 Wigeon, 30 Teal, 100 Tufted Duck, 4 Goldeneye, 2 Goosander, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard, Stock Dove, Grey Wagtail and a large mixed flock of Fieldfare and Redwing. With the exception of the Scaup all the birds seen were common enough species but it was a nice walk around all the same, and it sure beat the heck out of freezing my butt off whilst looking at those damn gulls later in the afternoon!

The "10-Mile List" now stands at 94 species.

Spring's here!

2009-02-20T22:30:00.007Z

On Wednesday morning I began to think that spring was close at hand when a rather annoying Blackbird decided to start the dawn chorus at 2:45am - he woke both Lynda and myself with his constant singing! Today, I've decided that spring IS here! My neighbours may not appreciate my decision but then again they never do. More on that later.

As it was Lynda's birthday yesterday we have both had the past two days off work. Yesterday was spent relaxing at home, having a light lunch and huge coffees at Starbucks and then loading dozens of music tracks onto Lynda's new MP3 player. In the evening we went to the Waterfront Pub & Restaurant at Barton Marina for a meal and a few drinks. The meal was great but maybe, just maybe, we didn't need to have had a piece of cheesy garlic bread each - neither Lynda or myself had room for pudding after our main courses. Most unusual!

So, back to the arrival of spring. This morning I had a few hours birding at Willington Gravel Pits and added another 5 new species to my "10-Mile List". The walk down the lane was still a little quiet but the birds that were there were singing well and that made up for the lack of numbers. Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Chaffinch were all in fine voice as were a few Greenfinches. The first new bird for my year list was a single male Yellowhammer that I almost managed to walk right past without noticing. Luckily, the bird started to sing just as I was passing it and species number 86 was on my "10-Mile List".

Out on the main pit the number of ducks has now started to fall but there was still plenty to see. Notable counts included 5 Shelduck, 25 Wigeon, 4 Gadwall, 4 Shoveler and 12 Pochard. The Goosander numbered just 4 birds when I first arrived at the reserve but by mid-day had reached a total of 24 birds, my highest ever count of this species here. Many of the male birds are now in full breeding plumage, complete with that delicate pink flush, and looked absolutely stunning in the bright sunshine. The second new bird of the year again gave itself away to me by calling - an Oystercatcher. With this species there is not much chance of missing a bird if it's around, do they ever shut up?

The view from P3.

Having reached the end of the lane I pitched camp on the viewing platform and waited to see what would appear, whilst enjoying the warmth of the sun on my back. Pity about the cold wind hitting my face, but you can't have everything. A flock of around 700 Lapwing was often seen flying over the reserve and the gravel works and, on closer inspection, carried two Golden Plover with them. A pair of Buzzard soared high over the Toyota works and 4 Stock Dove were also seen in flight.

At 10:45am a group of 15 Curlew flew low over the reserve but didn't land and immediately after that a single Skylark took to the air and started to sing. Species number 88 and 89 for the "10-Mile List" were duly noted! This was turning into a rather productive morning.

The final new bird for the day, and the year, wasn't fully confirmed until around 6 hours after I'd seen it - I'm quite happy to admit that I needed to check its ID on the internet! I'm also happy to admit that I don't have much of an interest in gulls so I wasn't familiar with the plumage of the bird I was looking at. Now all you local birders, don't go getting all excited, I've not suppressed a "mega" it was only a Caspian Gull. The honour of being species number 90 on my "10-Mile List" goes to a gull, I'm just thankful that it wasn't number 100!

Caspian Gull.

Once back at home it was time to set about the garden - I've mown both the lawns, cut back a number of shrubs and a rose and dug all the borders over. I'm not saying we have a picture perfect little show garden yet but it does at least look presentable again. By the time I'd finished at least two of our neighbours had started up their mowers too. They must hate it when I decide spring is here and they have to follow in my footsteps! Ha, I get' em every year!

So, on a day when I've seen Oystercatcher, Curlew and Skylark back at Willington and I've also cut the grass for the first time this year I've decided SPRING IS HERE! And most welcome it is too!

One for the memory bank...

2009-02-15T20:00:00.001Z

Over the years many birding moments have left a lasting impression on me - reaching the summit of the Cairngorms and seeing my first Ptarmigan, watching Golden Eagles soar over a remote Scottish hillside, finally tracking down the Cedar Waxwing in Nottingham, helping with the nest protection scheme for Hen Harriers on a Derbyshire moorland and also the Woodcock that I "rescued" at work back in October '07. There are many, many more but those spring to mind without even thinking about it. Yesterday, I added another memory - our trip to Martin Mere.

The day started off with a little bit of a scare - we overslept by almost half an hour - but thankfully we still arrived in Derby in plenty of time to catch the coach to Lancashire. For the first hour or so of the day I was in a complete daze and didn't know whether it was Monday, Wednesday or Christmas Day! I did manage to pull myself around in time to locate the pair of Peregrine that have made Derby Cathedral their home, whilst we waited for the coach - species number 85 on my 2009 "10-Mile List".

The trip north went off without any real problems even if it was a little chilly. A couple of overhead heater vents on the coach refused to blow hot air and instead blasted the rear half of the coach with air drawn straight from outside! A real pain in the neck - literally! The driver, to his credit, did stop the coach briefly not too far into the journey and did manage to reduce the problem to some extent.

Once at Martin Mere the first little task was to locate Nic (Birdnerdblog) whom we had arranged to spend the day with. A couple of text messages were sent back and forth and just a short while after our coach pulled into the car park at the reserve Nic arrived too. Once the formalities of our first ever meeting were out of the way Lynda, Nic and myself set off for a quick look around the captive bird collection - well, someone has to go and feed the Nenes! Yes, I did do my share of the feeding too! Those Nene are just too cute to ignore.

Having spent the best part of an hour in the "tame" part of the reserve we headed off in search of the wild birds, the real reason for our visit. The first stop was Swanlink Hide, the hide with the best overall view of the wild swans. From here we were able to enjoy close views of the Whooper Swans that help make Martin Mere such an important winter site. I didn't even attempt a count but I'd estimate that there were at least 1200 Whoopers on the mere with more out in the surrounding fields, a superb sight.

The mere itself held 1000's of birds - Greylag Geese, Shelduck, Wigeon, Mallard, Pintail, Pochard and Lapwing were all present in large numbers. Smaller numbers of Teal were also located along with 8 Oystercatcher, 1 Golden Plover (strange to see just one), 1 Curlew that took flight with the Lapwing, 1 Common Redshank and around 25 Ruff. Lynda also picked out a couple of Common Buzzard away in the distance that were to give much closer views later in the day. A Greater Black-backed Gull provided us with a few moments of rather gruesome entertainment as it fed on the remains of a rather unfortunate bird. Just what the bird had once been I cannot say as the gull had already reached the dessert stage of its meal - there was little more than a skeleton left!

The feeding station at the Janet Kear Hide was unusually quiet and we only paused there for a very short while. One or two Blue Tits, Chaffinches and Greenfinches were coming for food but that was about all - we moved on to the Harrier Hide. The open water in front of the hide held yet more Shelduck, a pair of Gadwell and a few Tufted Duck. Lynda was once again on form and located 3 male Shoveler that had tried to hide themselves away from view on the edge of a distant reed bed. I had hoped to see Peregrine from this hide but there was no sign. I did get a brief view of a Kestrel as it flew behind a line of trees.

A single Reed Bunting, the only one we saw all day, was at the feeding station near the United Utilities Hide and a Kingfisher was perched under a bridge near to the hide. The Kingfisher would have been one of the sightings of the day had it not been for the fact that it had chosen to hide ½ of its body from view behind some brambles! From the top of the hide we could see out onto the mere and also the surrounding fields - Pink-footed Geese showed well as did a pair of Stonechat. A Skylark was singing somewhere close to the hide but, try as I might, I couldn't locate it! Another birder in the hide overheard me asking about Bewick's Swan sightings and promptly pointed out the only one on the reserve to us! The Bewick's was, we were told, a bird know as Jenny that is now 20 years old. I wonder just how many miles that swan has covered on its migration flights to and from the UK over the years?

Next stop off was the Ron Barker Hide at the opposite end of the reserve. The walk around to the hide provided us with little more than some exercise but we did manage to add Dunnock and Tree Sparrow to the list of birds seen. A single Goldcrest was also heard. As usual, Ron Barker Hide was very busy and we had to make do with seats on the side of the hide that looked out over fields rather than open water. This didn't really prove to be much of an issue as we were able to see some great birds in the end! It also gave us a little room to get a bite to eat too! Love the pink flask, Nic!

The next hour or so turned into a bit of a raptor fest. First it was a male Sparrowhawk that put in an appearance. Soon after, an immature male Marsh Harrier was centre of attention. For a while the bird was watched hunting over the reed beds and then it suddenly dropped out of sight only to re-appear moments later carrying prey of some kind. The harrier did try and land in a small tree with its lunch but, unfortunately, it couldn't find a strong enough perch and so moved down onto the floor and out of sight. It did take to the air a while later, no doubt after eating its fill, and then continued to show well.

At least two Common Buzzard could be seen from the hide and this time gave much closer views. Lynda was yet again the one to pick out the best bird when she located a Merlin sat on a fence post a couple of fields away. This, it turned out, was a new species for Nic and she was just a little pleased with the find. Just a few minutes later Nic had her second Merlin sighting when another bird flew past the hide much closer than the first! Just like buses, you wait ages for one and then two come along! A couple of Ringed Plover were new birds for the day here as were the 3 Stock Dove that were sat on the roof of an old barn a little way away from the hide.

The last hour and a half of our day was spent in the Raines Observatory were we watched the wild bird feed. Watching the feed is something that I've not bothered with for years now but I must admit that yesterday it was one of the highlights of the day. It was great to be able to just sit and actually watch the 1000's of swans, geese and ducks at such close quarters - even the Ruff came close to us towards the end of the feed. The commentary from the chap doing the feed was also very interesting and explained just why at least 6 of the swans were carrying radio transmitters on their backs. I had suggested it was so that birders could take control of the swans and race them up and down the mere! It turns out that it was so that the migration routes of the birds could be tracked! I like my idea better.

As the day was drawing to a close my mobile phone suddenly sprang into life with a text message, it was Mike letting us know that a Barn Owl was showing well from where he was on the reserve. Before I could even start to reply to his text Nic had spotted the owl hunting at the rear of the mere. For the next hour or so the Barn Owl continued to show well and must be in line for the "Bird of the day" award - although the Merlin just about beats it in my book.

So, that was Martin Mere. Maybe not a day with huge species counts - I logged 61 species - but a day full of great memories none the less. It was also rather refreshing to spend time with Nic who, I'm sure wont mind me saying, is much more of a "bird watcher" than a "birder". That alone made the day all the more enjoyable for me. I actually sat and watched birds yesterday without worrying about the less important things like species counts!

Nic... I'll be in touch about another trip your way soon. And if you can arrange it, Derbyshire has one or two places that are just about worth a visit too!

To read a MUCH better written account of the day visit... Birdnerdblog.

The swans gather before the feed.

The food is put out.

Spot the radio control swans!

The Shelduck move in.

Welcome to the twilight zone...

2009-02-13T20:55:00.000Z

It's been a long time coming but this week has finally seen a noticeable difference in the amount of light in the sky as I've made my way home from work. This evening the sky still held the last tinge of colour from a rather nice sunset as I started on the 6 mile commute and, for the first part of the ride, I only needed my bike lights on so that I could be seen, rather than to see.

Song Thrush, Blackbird and Robin were all in full song as I rode along the river path heading out of Derby and rabbits were already out feeding on the grass. A flock of around 30 geese (I'm almost certain they'd be Canada's) flew low over Pride Park Stadium and dropped down either on Alvaston Park or The Sanctuary nature reserve, obviously going to roost. I didn't manage to see a fox on my ride tonight but I have done so on a couple of occasions this week.

When I arrived home at just before 6:00PM "my" Blackbirds were busy falling out with each other over just who had territorial rights to the gardens close by - this rather noisy battle was still going on after dark! "Blackbird going to bed time" as it is know in our house has always provided one of my favourite sounds in nature - the end of day song, contact calls and alarm calls of the Blackbirds - but this evening it meant just a little more to me. Hopefully, it signals the end of the snow of the past two weeks and the start of some slightly better weather to come.

The bat that was flying around above the garden, as I topped up the bird feeders with sunflower hearts and peanut granules, was a rather surprising sight and I can't help but wonder at the chances of the poor thing finding any food this evening! I'm pretty sure it will be heading back to it's roost site pretty quickly once the temperature starts to drop again over the next couple of hours.

Tomorrow, Lynda and I are off to Martin Mere WWT Reserve with the Derby RSPB Group. My plan for the day is, once again, to slow things down with my birding. In fact, I'm hoping the day will be spent "bird watching" rather than "birding" - yes, there IS a difference! Martin Mere is a reserve that I have always looked forward to visiting and tomorrow is no exception, I just hope the weather is kind to us!

The trip to the north west also gives me the opportunity to meet up with a fellow blogger too. Nic, of Birdnerdblog fame, lives not too far from Martin Mere so we have arranged to meet up tomorrow - I'm hoping that a little local knowledge will help increase my bird count for the day! So, no pressure then Nic!

A wild-goose chase...

2009-02-09T21:30:00.001Z

The only birding I did over the weekend was rushed, rather brief, not particularly productive and also very cold! And worse, it didn’t involve a cooked breakfast! I think last weekend has spoilt me somewhat. Having to work on Saturday, and then doing a spot of shopping on Sunday morning, meant that I didn’t venture out with my “bins” until almost 3:00PM on Sunday afternoon and then it was only to go on a wild-goose chase - I was off in search of a Brent Goose.

Having received a number of text messages and a phone call to alert me to its presence I made the short drive to Hilton to tick off the Brent that had been located with a small flock of Greylag geese. Luckily the goose was showing well when I arrived and I had another new species for the year on my “10-Mile List”. This was also the first Brent that I’ve recorded in the county, not that I chase county ticks as such - you can keep too many lists you know.

Whilst in the area I also stopped off at the nearby fishing lakes where a Great White Egret had been seen, on and off, over the previous two days. I can now say that I have officially “dipped out” on the big white one - it didn’t show whilst I was there, and hasn’t been reported since. Not only would this have been a new species for the “10-Mile List” it would also have been another new county record for me. I am slowly starting to get over the disappointment of this one and am now off suicide watch. Seeing a single Common Buzzard, a group of around 30 Golden Plover and a mixed flock of Fieldfare and Redwing did go some little way to making the freezing conditions more bearable at the time. I’d rather have seen the egret though! I’m now looking forward to the coming weekend and the chance to return to real bird-watching again, but more on that later in the week.

My “10-Mile List” now stands at 84 species.

That horrible hissing sound, again!

2009-02-06T22:00:00.001Z

Last night I was worried about the weather stopping me using my bike today, in the end the snow didn’t return and the ice actually decreased. I’m now sat at home wishing the snow had fallen! I picked up yet another puncture on the ride home this evening.

Once again, it was a rear wheel puncture and it was on an unlit section of path. The end result was another walk home - this time just under a mile and a half. I do carry a puncture kit, tools and a spare inner tube with me on my daily commute but by the time I’ve messed around fixing a puncture by the roadside, in the dark, it’s just as easy to walk.

The bike is now fixed and ready for tomorrow morning's ride. I’ve fitted a brand new inner tube and I’ll get around to repairing the old one at some point over the weekend. At least I’ll be able to do that in the warmth and light of the house and not in the freezing cold using my bike light! Oh, how I love cycling...

It's (n)ice out....

2009-02-05T22:30:00.001Z

Last Sunday was a great day, one that really set me up for the coming week and had me looking forward to the longer days of spring and the arrival of summer migrant birds. Monday morning soon brought me back to my senses! The snow was back, and this time it wasn’t just a dusting. All the side roads around home were covered with snow and the cycle paths even more so - I still managed to ride the bike to work but it was certainly challenging shall we say!

The snow continued during the day and come 5:30PM I really wasn’t too sure about risking the ride home. In the end I decided to give it a go and chose the less frequently used paths so that the risk of having to ride on compressed snow and ice was reduced. This worked out to be a good choice and I managed the journey of just over 3 miles in 22 minutes. The only problem was that the bike looked like it had been in a freezer for the past 12 months by the time I arrived home! There was ice everywhere!

Monday had been a challenge; Tuesday was a nightmare. The snow had stopped overnight but the temperature had dropped even further - I now had to contend with hard packed snow that had deep icy ruts in it or even worse, paths that had been cleared of snow but had now become nothing more than skating rinks! Leaving the bike at home would have been the clever choice but I’ve never really claimed to be that clever so I rode to work anyway.

Within the first half a mile of leaving home it became clear that riding on anything other than the roads would be impossible - too many icy ruts trying to pitch me over the side of the handle bars! - and even worse I had an unexpected mechanical failure on my normally reliable bike. Of the 21 gears I have on the bike just one was working. That one gear would have been great for riding up the side of a house but was just about useless for road riding - my legs were spinning like a hamster on it’s wheel but I was going nowhere! It was the slowest, and most embarrassing, bike ride I’ve ever done! Having to ride along main roads and a bus route only added to the shame of it all!

Having eventually arrived at work it didn’t take me long to work out just why the gears on the bike had failed so completely - all the change cables were frozen solid, as was the rear change mechanism. The deep snow of the previous evening had obviously gotten into even more places than I had thought. I had tried to dry everything down on Tuesday night but it wasn’t enough to beat the freeze. My lunch break at work was spent quickly stripping, cleaning, oiling and rebuilding all the affected parts. The ride home in the evening saw everything back in working order and it was only the icy paths I had trouble with.

Yesterday’s two rides were a lot easier on the bike and myself as the snow and ice were starting to disappear again. In the morning I stayed on the main roads to work and rode at speeds close to my normal pace. In the evening I managed to do my full cycle path route for the first time this week, again at close to my normal commuting speed. At last things were looking up again.

Yet more snow falls...

Opening the curtains this morning almost had me heading straight back to bed. The snow was thicker than ever! Not only were all the paths covered but now it was also the side roads and the main roads too - this was too much snow for even me to face riding in. It also proved to be too much for Lynda to risk driving in as well. Lynda left the car in the garage and caught a bus for most of her journey to work. Me being me, I decided I’d walk! Well, it’s only around 2½ miles if I take the shortest route so why not? The snow was still falling quite heavily as I set off but good walking boots and waterproofs meant that I was warm and dry. Thirty-five minutes later and I arrived at work.

Work is 2 miles or so in the distance.

Also available in white...

Now, I’m going to have a little moan... I watched a TV interview at lunchtime that featured a woman complaining about the lack of work that had been carried out to keep the roads free of snow and ice overnight. Her grievance was that she had had to spend over an hour driving her children to school this morning because of the road conditions, a journey that would normally take her around 5 minutes or so. Well, here’s a thing to consider Mrs! "TRY WALKING YOUR KIDS TO SCHOOL! If the journey is so short on a normal day it can’t be that far. Leave the car at home, get some exercise for you and your kids and stop adding to the congestion on the roads when you don’t need to!" Ah, I feel better for that!

This evening the snow had stopped falling and was, in places, starting to thaw a little. This slight up-turn in the weather was enough for Lynda to decide that the she would give up the warmth of a bus ride home in favour of walking back with me. For a night time walk, through a built up area, it was rather enjoyable. We saw a fox, heard Robins singing and even passed one or two snowmen that the kids had built.

The evening walk home.

Quite what mode of transport we will choose, or have forced upon us, tomorrow remains to be seen - the forecast does not look too good!

My kind of Sunday...

2009-02-03T20:30:00.001Z

I had just one aim on Sunday and that was to enjoy another steady morning's birding, with no rushing around. I’d arranged to meet up with my good friend and birding partner, Mike, at 7:30AM and we were to spend the morning at Willington Gravel Pits. Before the more observant of you point out that it is still dark at that time I must add that we were meeting up at the recently opened, and well sited, A50 services. By the time we’d both polished off a full English breakfast, with toast and coffee, it was almost 8:30AM and light enough to start birding. Perfect planning!

Just like the day before, the wind was blowing and it was cold, very cold. With the wind chill I guess it must have been around -5°c or -6°c. Undeterred, we set off down the lane towards the viewing platforms. It was never going to be a day for seeing large numbers of birds, due to the cold and the wind, but I did record a reasonable 16 species in the trees and hedges that line the lane. The most productive area was around the first platform and the small feeding table close by. Here, Goldcrest, Willow Tit (a new bird for my “10-Mile List”), Great Tit and Blue Tit, Reed Bunting, Greenfinch and Goldfinch entertained us for a while before we continued to the end of the lane and platform 3.

Out on the water the amount of birds and the number of species to be seen had clearly been affected by the weather - just 16 species and, if I’d wanted to, few enough birds to do a full count. Notable sightings out on Gull Pit included Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler, Goldeneye and Goosander. Around 100 Lapwing were roosting on the small spit in the middle of Gull Pit and a further 200 or so were seen in flight. A Water Rail was skulking around in the reed bed close by, but once again it was a case of “heard only”. Realising that I’d just spent time counting the 22 Cormorant on the Gull Pit spit I decided that I must have been starting to get a little bored! Time to move on!

The walk around to Canal Scrape - just under 1½ miles - provided nothing new in the way of birds apart from a single Kestrel but it certainly helped to get the circulation going again; I even started to get a little feeling back in my fingers! The Canal Scrape or lake as it is at the moment, held pretty much the same species as Gull Pit - Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler, Goldeneye and Goosander with the added bonus of 4 Pintail. Species number 83 for my “10-Mile List” was located when a Green Sandpiper took flight from a flooded field by the canal - not the best of views but a tick none the less.

A Common Buzzard perched on the edge of the reed beds, as we walked back to the lane, was the final bird we added to the morning’s list and gave us a total of 39 species. The number of birds seen was okay, I added two new species to my zone list, the morning was spent in the company of a good friend and maybe more importantly, the day started off with a full English breakfast. There will be more days like this in the coming months. Of that I am certain!

Slowing down...

2009-01-31T21:45:00.000Z

After last Sunday morning’s rather rushed birding I decided that today I would treat myself to a more relaxed day. I spent almost five hours out and about just enjoying the day, the clear blue skies and, of course, the birds. I did have one or two species in mind that I wanted to try and track down but I was certainly not going to be chasing around like last week!

My first stop was Swarkestone Sailing Lake and the chance of adding Scaup to my “10-Mile List”. Up to four birds have been reported from this location over the past two weeks so I was reasonably confident of finding at least one bird. This was also to be the one and only bird that I would be twitching during the morning - I admit, I did check one or two websites late last night for the latest details of Scaup sightings!

An hour spent checking the lake and surrounding trees and hedges rewarded me with a total of 22 species including Scaup. I failed to locate the male bird but did get good views of two females. Other sightings of note included 6 Great Crested Grebe, c50 Greylag Geese, 55 Tufted Duck, a male Goosander and 6 Stock Dove. Three Rook that flew over the car just as I was about to get back into it were a welcome sight as they were the first within my 10-mile zone this year.

Having gotten the twitching out of the way for the morning I moved on to Dimminsdale Nature Reserve on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border, a small woodland reserve that I’ve not visited for something like 15 or 20 years. Here, I hoped to pick up a few of the more common species that have escaped me so far this year. I also took the opportunity to try out my new mobile phone or to be more precise the camera on my new mobile! I don’t think it will replace my trusty old Kodak compact but, at 5 mega pixels, it should have it uses.

Entering Dimminsdale.

I lost myself amongst the peace and quiet of Dimminsdale for almost an hour and a half and in that time recorded 17 species. It may have been a little quiet bird wise but, to be honest, I really wasn’t bothered; today was about slowing things down, enjoying being outside and not having to worry about work. Things were working out just fine. Pick of the birds at Dimminsdale were 3 Buzzard, a Kingfisher, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 male Bullfinches. New birds for my “10-Mile List” came in the form of Goldcrest and Treecreeper. The flowering snowdrops at the south-western end of the reserve were also rather nice to see too.

Woodland snowdrops.

The walk from the reserve back to the car park took me past the southern end of Staunton Harold Reservoir and also gave me my fifth, and final, new species for the day when two Raven flew directly overhead. Just a few years ago Raven, along with Buzzard, would have been a very special sighting for me in Southern Derbyshire. Now, I come across both species on a fairly regular basis - how times have changed. The reservoir itself, or at least the bit of it I could see from the road, held 3 Little Grebe, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 40 Wigeon, 55 Teal numerous Mallard and Tufted Duck and 5 Goldeneye. A Buzzard soared overhead for a while; it’s mewing call alerting myself and the birds to its presence.

My final stop-off was the Carvers Rocks Nature Reserve at the southern end of Foremark Reservoir. Here I had hoped to find Marsh Tit but it wasn’t to be. Once again the woodland proved to be very quiet with just seven species being located actually within the woodland. Two Treecreeper held my attention for some while - have you ever studied these birds closely? They have the most stunning plumage! A friendly Robin came to within six feet of me and half a dozen Long-tailed Tits performed their crazy acrobatics directly above me at one point.

The bare beauty of winter.

Out on the reservoir I counted a further 10 species, these included 12 Great Crested Grebe, 8 Wigeon, 4 Gadwall, c40 Mallard, c100 Tufted Duck and 2 Goosander. A large gull roost was starting to gather at the far end of the reservoir but time was now getting on, and I was getting very hungry, so I didn’t have the time to walk close enough to check for anything unusual. I did manage to pick out quite a few Common Gull in flight but that was about all.

My 4½ hours out birding today gave me five new species for my “10-Mile List” - Scaup, Rook, Treecreeper, Goldcrest and Raven - but more importantly it slowed life down to a steady crawl again. Quite a result I reckon!

Tomorrow is already planned, or at least the full cooked breakfast that will precede the birding is!

My “10-Mile List” now stands at 81 species.

Too much information...

2009-01-26T22:00:00.001Z

Web sites and e-mails. Mobile phones and text messages. Pagers! Are they, along with binoculars and a telescope, the essential tools of the modern birder or do they just add to the chaotic lifestyles we find ourselves being subjected to? Birding to my way of thinking should be about taking time out to clear one’s head, to escape from the day-to-day grind of the workplace and to generally slow down. So why doesn’t it happen that way? I blame information technology!

Yesterday started off quiet enough for me - I hadn’t switched on my mobile phone or my PC - and I spent the first hour of my morning recording all the birds seen in or around the garden as part of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. By 9:30AM I’d recorded a total of 15 species, nine of which qualified for the Big Garden Birdwatch by actually landing in my recording area. The nine were Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Starling and Magpie.

The six flyover sightings were Teal, Sparrowhawk, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Jackdaw and Carrion Crow. The big surprise was the Teal - quite why a single Teal was flying over such a built up area as this I don’t know! The LBB Gull was also a new species for my “10-Mile List”, so that alone made it worth staring out of the bedroom window for an hour.

It was after the garden birding that things started to get a little more hectic - I turned on my mobile phone and my PC. A quick check of the Birdguides news page and it was clear that the Waxwing flock in nearby Ilkeston had not yet been reported on Sunday morning, but they had been seen during the previous afternoon. As there was nothing else of note nearby I decided to chance my luck and go and try for the Waxwings anyway. Just as I was walking out of the door my mobile went off, a text message from my birding friend Mike, he had located a couple of drake Pintail at Willington Gravel Pits.

I now had a problem... should I go for the Pintail and be more or less guaranteed another bird for my “10-Mile List” or should I stick with trying for the Waxwing flock. Lynda’s input on the subject had me heading for Willington! “Go for the easy tick!”

The Pintail proved to be very easy to locate. They were swimming up and down the Gull Pit and gave great views from platform 3 at the end of the lane. Other birds out on the water included 229 Wigeon (my highest ever count here), 8 Gadwall, 6 Teal, 43 Pochard and a female Goldeneye. A single Buzzard was seen briefly as it soared over Canal Scrape and a Great Black-backed Gull over the new workings gave me yet another new bird for the ever-growing “10-Mile List”. The pick of the birds seen in the lane included Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch and Bullfinch.

At 11:15AM technology dictated the pace and venue of my morning’s birding once more. Another text message arrived on my phone and, after a quick return call to confirm the details, I was leaving Willington in a hurry and heading to Ilkeston. The Waxwing flock had shown up! As I jumped into the car it suddenly dawned on me - I had no map and no way of finding my way through the new housing estate the birds had been seen in! Yet another phone call, this time to home, and Lynda was able to send directions back to me via yet another text message.

It was on the drive to Ilkeston that my “10-Mile List” came very close to literally hitting species number 75 when a pair of Grey Partridge flew across the road just feet in front of the car. I managed to get very close, if brief, views of the birds but it didn’t do much for my heart rate. I reckon it must have been close to 200 beats a minute! Oh, and the brakes on the car work okay too!

The Waxwings hadn’t been seen for around 15 minutes when I arrived but, after a further half-hour or so, a small group of them did return to the trees right next to where I was stood. If the light had been better then they would have been in a great position to photograph. As it was, my camera was unable to focus properly through my ‘scope and the chance was missed. That aside, it was great to be able to watch the Waxwings at close quarters and also to hear their trilling calls so well. If only these birds would expand their summer range and take up residence in the UK.

So, with the help and/or hindrance of the latest information technology I was able to add a further 5 new species to my “10-Mile List” yesterday bringing the current total to 76 species. I must admit that I was more than happy to have seen the Pintail, Grey Partridge and Waxwing but, as I sat and updated my records last night, I couldn’t help but think that a day out just looking for and watching my own birds may well have been even more enjoyable.

Your thoughts on the growing use of I.T. in birdwatching would be more than welcome!

Suffering with the wind...

2009-01-19T22:15:00.000Z

Once again, the weather Gods looked after us on Saturday and the rain that had been forecast for the Humber area stayed away. In its place we had strong winds, very strong winds! I spent much of the day trying to make sure the wind didn’t whip my baseball cap off my head - if it had, then I’m sure it wouldn’t have landed until it reached Holland!

Far Ings Nature Reserve was our first port of call and in the three hours spent there Lynda and I located a total of 42 species. It wasn’t a huge species count but it was certainly worked for - the near gale force winds meant that most of the birds were tucked away well out of sight. The more (fool) hardy birds that did show well included 16 Shelduck, c100 Wigeon and 14 Common Redshank out on the Humber Estuary. The more sheltered pools held 3 Little Grebe, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 14 Gadwall, 24 Teal, 14 Shoveler, 35 Pochard, 8 Goldeneye and 1 male Goosander. A male Sparrowhawk caused panic amongst the wildfowl on a number of occasions as it made low level passes over the water.

Four species of gull were seen as we battled our way along the riverside path, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Black-headed Gull. The two reserve feeding stations provided the best/easiest birding of the morning due to their location being such that it kept much of the wind off the birds. A total of 12 different species could be seen on or around the bird feeders with Willow Tit, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch and Tree Sparrow being the pick of the bunch. The very last bird to be added to our site list was Curlew; a single bird flew low over the road just as our coach was pulling out of the car park. A pleasant enough morning’s birding but it could have been much better, and warmer, without the mini-hurricane blowing!

A little under an hour after leaving Far Ings and we arrived at Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve. Far Ings may have been a little quiet but, on Saturday, Blacktoft was positively sleepy. Having just loaded all of the birds seen onto my sightings database I think it would be more fitting to say that Blacktoft had fallen into a coma! In total Lynda and I came up with the grand total of just 28 species.

Even on such a quiet day there is always going to be at least one high point and on Saturday it had to be the Marsh Harriers. At least 5 harriers could be seen at any one time and on numerous occasions up to 3 birds were to be seen very close to the hides. During the rare moments that the harriers weren’t close at hand then the 3 Black-tailed Godwits that were feeding in front of Singleton Hide kept us entertained.

Other than the harriers and the godwits there really wasn’t much else to write home about... 5 Shelduck, 7 Wigeon, 8 Shoveler and 1 Common Snipe. With the aid of a ‘scope, Lapwing and Golden Plover could also be seen but they were in flight and a long, long way away. Much farther away and they could have joined my wind-blown cap in Holland!

By 4:00PM Lynda and I, and a number of others in the group, decided that the excitement was all just a little too much and we headed back to the relative warmth of the coach. In true birding fashion, the best bird of the day put in an appearance minutes after we left the hide - a superb male Hen Harrier (so I’m told!) was seen flying over the reed bed by the few brave souls that stayed in the hide until just before the coach left for home!

The plan for this weekend is to get back out in my 10-Mile zone for some real birding. Weather permitting that is!

A, very, quiet start...

2009-01-16T21:00:00.000Z

I’ve been chastised, quite rightly, for not updating my Blog since January 4th. My excuse... I’ve had nothing worth posting! That apparently isn’t a good enough excuse for my absence, so here’s the first of this weekend’s updates.

BIRDING

It’s taken me almost two weeks but I finally added another bird to my 2009 “10-Mile List” today. I cut short my usual 6-mile cycle ride to work and instead took a shorter, more direct, ride via Alvaston Lake. The lake is now ice-free for the first time in a number of weeks and, as a result, the birds are starting to return. Most notable of my sightings this morning were 10 Mute Swan (the usual family group), 150 Canada Geese, 14 Pochard, 10 Tufted Duck, 8 Goosander, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Heron, c350 Black-Headed Gull and, new to my list, 2 Green Woodpecker. The Goosander were a particularly pleasing sight as this was the highest number that I’ve recorded on this small, city, lake since Christmas Eve 2007 and was the second highest count I’ve ever had here; Christmas 2007 saw 9 birds present.

The addition of Green Woodpecker takes my “10-Mile List” to 71 species.

Tomorrow I’ll be taking my first birding trip of the year outside of Derbyshire, a coach trip with the Derby RSPB Group to Far Ings and also Blacktoft RSPB reserve. The weather forecast isn’t looking too great at the moment but it is looking better than Sunday! The wind and rain are on their way and I’ll probably be giving the local birding a miss again. At least it looks like I’ll have a valid excuse this weekend - last weekend it was Sunday lunch in the pub that kept me away from my bins and ‘scope!

CYCLING

So far, 2009 has been almost problem free on the cycling front with no punctures, no unexpected mechanical failures and only one day when the heavy rain persuaded me that the car was the better option. As a result I’ve already covered over 116 miles. It’s a fair start but there’s one heck of a lot of peddling to do before I reach my goal of 2,500 miles!

So, there you have it reader, the past two weeks in a nutshell. I told you I had nothing worth posting!

Hitting 70...

2009-01-04T23:15:00.000Z

Two mornings of birding, 39 new species for the year located. It couldn’t have worked out much better really. Of the birds I had expected to see there were a few that eluded me - 10 to be precise! - but I did manage to pick up other, unexpected, species that acted as replacements. Some of the birds I failed to locate include one or two surprises... no Green Woodpecker, no Skylark or Meadow Pipit, no Treecreeper and, somehow, no Rook!

Highlights of the five hours spent out in the freezing cold on Saturday included four Bewick’s Swans, eight Egyptian Geese, a Ruddy Shelduck and a Tree Sparrow, all at Barton in Fabis, just over the border in Nottinghamshire. Next it was back into Derbyshire and Long Eaton Gravel Pits, with the hope of a Smew. There was no sign of the Smew but I did pick up another 11 new species. Best bird here was a female Stonechat, which is a species that I failed to locate within my 10-mile zone last year. Little Grebe, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard and Snipe were other birds of note that I also saw at Long Eaton.

Are these the worst ever digi-scoped photos of a Bewick's Swan?

But look how far away they were!

By now it was 12:30PM and I was starting to feel the cold - even more than I had all morning! The cold was bad enough but driving around in a car with an ice warning light was worse - the damn thing was constantly flashing either red or orange at me depending on just how cold it was! I decided I’d had enough for one day and headed for home and a much-needed hot dinner, but not before stopping off at Aston on Trent Gravel Pits!

As there is no public access at Aston I had to make do with viewing the area from the entrance gate. It was far from ideal but I did add Shelduck, Common Redshank and Grey Wagtail to my steadily growing list. I also missed out on Smew once again - the pair that have been reported here over the past week or so failed to show. Time to head home, enjoy my lunch and try and get warm.

No sooner had I arrived home and I got a text message from my good friend, and fellow birder, Mike. He had located a flock of Golden Plover less than 2 miles from my house. There was nothing for it, I had to go for them. This was another species that I had missed in 2008. I drove to the place Mike had seen the Goldie's, scanned the fields and drew a blank. Either they had moved or I was in the wrong place.

A quick drive around some of the other roads finally paid off and I located a small group of plover in another field. The only problem was, if I was to have a good enough view to be certain of their identification I would have to park illegally, in an emergency lay-by with double yellow lines, on a duel carriageway, on a flyover! I’m pleased to say I was able to add Golden Plover to my list! I finished the day with a total of 61 species on my “10-Mile List”.

I started today with a brief visit to Allestree Park and quickly added Nuthatch and Siskin to my list. The cold weather actually helped me here as almost all of the lake was frozen over. As a result, the four Mandarin Duck there had to come out into the open to bathe and I was able to see them. If the lake hadn’t been covered with ice then I may well have missed the Mandarin - another unexpected tick.

From Allestree it was a short drive to Kedleston to try for the White-fronted Goose that has been present since the middle of December. If I hadn’t been suffering with “Man Flu” and then having Christmas shopping to do I would have gone for the goose last year, as it was I didn’t. Luckily, the White-front has stuck around and it proved to be a very easy tick today. I parked in the golf club car park, no doubt seen by the multitude of security cameras they have, walked across the road to view the goose field and spotted the bird almost immediately. Sixty-five species located, just another five needed.

Next stop was Staunton Harold Reservoir on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border and yet another attempt to find Smew. A male had been reported at the southern end of the reservoir yesterday afternoon and, much to my relief, it was still there today. Of all the duck species, I think that a male Smew must be my favourite - they’re just stunning. Just to make the trip even more worthwhile a single Pink-footed Goose was in the Greylag Goose flock, yet another new and unexpected bird. A pair of Goldeneye here took my “10-Mile List” to 68 species. I was starting to think that 70 was within reach.

It was now just after 10:30AM and I was starting to feel the cold again. I’d been stood around for much of my time outside and needed to start and move around a little. I decided on a visit to Willington Gravel Pits. You just knew that place would crop up sooner or later, didn’t you? Well, it was close by and a walk to the end of the lane and around to Canal Scrape would warm me up a little.

Willington was possibly the quietest I’ve ever seen it with just 33 species located. It did prove to be worthwhile though - the walk warmed me up (a little) and I found the two species needed to hit my weekend target. At least three Water Rail were heard calling from the frozen reed beds but were not seen so they are listed as a “heard only” tick at the moment, just like last year. The walk back to the car from Canal Scrape, as the snow started to fall, provided me with the final new bird of the day and the weekend. Species number 70 was a Buzzard perched on a rather flimsy looking tree. From the look of the bird, it was feeling the cold even more than I was - it did not look happy with life! Then again, the snow was blowing straight into its face!

Last year I started this “10-Mile List” thing in March and had 71 species in the bag by the end of the first weekend. This year, I’m just one short of that figure and I have a two month head start - I wonder just what my total will be come the end of the year?

The first weekend...

2009-01-02T22:10:00.000Z

We’re less than 48 hours into 2009 but already it’s “GAME ON”!

I have two days off work, the weather is looking like being dry if somewhat cold, so I’m going to make the most of it and get out birding. By the time the sun sets on Sunday afternoon I’d like to have close to 70 species on my 2009 “10-Mile List”. It may not be the most relaxed birding I do this year but I’m hoping it will be the weekend that sees me add the largest number of new species to my list. If it all goes wrong I may just hang up my ‘bins and retire for the next 12 months!

If you happen to be in the area around the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire border this weekend and see a crazy birder running around say hello, it could well be me! Just don’t expect me to spend hours chatting... I have targets to meet!

Looking back but moving on...

2009-01-01T21:15:00.001Z

So, here we go again! It’s New Year and that means new starts. There are new gigs to attend, new bands to see. New lists to start, new birds to find. New targets to aim for, more miles to cycle. Looking forward it all sounds exciting stuff - in reality, it’s just another year like any other! Nothing much changes, does it?

Santa's been!

Christmas 2008... see my Blog posts for 2005, 2006 and 2007 for a full re-cap, it was exactly the same this year! And that means it was a great Christmas - we like it to be a quiet time in this house. We ate lots (though not too much), we drank a fair amount (though not to excess) and we played the Jive Bunny Christmas CD whilst we opened our presents, and drank Buck’s Fizz, on Christmas morning. We have our traditions here, and we like to stick to them! Tradition has it that Lynda must drink Sherry whilst preparing Christmas lunch, it also dictates that I have a rather large malt whisky to accompany her. After eating a delicious lunch of turkey (what else?) with all the extras we then settled down in front of the TV and didn’t really move again for the rest of the day - apart from topping up the food and alcohol levels that is.

Lynda makes a great Christmas cake!

A 3 mile walk on Boxing Day and then a 20 mile cycle ride on Sunday will, hopefully, have burnt off a few of the calories that came gift wrapped in all the food and drink I’ve enjoyed over the festive period. If not then I’m going to have to make sure I up the pace a little on the daily commute to and from work next week. If nothing else it will have got a few miles under my belt as I attempt to cycle a minimum of 2,500 miles in 2009.

New Year’s Eve and we did the usual. We stayed home; we ate way too much food and drank plenty too. The fireworks kicked off all around us at mid-night but this year we stayed in front of the TV and watched the firework display from the London Eye instead of standing in the bedroom window watching fireworks here. It may not be the most exciting way to spend New Year but at least it means we don’t have to fight the crowds to get a drink in a pub or get ripped off for a taxi fare home. Staying home also means we don’t have to face some drunken Muppet who wants to take on the world come mid-night. It’s also easier to stagger to bed when you don’t have too far to go!

Today Lynda & I managed to revive another of our traditions, that the weather put a stop to last year, we went for our New Year’s Day walk. We covered just over 6 miles along the roads and footpaths around our local area. It’s not the most scenic of walks at times but at least it means we get some exercise and fresh air without having to get the car out. Driving on New Year’s Day may not be too good for our driving licences either! “No oshifer I’s not been drinkin’, onisht!”.

Feeding the local wildlife.

Icicles by the River Derwent.

Although today’s walk wasn’t a birding outing - I didn’t even take my binoculars - I did make a note of everything we saw and by the time we returned home I already had 31 species recorded for my new 2009 “10-Mile List”. Once again, birds seen within 10 miles of home will be the main focus of my birding over the next 12 months. Last year I set myself a benchmark by recording 136 species within my chosen zone. This year, I’d love to better that total but it will take a rather special run of birds to help me do it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm still here...

2008-12-24T21:00:00.005Z

It’s been a while since I last posted anything here so I thought I’d better stop by and at least say Happy Christmas!

The past few weeks have just flown by and, once again, Christmas kind of crept up on me. Yes, I know it happens on the same date each year but I STILL find myself leaving everything to the last minute. This year I left things later than ever before - I didn’t do any shopping until last Saturday, December 20th. With time fast running out I decided that I really must face the crowds in the shops - my timing was perfect!

I arrived in Derby at just before 8:00AM, parked the car, went and had a sausage and bacon sandwich and a mug of coffee for my breakfast and then hit the shops. Much to my surprise, and relief, everywhere was very quiet and even by the time I headed for home, just before 11:00AM, the main shopping area was still not exactly busy. Things went so well that I had almost all my shopping done in just that one trip, but just to prolong the “excitement” of Christmas shopping a little longer I went back into Derby the next day too. Once again the shops were quiet. Next year I may leave my shopping until Christmas Eve!

Working in the motor trade means that, over the years, I’ve seen many different and unusual modes of transport turn up at the various places I’ve worked. There’s been everything from vintage Rolls Royce’s to Ferrari’s, Harley Davidson’s to three wheelers. The past week or so has added to the strange sights I’ve come across - twice we’ve had a customer phone us asking if we could clear our car park, so that he could land his helicopter in it!

The works helipad!

My own main mode of transport has been somewhat more down to earth. I’ve been able to continue with my cycling even though the cycle paths have been more like ice rinks at times! I’ve had to contend with mile after mile of ice covered paths, eyes that constantly ran due to the cold air and even a fox with a death wish! At the time the fox issue could well have been a little painful but, looking back, it was rather funny.

I was cycling home along an unlit, and very icy, path one evening when a fox casually walked out in front of me. There was no way I could grab at my brakes or I would have certainly hit the deck due to the ice - all I could do was shout out at the fox, now only around six feet in front of me, and hope that it moved! Luckily, for both of us, it did and I went sailing past. All good fun!

Whilst on the subject of cycling, I’ve now passed my target of riding 1,000 miles by the end of the year. I reached 1,000 miles last Wednesday on the way to work and since then I’ve added another 45 miles to my total. I’ve set myself a target of 2,500 miles for next year.

Have a great Christmas and don’t eat or drink too much... that’s my job!

2008-12-07T21:00:00.004Z

WELSH RARE BITS

I was right about RSPB Conwy - we didn’t see too many birds there yesterday. We did see some quality birds though! In the 2½ hours that we spent on the reserve Lynda & I recorded a total of 40 species. The weather, though very cold, was also great for birding. The light was superb, there was little or no wind and as a result the birds we did see tended to show well.

Conwy Castle & RSPB Reserve.

We arrived at Conwy at just before 11:00am and were met by a reserve warden who handed out maps, reserve passes and also informed us that the Firecrest I was so keen to see hadn’t been seen all day. It wasn’t the news I wanted to hear and, with all due respect to said warden, I didn’t take too much notice of it anyway. My feelings towards wardens are, I’m sad to say, a little tainted at times after I found a Great Northern Diver at Cley NWT reserve many years ago. I reported it to the warden on duty only to be told “You must be wrong. We don’t get those here.” - the bird was reported a number of times, by other birders, over the coming days! Birds can, and will, turn up anywhere.

After moving off from the coach, and onto the reserve, the Firecrest took around 10 minutes to locate. At first I was aware of it calling, then I got a very brief view of what I thought was the bird in flight, shortly after that the little beauty was feeding just feet away from us. Firecrests are always colourful little things but yesterday’s bird was possibly the best I’ve ever seen, maybe due to the quality of the light. The only minor complaint I have is that the bird was so full of energy that I had no chance of getting any photos! It just never stopped moving!

Whilst looking for, and watching, the Firecrest we also located a Wren, a number of Dunnock, a couple of Goldcrest, 6 Long-tailed Tit, numerous Blue Tit, 3 Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, 2 Siskin and also 6 Goldfinch. The Siskin stayed still for a little longer than the Firecrest and so I was able to get my ‘scope and camera trained on them long enough for a few quick photos.

Siskin.

Visits to the hides and a walk around the perimeter path of the reserve gave good views of the two lakes and also the Conwy estuary. Birds of note here included 4 Little Grebe, 2 Little Egret, 10 Shelduck, c60 Teal, 7 Shoveler, 2 female Goldeneye, 4 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Water Rail and 55 Lapwing. A group of 10 Black-tailed Godwit flew onto the reserve from the estuary and a single Kingfisher was seen perched on the edge of the reed bed. I also managed a count of 60 Snipe on one of the small islands near to one of the hides.

View over Conwy RSPB reserve.

After arriving back at the reserve shop and café at the end of our walk I decided that I had just enough time to try for one more look at the Firecrest before our coach moved on to Llanfairfechan. The Firecrest showed well but I had to move on quicker than I thought - another bird had been located that I wanted to see, Siberian Chiffchaff. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert (far from it!) on the various “splits” of Chiffchaff but I have to say that the bird we saw yesterday certainly did seem to fit well with the “tristis” form. As with all birding - you make your own rules about what, and how, you list such birds. I have this down as “Chiffchaff - probable tristis.”

Llanfairfechan was even quieter in terms of the number of species seen, just 28, but again it was the quality of birding that made the long trip worth while. The sheltered bay, and calm sea, made it reasonably easy to pick up Red-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Slavonian Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser. Oystercatcher, Redshank, Turnstone and Purple Sandpiper were all seen within just a few yards of the sea wall as the tide came in.

Oystercatcher.

A couple of Common Gull were fighting for bread amongst the Herring and Black-headed Gulls that were being fed on the lake in the park, where Mute Swan and Mallard were also noted. A walk along the sea wall added Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and Greenfinch to our list. A little time sat scanning the sea also provided me with a single Black Guillemot as it flew by. Walking back to the coach as the sun set turned up what was, for me, an unexpected bird when we spotted a Dipper feeding in a small river just a few feet from the car park and only around 100yds from the sea. Unexpected it may have been but it was a rather nice way to end the day.

Llanfairfechan view.

10-MILE LIST

Today, even though I really should have stayed home in the warm to try and shake off the remnants of my MAN FLU, I took a drive over to Belper in search of Waxwings. A group of 5 birds have been feeding in a car park in the town for the past couple of days and the possibility of adding this species to my “10-Mile List” was just too tempting.

I stood around in the freezing cold for almost an hour before a couple of Waxwing came to feed. They stayed for around three or four minutes before flying off again. They didn’t return during the following hour so I came home again! Yes, I would have liked to have watched the birds for longer but at least this time I did get to see them.

Whilst stood around waiting for the Waxwings I also noted a further 21 species - not bad for a car park in the middle of town. The most unexpected bird was a male Blackcap that was feeding in the same tree as the Waxwings. No doubt this little warbler was none too happy with the temperature this morning, still below freezing at 10:30am, and was wishing it had chosen to move on to warmer climes at the end of the summer!

Waxwing takes my “10-Mile List” count to 136 species for the year. Will this prove to be the final new species of the year?

At last, the weekend...

2008-12-05T21:15:00.000Z

It’s Friday, and I’m more than happy to see the weekend arrive! Apart from the snow and ice that have made my cycling rather dangerous or, even worse, nonexistent I’ve had to battle through the dreaded MAN FLU! It all started on Tuesday afternoon, the day the snow first hit, and has slowly gotten worse - I’m sure that it is only my clean-living, healthy lifestyle that has enabled me to pull through. The extra couple of sausage, bacon, egg and mushroom sandwiches I had at work may have helped too! The half a bottle of whisky I’ve got through, in coffee or hot lemonade at night, was purely medicinal I must add!

Tomorrow, for the first time in almost three months, Lynda and I are on an RSPB coach trip - we’re crossing the border and heading into North Wales. We’ll be visiting Llanfairfechan (no, my keyboard isn’t acting up. That IS a place name!) and also RSPB Conwy. It will be the first time we’ve visited Llanfairfechan so I’m not too sure what we will see there. RSPB Conwy I have visited before, many many years ago, and as I remember it, we didn’t see too much! That said, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Firecrest that has been reported from Conwy for much of this week will hang around until after I’ve seen it tomorrow!

Whilst getting my camera ready for tomorrow I came across some photos I meant to post in the week - the man flu must have affected my memory, I forgot! They were taken last Sunday afternoon, leaning out of the bedroom window trying to avoid getting too many houses and cars in shot! We may not have the nicest of views at home but every now and again nature sends us a little treat. All the photos are straight off the camera - no enhancing or altering of exposure.

A welcome return...

2008-12-01T22:30:00.000Z

After months of waiting, one of my favourite birds made a come back over the weekend. No silly, NOT Britney Spears on X-Factor, a Smew! But, now you mention it... how bad was Britney on X-Factor eh? Okay, she may have looked the part but come on, what’s with the (very poor) lip-synching? Any way, I digress.

Yesterday morning I managed to haul myself out of bed in time to get a couple of hours of birding in before lunch. With time fast running out for me to add extra species to my "10-Mile List" before the end of the year there really was only one place I could head for, Long Eaton Gravel Pits. Bet you thought I was going to say Willington, didn’t you?

Long Eaton Gravel Pits.

Long Eaton Gravel Pits aren’t the birding hot spot they once were - they’ve provided me with such goodies as Black-throated Diver, Corn Bunting, Merlin, Pectoral Sandpiper, Ring-necked Duck, Woodchat Shrike and Bluethroat in the past - but they do still pull in one or two little treats. This weekend it was the aforementioned Smew. Unfortunately it wasn’t an adult male, but when you’re in need of every single year tick a redhead Smew is as good as any. I had chased after Smew numerous times at the start of the year, without success, so this was one bird I was more than pleased to see back in my "zone".

Despite the very cold conditions - well below freezing with the wind chill - I managed to record 32 species during my two-hour visit. As is to be expected at an old gravel pit site the main interest was wildfowl with counts of 162 Wigeon, 5 Teal, 16 Shoveler, 127 Pochard, 29 Tufted Duck and, of course, 1 Smew.

Other counts/notable birds included 29 Great Crested Grebe, 118 Coot, 1 Common Snipe, 3 Common Gull, 58 Black-headed Gull and 10 Fieldfare. There were also plenty of Mallard, but once again I couldn’t bring myself to start and count them! Don’t know what it is about Mallard but I never quite get the urge to set about counting the things!

Whilst out and about yesterday I noticed that on more than one occasion dog walkers failed to return my friendly “Good morning” as we passed. Having been ignored once again, I suddenly thought it might have been my appearance that was the problem...

...well, it was VERY cold!

The redhead Smew takes my "10-Mile List" to 135 species for the year.

An evening in Neverland...

2008-11-30T20:30:00.000Z

According to Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopaedia, NEVERLAND is a place where “people may cease to age; therefore, Neverland is often seen as a metaphor for eternal childhood (and childishness), immortality and escapism”. That’s as may be, but last night it was a place where I was treated to some of the best live music I’ve heard this year!

Neverland, the band, have been around for a good few years now but I’m sure some of the magic of J. M. Barrie’s Neverland has touched them... the music is ageless, the power and enthusiasm of the musicians stronger than ever. Last night’s gig was quite simply brilliant! If there was one minor disappointment for me it was the lighting and the floor of the gig room. The lighting, and dry ice, was way too atmospheric for my little camera to cope with; all the people dancing and bouncing around made the floor move enough to blur any photos I did try and get! In short... it was amazing!

The good photos were bad - the bad ones, terrible!

The set the band played lasted for almost 2 hours (I didn’t time it) and was made up of 23 tracks. It’s hard for me to single out any one track as being “the one” that stood out - I love ALL of their music - but, as ever, Stars and the Blues made a lasting impression. The opening track of the night, Out, was getting it’s first live play and it looks to be on it’s way to becoming a Neverland classic. It’s dark, it’s heavy, it’s mysterious - it’s Neverland at their best!

By the end of the night I was rather thankful of all the cycling that I now do, my legs and lungs stood up rather well to all the dancing, and bouncing, around that I subjected them to. That, or the Neverland magic, touched me - who knows? The full set list was...

OUT - a new track
THE DAY THE GENIE CAME TO TEA
KEBAB NO MORE
THE HUNTER
DOOM GARDEN JELLY FISH BLUES
THE SHIP
BELIEVE
SEAGULLS - another new track
ELEPHANTS CAN’T DANCE
THIRTEEN - another new track
NEVER LEARNED TO SPEAK
THE FIRE CRADLE
THE HEARTMAN
HELLO (TOMORROW IS HERE)
CALL ME MONSTER
CARTOON PLANET - another new track
IF I WERE YOU - another new track
BETWEEN THE MOON AND THE SEA
ROSES
I THINK I’M GONNA BUY A CAR
EARTH DANCE (ADE’S JIG)

Encores were...

THE TALKING TREE
STARS AND THE BLUES

Catching up a little...

2008-11-28T22:00:00.005Z

Birding

I’m still having trouble finding time for birding but I did manage to get out for a few hours on Tuesday. I spent a couple of hours in the morning walking the streets of Ilkeston in search of Waxwings, but I failed to locate them! Three birds had been reported the afternoon before, in what is becoming a bit of a hot spot for them each winter, but the birds had obviously moved on or found some hidden corner in which to feed. Hopefully, as the winter continues, other Waxwings will turn up inside my 10-Mile Zone.

In the afternoon, in an attempt to rescue something from the day, I headed off to an area that often holds wintering Short-eared Owls. To pass a little time before going for the owls I stopped off at St. Chad’s Water, between Draycott and Long Eaton. This small lake falls nicely within my listing area but, unfortunately, didn’t provide me with any new species. That said, it was still a pleasant visit with some good birds to see. In a little under two hours I recorded 34 species and, more importantly, got some close views of many of them.

St. Chad's Water.

Birds of note included 3 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Tufted Duck, 3 Goosander, 8 Common Gull, 40 Black-headed Gull, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Fieldfare, 12 Redwing, 12 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Yellowhammer, 60 Linnet and 1 Bullfinch. A male Mute Swan on the lake also deserves a mention if only because it tried to drag me into the water by grabbing hold of my trouser leg! Such a friendly lot they are in that part of the world.

The owls? They failed to show. I had hoped that the weather we had last weekend would have pushed them down from the Derbyshire moors but birders are still reporting sightings of the owls up there this week. Like the Waxwings, I’m hoping the owls will also reappear over the next few weeks.

Sunset over St. Chad's Water.

Cycling

My cycling is now back into a routine again after the BHF sponsored ride, and I’ve managed to use the bike on all but two workdays. The first day I missed was due to a rather nasty grinding noise coming from the front fork bearings on the bike. This resulted in me having to strip the front of the bike down and clean out a worrying amount of Sherwood Forest from the bearings. Luckily, no long-term damage has been done and, after re-greasing the bearings, all is now well.

The second non-biking day was as recent as yesterday and was due to me managing to get yet another rear wheel puncture on the bike the previous evening. I’m not sure what I ran over, I was on a section of unlit river path at the time, but it certainly made a mess of things. In a split second I went from having a fully inflated tyre to having a very flat one, and a bike that was covered in green slime! The hole in the inner tube was way too large for the self sealing gel in my tyres to work and the air pressure just blew the stuff all over me and the bike. Remember Ghost Busters? It slimed me!

Today, things are back to normal again. I rode into work on the bike, being extra careful on the very icy paths, rode back from work on the bike and even managed a 5-mile sprint around Pride Park and Alvaston Park during my lunch break. The 16½ miles I did today means I’ve now covered a total of 910 miles since June 13. My target of 1,000 miles by the end of the year is now within sight.

Music

Just over a week ago Lynda and I went to the Oysterband gig in Derby. The Oysterband were as good as ever - they have, after all, been touring for 30 years now - and the support was equal to them. Anyone with a passing interest in the British folk rock scene will be aware of the Oysterband but the support act was new to me. It was Dan Donnelly, originally from Belfast and now living in New York. He played much of his set solo but was joined for a number of tracks by Alan Prosser of the Oysterband.

Dan Donnelly & Alan Prosser - Derby Assembly Rooms.

Tomorrow, we’re back in Derby for yet another gig - this time it’s Neverland. I’ve looked forward to, and enjoyed, some great gigs this year but this one is right up there with the best of them. It may well be the gig of the year for me! Since Neverland reformed back in 2004 I’ve tried to get to as many of their gigs as possible. Each one has been bigger and better than the last and tomorrow at The Royal has all the makings of a brilliant night. The band also has 5 new tracks that will be getting their first public airing. If you can’t get to the gig - and I strongly recommend you do - you can hear some of Neverland’s music on their MySpace site.

NEVERLAND MYSPACE

Look out, Derby! The Nev’s are back in town!

Deep water birding...

2008-11-17T22:00:00.000Z

Apart from the, very enjoyable, few hours that I spent birding at Blashford Lakes back on 22 October my binoculars and ‘scope haven’t seen the light of day for almost two months. On Sunday, I decided that it was high time I got back out in the field so to speak. After much deliberation over where to go, and what to go in search of, I chose the obvious - Willington Gravel Pits! I could easily have headed off to Carsington Water for Scaup, Common Scoter, Great Northern Diver, Ring-billed Gull and Waxwing but that would have taken me out of my 10-Mile Zone, so Willington it was.

As I parked the car and started the walk down the lane the rain started to fall, with it came the birds. It was literally raining thrushes! At first it was just the odd Redwing or two that were landing. The cloud thickened and with it came a small group of Fieldfare, a few more Redwing and then another group of around 30 Fieldfare dropped into trees in the lane. A little later 24 Redwing flew low over the reserve in search of a suitable place to rest. By the time the rain had eased around 100 Fieldfare and 40 Redwing were feeding on berries in the bottom half of the lane. The resident Blackbirds, and a single Song Thrush, tried their very best to protect their food supply but the Scandinavian invasion was just too much for them. The weather may not have been that nice to be out in but it was interesting to see how it effected the birds on what was clearly a good day for passing migrants.

The next hour or so was spent on the viewing platform at the end of the lane. After all the rain we’ve had over the past few weeks the water level was, as I expected, way too high for anything but ducks on or around the two main pits. With very little happening out on the water I set about doing a few counts... 30 Wigeon, 15 Gadwall, 10 Teal, 10 Shoveler, 45 Pochard and a single male Goldeneye! There were also good numbers of Mallard and Tufted Duck, but I didn’t feel as though I needed to sink so low as to count them too - maybe next weekend!

Other birds of note amongst the 43 species recorded during my visit included 4 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Mute Swan, a Common Buzzard, around 100 Lapwing, 2 Snipe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, 2 Willow Tit and 6 Bullfinch. A single Yellowhammer, which was seen in the lane, was my first on the main part of the reserve since 2002 - that's around 60 visits without a sighting of this species.

On the way back home from Willington I stopped off for a short while at Barrow Gravel Pits - more deep water, more ducks. The public pit held 150 Wigeon, 4 Teal, 44 Tufted Duck and a few Mallard. I may have lowered myself to Tufted Duck but I still wasn’t ready to count Mallard! There were also 2 Little Grebe, 2 Great Crested Grebe and 2 Mute Swan. A small group of Lapwing and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull were on the gravel workings along with a Grey Wagtail. A count of 34 Red-legged Partridge was my highest ever for the species at any location - I couldn’t find a single Grey Partridge though, a species I still need for my 10-Mile List.