Stop the lies

Between my early-twenties and early-thirties I was quite a respectable runner. I was in the top 10% of my local running club over about 10 miles.

Me at my peak. Long's Peak, Colorado. Early nineties.

Though I was not particularly competitive, I'd placed respectably in the Great North Run and The Karrimor International Mountain Marathon. I'd completed fell races, orienteering events and "10k"s. I also climbed and cycled and more laterly, I've potholed. I felt fit and would turn on the speed if I felt I could just catch the guy in front.

In good rock-climbing form on Frensis Direct, Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire. A strenuous E1.

However, over the last few years my activity levels have tailed off. I've put on about a stone in weight and rock boots, running shoes and mountain bike have seen much less use. However, to a degree, I've maintained the delusion that it'd just be a case of putting on the Nikes, heading out the door and it'd all come back. I still thought myself fit.

In Ravenglass, Cumbria at the start of an off-road Coast-to-Coast. Less than 48 hours later I was in Whitby. I did this not by going fast but by going light and going for a long time. Off at dawn and stopping when it got dark, I slept in hedges.

Today I put the lie to the test.

• 2 minutes in I was thinking "yeah, this is how I remember it". I was enjoying the movement of the ground under my feet and the rush of the air past my ears. Feeling, if not totally fluid, at least effectively mobile.
  
• 2 kilometers in I was dizzy, my legs like leaden jelly, each breath a slight wheeze and yes, I felt nauseous. I leant against a tree and pretended to stretch then ran-walked the rest of the way back, chastened.
  

So, what was the problem? Set off too quickly without stretching? Maybe. Still harbouring a touch of sinusitis? Perhaps. Old injuries cramping my style? Could be. But the truth is I'd become complacent about my last 30 years of youthful fitness.

My new work pattern should allow me to achieve some of my previous running form and a little more care with diet to drop at least half a stone. More importantly though, I want to recapture the sense of well-being that comes with being able to run 10 kilometers in under an hour without suffering major injury, and the zen-like calm that comes with relaxed, fluid running.

Then maybe, the cycling and the climbing.

Wish me luck!

Good things are for sharing

I've decided to add a Listening/Reading thread to my sidebar (just turn your head a little to the right).

First up are the fantastic Gotan Project (click with the sound on) and their tres chic La Revancha del Tango (thanks to Gary for the tip)...


...and Simon Schama's scholarly, creative and mind-expanding Landscape and Memory which I was directed to through my Wildlife and Countryside course.

Enjoy!

Turdus very migratorius

Let's twitch again, as it seems to be twitching time of year.

I went today, to Gilstead to see the American robin - a mega rarity for the UK and a first for Yorkshire. Like the twist, a trans-Atlantic import causing consternation among the reticent denizens of this sceptred isle. Apologies to Mr C. Checker.

Around one hundred dedicated birders can't be wrong and the striking (gaudily ostentatious, if you ask me) looking bird, showing well but sporadically in the area was, indeed, a large colonial thrush on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

One local mistook this rabble for paparazzi. However, the celebrity we had in mind was rather more impressive than those currently demonstrating their cognitive short-comings on Big Brother.

Although these birds migrate seasonally within the USA only 22 individuals have been recorded in the UK since 1950. It must have been blown off course by the recent gales and the chances of the bird making the return trip across the pond are slim to non-existent. Now it must get used to "tom ah to" not "tom ay to" until it is inevitably devoured by a Sparrowhawk (the traditional fate of vagrant rarities reaching our shores). In the meantime the bird seemed surprisingly chipper after a journey which would leave most humans feeling a little jaded. Even with the benefit of pressurised cabins and airline food.

The Gilstead American robin, asking, "fancy some gum, chum?" and seeking to impress English, lady thrushes with nylons and chocolates in a cottoneaster bush near you! Except it's a first-winter female, apparently.

Photo by John Cope from the BOG website - please visit for more Bradford Birding info.

My name's Forest, Forest...

...crikey!

I'm not so sure about the commercial provenance of this site but it's truly spectacular.

Forests Forever

Thanks Pascal.

If the internet's not a social tool...

...well, I hesitate to say that it's nothing. But please check out Andy Carson's photographs at:

Andy Carson's Flickr Pages

He's a friend of mine.

He is the walrus

Just a plug for my good friend Brian's blog, prosaically titled ...

... BrianT.

I'm sure there'll be plenty of wildlife related stuff but as Brian's something of a polymath-renaissance-man-of-the-world, I expect a fairly ecclectic collage, if you will, of thoughtful missives. Juicy clams trawled up from the murky sediments of his mind.

Coo Coo Ca Choo!

Photo "Beast of the Sediment" by Goran Ehlme, winner of the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year, 2006

Twitching Shorelark

This isn't something I do very much but it's fun once in a while. Buoyed by success with Firecrest on New Year's Day and having enjoyed the social aspect of half a dozen local birders shooting the breeze while waiting for the bird to show, I went to Swales Moor, near Queensbury, for Shorelark. A scarce winter visitor from the Scandinavian and northern Russian tundra.

This bird had been reported as showing the previous day. As I arrived on site, two birders were leaving (so much for sociability) but kindly gave me directions.

I went to the place and began to scan around, not sure entirely where to look. Good birdwatching advice is often to stay put and wait. "Let the birds come to you" they say, and this I did while peering intently at all I could see.

Now Swales Moor is a rather unlovely spot at 1000 ft above sea level, surrounded by quarries and rubbish tips. On this occasion, a keen wind sapped heat and made it difficult to hold the binoculars steady. Standing still (still-ish, in the strong wind) was not a strategy conducive to warmth and the view of Halifax did little to gladden the heart (Good Lord deliver us). Similarly, the no show of a bird seen so recently was becoming rather dispiriting. Thinking I might have flushed it, I decided to walk away from the spot and approach again, more cautiously. This I did a further 3 or 4 times over the next couple of hours. As I began to shiver, I decided that I'd just take a walk round a raised area of level, stony made-ground - a landfill "cap" and in places, reminiscent of moraine - to warm up as much as anything, before giving it another few minutes and calling it a day.

Scanning around, more in hope than expectation, I came across this handsome specimen, feeding on the ground among half a dozen Skylark, no more than 20 metres from where I'd been standing. The birds gave every impression of having been there all along.

Photo is by Sean Gray. Please visit his site at Gray Images for more bird pictures.

Thinking about it now, the bird was on exactly the sort of ground you'd expect of a montaine tundra dweller and in the conditions it must have felt right at home.

The list

Inspired by Katie "Bogbumper" Fuller's impressive efforts with "The Not Very Big Year", I've decided to keep a list myself. As with Katie's list, this is not going to be some mental record breaking attempt, just an effort to record the birds I see and a push to see some I've yet to have the pleasure of. There'll be no haring off to far flung corners of the country for mega-rarities, just sensible birds as I go about my usual birding business and the odd local twitch.

So here goes:

1. Mallard, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
2. Kestrel, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
3. Pheasant, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
4. Water rail, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
5. Moorhen, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
6. Woodpigeon, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
7. Collared dove, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
8. Great spotted woodpecker, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
9. Robin, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
10. Blackbird, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
11. Song Thrush, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
12. Chiffchaff, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
13. Firecrest, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
14. Long-tailed tit, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
15. Blue tit, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
16. Great tit, 1st Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
17. Jay, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
18. Magpie, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
19. Jackdaw, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
20. Carrion crow, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
21. Chaffinch, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
22. Greenfinch, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
23. Reed bunting, 1st Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
24. Mandarin duck, 2nd Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Hirst Wood, West Yorks.
25. Redwing, 2nd Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Hirst Wood, West Yorks.
26. Goosander, 2nd Jan, River Aire - Hirst Wood, West Yorks.
27. Coot, 2nd Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
28. Dunnock, 2nd Jan, Stockbridge Reserve, West Yorks.
29. Skylark, 2nd Jan, Swales Moor - Halifax/Queensbury, West Yorks.
30. Shorelark, 2nd Jan, Swales Moor - Halifax/Queensbury, West Yorks.
31. House sparrow, 2nd Jan, Pule Hill - Halifax/Queensbury, West Yorks.
32. Goldfinch, 6th Jan, Cromford Canal, Derbyshire.
33. Little grebe, 6th Jan, Cromford Canal, Derbyshire.
34. Wren, 6th Jan, Cromford Canal, Derbyshire.
35. Mute swan, 7th Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
36. Grey heron, 7th Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
37. Kingfisher, 7th Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
38. Grey wagtail, 7th Jan, Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Dowley Gap, West Yorks.
39. Sparrowhawk, 20th Jan, St. Ives, Bingley, West Yorks.
40. Rook, 20th Jan, St. Ives, Bingley, West Yorks.
41. Treecreeper, 20th Jan, St. Ives, Bingley, West Yorks.
42. Pied wagtail, 21st Jan, Dowley Gap, Bingley, West Yorks.
43. Goldcrest, 21st Jan, Dowley Gap, Bingley, West Yorks.
44. Nuthatch, 21st Jan, Hirst Woods, Bingley, West Yorks.
45. Mistle thrush, 21st Jan, Hirst Woods, Bingley, West Yorks.
46. Starling, 21st Jan, Hirst Woods, Bingley, West Yorks.
47. American robin, 27th Jan, Gilstead, Bingley, West Yorks.
48. Great crested grebe, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
49. Cormorant, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
50. Shelduck, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
51. Gadwall, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
52. Pochard, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
53. Tufted duck, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
54. Barn owl, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
55. Fieldfare, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
56. Bullfinch, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
57. Yellowhammer, 4th Feb, Staveley NR, North Yorks.
58. Whooper swan, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
59. Bewick's swan, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
60. Wigeon, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
61. Teal, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
62. Merlin, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
63. Lapwing, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
64. Green woodpecker, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
65. Meadow pipit, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
66. Stonechat, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
67. Tree sparrow, 16/2/07, Ouse Washes.
68. Little egret, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
69. Brent goose, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
70. Shoveler, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
71. Marsh harrier, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
72. Peregrine, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
73. Oystercatcher, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
74. Ringed plover, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
75. Grey plover, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
76. Bar-tailed godwit, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
77. Curlew, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
78. Redshank, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
79. Turnstone, 17/2/07, Wells-next-the-Sea.
80. Canada goose, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
81. Pintail, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
82. Goldeneye, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
83. Red-breasted merganser, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
84. Avocet, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
85. Golden plover, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
86. Snipe, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
87. Black-tailed godwit, 18/2/07, Titchwell RSPB.
88. Woodcock, 11/3/07, Washburn Valley.
89. Dipper, 11/3/07, Washburn Valley.
90. Buzzard, 13/3/07, Gallymoor landfill site, from the car, on the way to Bishop Burton.
91. Raven, 31/3/07, Thrusscross, Washburn Valley.
92. Grey partridge, 1/4/07, Dunsop Valley.
93. Red grouse, 2/4/07, Heyshaw Moor.
94. Red-legged partridge, 2/4/07, Graincliffe Reservoir.
95. Hooded crow, 6/4/07, Fort William.
96. Greylag goose, 9/4/07.
97. Osprey, 10/4/07, Loch Garten RSPB.
98. Capercailie, 10/4/07, Loch Garten RSPB.
99. Coal Tit, 10/4/07, Loch Garten RSPB.
100. Siskin, 10/4/07, Loch Garten RSPB.
101. Crested Tit, 10/4/07, Loch Garten RSPB.
102. Slavonian Grebe, 11/4/07, Aviemore.
103. Ptarmigan, 11/4/07, Coire an t-Sneachda, Cairngorms.
104. Wheatear, 11/4/07, Northern Corries, Cairngorms.
105. Black grouse, 12/4/07, Northern Corries, Cairngorms.
106. Ring ouzel, 12/4/07, Northern Corries, Cairngorms.
107. Hen harrier, 15/4/07, Yorkshire Dales Upland Bird Study Group Area.
108. Willow tit, 16/4/07, Fairburn Ings RSPB.
109. Blackcap, 22/4/07, Strid Woods, Wharfedale.
110. Pied flycatcher, 22/4/07, Strid Woods, Wharfedale.
111. Swift, Shipley, 6/5/07, Shipley, West Yorks.
112. Short-eared owl, 25/5/07, Timble Ings.
113. Cuckoo, 25/5/07, Timble Ings.
114. Tawny owl. 25/5/07, Timble Ings.
115. Nightjar, 25/5/07, Timble Ings.
116. Red kite, 26/5/07, Otley area.
117. Eagle Owl, 26/5/07, Otley area.
118. Sand martin, 27/5/07, Staveley NR.
119. Swallow, 27/5/07, Staveley NR
120. House martin, 27/5/07, Staveley NR
121. Reed warbler, 27/5/07, Staveley NR
122. Little owl, 28/5/07, Malham.
123. Spotted flycatcher, 28/5/07, Malham.
124. Redstart, 28/5/07, Malham.
125. Long-eared owl, 29/5/07, Timble Ings
126. Tree pipit, 29/5/07, Timble Ings.
127. Chough, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
128. Linnet, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
129. Corn bunting, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
130. Kittiwake, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
131. Fulmar, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
132. Purple sandpiper, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
133. Gannet, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
134. Dunlin, 9/07, Lindisfarne.
135. Eider, 9/07, Lindisfarne.
136. Sandwich tern, 9/07, Lindisfarne.
137. Redpoll, 9/07, Fairburn Ings.
138. Great egret, 9/07, Leighton Moss RSPB.
139. Bittern, 9/07, Leighton Moss RSPB.
140. Common crossbill, 14/10/07, Timble Ings.
141. Red-flanked bluetail, 20/10/07, Flamborough Head.
142. Brambling, 27/10/07, Dalby Forest.

Lifers