BIGBY Birding 2008 (1 Viewer)

[Karl J]

No snow but plenty of early morning sunshine

Inspired by the current British success at the track cycling world championships i couldn't wait any longer to get back out on my bike, having been on a 2 month layoff. So after dusting off the old fixed wheeler (65" gear, for the technically minded) it was off round my previously-regular sea front loop, partly to see what's about and partly to have a look at the new cycle lane the council built.

A Barn owl over the golf course was pretty good as a start, a good few Starlings, tits, Greenfinches etc around the Racecourse (horses), followed by squarking Black-headed gulls, couple of small flocks of Meadow Pipit, Turnstones along the beach and 2 Med. gulls near the sealife centre. And to round things off nicely a few northward passing Gannets offshore from the tea van down by the new harbour development. I had hoped for some terns too, but in the offshore wind it wasn't to be.

As for the cycle lane, well unfortunately it conforms to the usual standard ie. very pretty but totally useless. Except, that is, to provide for drivers too lazy to park their BM... er, "prestige German" cars, in the car parks.

All in all a reasonably interesting ride about. Including the pootle there and back 27km, or about 17 miles in old money

 

[matt green]

No snow but plenty of early morning sunshine

Inspired by the current British success at the track cycling world championships i couldn't wait any longer to get back out on my bike, having been on a 2 month layoff. So after dusting off the old fixed wheeler (65" gear, for the technically minded) it was off round my previously-regular sea front loop, partly to see what's about and partly to have a look at the new cycle lane the council built.

Good to hear you've been back on your two wheeler, Karl!!

Keep up the good work on this fine thread folks, if it wasn't for being stuck in landlocked agri-Norfolk I'd be hopping on a two wheeler and dicing with death with the local boy racers myself!!! I think I'll stick with the trains and buses for now!!

Matt

 

[deborah4]

Really great to 'see' you back in the saddle Karl - 17 miles eh? Take it easy!

(Matt: We do not mention Norfolk buses anymore on this thread )

 

[SueO]

Hi Deborah,

I went by public transportation to Castel Fusano on the 28th. The day started out cold and rainy and white but by noon the sun had burned through and was shining in a Wedgwood-blue sky. I really miss my bike. I would much rather ride a bike than use the buses and metro, even if was equipped with one of Karl’s Real-Man Saddles. The park was beautiful and wildflowers were everywhere. I saw several kinds of butterflies and birdsong filled the air. Birds seen:
Yellow-legged gulls
Blackbirds
Nuthatches
Chaffinches
Italian Sparrows
Robins
Barn Swallows
Short-toed Treecreeper
Green Finches
White Wagtails
Wrens
Dunnocks
Black Redstarts
Hooded Crows
Song Thrush
Heard Green Woodpecker
Think I heard a Cuckoo—sounded like a Cuckoo Clock!
Sardinian Warblers
ChiffChaffs
Great Tits
Blue Tits
Jays
Collared Doves
Starlings
Cormorants
Goldfinches
Coots
And last, but not least…
Lifer #565 Great Spotted Woodpecker

I heard the GSW first and it took some time to find it. I finally found THEM, a pair. They were active and noisy and beautiful. I love Woodpeckers. I was really happy to add it to my other European Woodies: Green, Syrian, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted, and Wryneck.

It was great to be out in the fresh spring air. We are delaying our departure from Italy until weather improves. I think I may take the opportunity to be a real twitcher and go to the Po Delta sometime in April.
Sue

 

[deborah4]

Oh groan - would like to be where you are right now Sue, and on a bike, totally agree - what a fantastic Springish day!

Wedgwood-blue sky

Wordsworth?

 

[SueO]

Oh groan - would like to be where you are right now Sue, and on a bike, totally agree - what a fantastic Springish day!



Wordsworth?

I just said about the same thing to my niece in Arizona. The grass is always greener. WW? Don't know. Maybe I've just read enough Halftwo that subliminal poetry seeds have sprouted. I hope the high that's over us moves up and brings you a fine English spring day and you can get out on your pushy.
Sue

 

[halftwo]

LOL, Sue,
Glad to have been an inspiration!
Well done on the woody.
Been quite good so far today weather-wise, must do some gardening.
H

 

[StrikingSlug]

Hope you're keeping a consecutive year list too Richard! Nice to get Ruff at Pulborough. Was planning to head up there in a few weeks to see if nightingale have arrived - it's a fairly quiet reserve on the whole but nice and compact. Did you see the Barn Owl by the visitors centre btw?

I do have a year list, although it is not fully up to date at the moment. Pulborough was quiet people wise last week - maybe the shockingly poor weather forecast (which came true!) had something to do with it. Unfortunately I missed the owl, but that might have had something to do with me jogging, head down, back towards the sanctuary of the warmth of the VC.o

Well done to all on this thread who are making the effort with their bicycles. I reckon I am up to about 100 miles of BIGBY wheeling so far, and feel great. With BST upon us and the evenings lighter there really is no excuse not to get out and about after work. The great thing about being on a bike in comparison to running to keep fit is that when you stop pedalling you keep going. Stop putting one foot in front of the other and you'll fall over....

As far as the lists go, the weekend was a wash-out for various reasons (not least rain on Saturday), but I did manage to see the first home-patch chiffchaff as I walked the woofer around Filham this morning. He was a brave little soul (the bird, not the dog) as the weather was yucky, but you couldn't fault the effort he was going to in publicising his position.

 

[Karl J]

cheers Matt, Deborah

Another lovely sunny morning so rode out past town into the little villages south of Yarmouth early on. Ashby - heard but couldn't see my first singing Chiffchaff this year. A Barn Owl, Green Woodpecker and a big flock of Woodpigeons near Somerleyton Hall. Stopped-off at Lound Waterworks (4 Mallard, 1 Teal, 1 Greylag, c10 Goldcrest, couple Long-tailed / Great tits & Chaffinches, 1 Little Owl sitting in the sun and a pretty decent look at a totally unexpected Short-eared Owl, made it 3 sp. owls in one day (in one morning in fact !) - thats something new.


also seen along the way - 1 Small tortoiseshell, 3 Brimstone butterflies and a bee

 

[Karl J]

i put this on the Other Place a while ago, then i read its closing tonight, so thought i'd put it on here too. Hopefully its not too far OT

Dunno if anyone else uses these but i've been messing about with online maps and suchlike for cycle routes recently in the hope of improving on the old bit-of-string-and-an-OSmap method. There are a few about with some seeming easier to use than others but the Bikely website seems pretty good.
This is one i done for my route from the seaside to the bright lights / big city of Norwich, although its back to front :eek!: because i wrote it left to right and i can't find a Reverse Route function. (well its ok for go when i go home)

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Norwich-to-Caister

One of the failings of some of these websites is where they use straight lines between points, which hardly conforms to the actual shape of the roads. Fortunately this one (*mostly*) follows the actual road with the Auto-Follow-The-Road function.

Anyone use anything similar ?

 

[deborah4]

i put this on the Other Place a while ago, then i read its closing tonight,

Do you mean the Bigby site Karl? I hadn't heard that - logged in tonight with no problem.

Haven't tried the Bikely site - did try using google maps to record a route but failed abysmally - ended up drawing by hand a red squiggly line on a downloaded page! My dilemma at the moment is bikes! My old Raleigh has served me for many many years and has been the only bike I've ever owned ... I just don't have the heart to part with it but it's barely road worthy now and very heavy ...am sorely tempted by these ... but! ...http://www.southwatercycles.com/products.php?plid=m1b0s18p1640
http://www.kettler.co.uk/productLis...Bikes&GROUP2=AB2&DESC2=Leisure&GRPRECNUM=1882

 

[StrikingSlug]

My dilemma at the moment is bikes! My old Raleigh has served me for many many years and has been the only bike I've ever owned ... I just don't have the heart to part with it but it's barely road worthy now and very heavy ...

Deborah

I bought myself a new Specialized Crosstrail last year as a treat, and it is great. However, when I moved up to my new job in Portsmouth I knew I was going to have to keep my bike outside, so I resurected an old Raleigh that I have had for more than 25 years. It is doing me proud although there are some alarming creaking noises coming from the front wheel at the moment. On the subject of a new bike for you, just think of it in cost per mile. If your bike is going to last ages then the expense is worthwhile. You might like to look at these 2:
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=86868
http://www.ctcshop.com/product.jsp?style=87584
To get the price on the latter one you would need to be a CTC member (£35 per adult, £22 for students) which gives a 10% discount through the CTC shop (and 15% at Cotswold Outdoor) as well as free insurance to help sue those anti-social drivers who knock people off their trusty steeds.

Karl - I had not come across Bikeley before, so many thanks for the heads up.

And on the birding front, I struggled up and over Portsdown Hill last night and was rewarded by rooks (can't believe I hadn't listed them before) and the real prize, a greater spotted woodpecker in a copse near Purbrook. At least it made the slog up the hill worthwhile.

 

[deborah4]

Thanks Richard

Don't seem to be able to access the price tho ... mind you, now you've said you did up your old Raleigh, I feel even more guilty ... think it's time to spruce the old girl up and carry on!

 

[StrikingSlug]

I am not sure if this counts as a BIGBY tick, but I am in Faslane in Scotland at the moment on business. At sea on the Gareloch this morning I was treated to the sight of more than 50 eider ducks bobbing up and down on the Loch, right next to a nuclear submarine. I guess with all the guards around the Naval Base they must have felt pretty safe....

Richard

 

[Karl J]

Wotcha, CTC members free insurance is 3rd party so it covers claims made against you. There are other insurers about who do the more comprehensive stuff though, and its probably a fair bet the CTC could put you in touch with one if thats what you wanted.

Deborah, have you considered taking the old 'un down to a local bike shop and getting quotes on necessary repair / replacement parts etc ? . An old Raleigh is a good bike.

Oh, and it was the talk small site

Sparrowhawk as a new bigby tick this morning, well 2 actually, seemed to drift in off the sea (are they migratory ?) scaring the Black-headed Gulls & Starlings away. And my first singing Willow Warbler of the year, yesterday

 

[deborah4]

Thanks for the advice Karl (and clarification!)- will do that.

Re: Sparrowhawk in UK, as far as I know (which isn't much!) are both resident and from northern populations (scandinavian etc) which are migratory and seen on passage in UK - ie. wintering in Southern Europe and as far as Africa, flying down through Middle East or Black Sea/Strait of Gib route returning through Eilat, S Israel from late Feb to mid March, with first migrants reaching their nordic breeding grounds from late March, peaking around mid-April.

 

[Karl J]

Thanks Deborah.

Came across this earlier and thought it might be of interest - Free Champagne ! for the ladies at Evans cycles. Though you may not want to go riding a new bike home after too many of them

 

[deborah4]

Thanks Deborah.

Came across this earlier and thought it might be of interest - Free Champagne ! for the ladies at Evans cycles. Though you may not want to go riding a new bike home after too many of them

love this bit: ''The aim is to ‘demystify’ the bike buying experience'' for ladies! Goodness, and I thought it was men that made it a mystery and woman just want something with two wheels!

 

[SueO]

HOOPOES!!
I had a great day birding yesterday. It was a glorious day and I was out for seven hours. The sun was shining, the trees and flowers were blooming and insects were buzzing, crawling and fluttering. The highlights of the day were Hoopoes and Rose-ringed Parakeet. I didn’t see the Hoopoes except to see them come off the ground and fly into the forest. I really would have liked to watch them for awhile, I just love them. I guess I should be grateful for all the times I saw them sauntering the park grounds in Egypt. When we left there, I really thought I would never see one again. I saw the blur of a tail going up into a flowering tree and thought, “Bee-eater!!” When I got the bins on him I was surprised and happy to see a beautiful member of my favorite bird family. I’ve also seen these parakeets in Oman, Ismalia, and Istanbul.
I also saw my first Italian snake. I came around a bend in the trail as he was crossing the path. We scared the hell out of each other! We both froze and as I fumbled with the camera he was slowly slithering for cover. I shot through the spring growth and was lucky to get something other than a blob. I’m going to post him on the reptile forum and see if anyone can id him for me. He’s a beauty! EDIT: The snake is a Green Whip Snake ( non-poisonous constrictor)
I went to basically three habitats. I walked the long way to a bus stop so I could bird along the fence of the Lipu marsh before heading for Castel Fusano Park. Most of the park is pine and oaks and other hardwoods, but it also has an open, sunny, scrubby area where you can see birds you might not see in the forest.

In and around the marsh:
Y.L.Gull
Italian House Sparrows
Yellow Wagtail
Lark (Crested? Sky?)
Sardinian Warbler
Black Redstart
Marsh Harriers
Hooded Crows
Blackbirds
Cetti’s Warbler
Pheasant heard
Song Thrush
Mallards
Flock of eight Little Egrets
Kestrel

Castel Fusano Park:
Jays
Chaffinches
Wren
Nuthatches
Barn Swallows
Robins
Great Tits
Blue Tits
Serins
Greenfinches
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Rock Dove
Unidentified LBJ
Hoopoes
Coots

 

[deborah4]

Excellent tally Sue and O, I'm am really getting jealous - very heavy snow here in Sussex and high winds ... Springtime in Blighty eh? At least the Apple blossom is out! Well done on the Hoopoes, brings back memories of holidays in the South of France.

I guess your snake, as you are in Europe still, is some kind of grass snake/adder but not sure- whatever, it's a real beauty.