The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Walked over to Boultham Mere this morning and spent 3.5 hours sat in the hide.
1 Bittern was first seen at 09:55, preening just inside the main reed bed, it was watched on and off for about 30 minutes and was seen to catch and eat a Tench of about 100mm before going back into the reeds.
At about 12:50 a Bittern was again seen and this bird climbed up in the reeds, a few minutes later a second bird was seen about 3 metres away on the reed edge. Shortly afterwards the first bird flew about 50 metres and landed on the reed edge. Both birds then disappeared into the reeds.
Also seen:-
1 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
2 Gadwall
27 Shoveler
2 Pochard
24 Tufted Duck
1 Goosander, redhead
2 Sparrowhawks
2 Kestrels
1 Water Rail
2 Jays
The habitat management work being carried out is looking good and will be a big improvement when finished.

With Dean Nicholson and John Hayes.

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Regards,

Andy.

How close to public transport links is Boultham Mere?

Katherine, I've measured a distance of about 1.5 kilometers from Lincoln town center to Boultham Mere, which is roughly 1 mile using an OS Map.
I hope to visit the mere myself one day.

Best Wishes,

Dave (Scunthorpe)

Might try and get there on a 'green bird race day' this summer, or whenever it gets a bit warmer and the days longer this spring....

I might be wrong, but I think the LBC Green List 'rules' includes bikes and NOT buses.........

I particular 'rule' that I feel (being an inland birder) could be revised to include public transport?

Andrew

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Andrew Chick
Website: http://www.forktail.co.uk/

Had a visit to Boultham Mere this afternoon on a gloomy day for the first time for a couple of years. As Andy has said there has been some alterations which will improve the reserve when they mature but today was not very memorable

Highlights included

Shoveler c26
Teal
Gadwall
Pochard
Magpie c30 coming into roost
Lots of Gulls on the reserve or flying over but nothing special

The lure was to see Bittern and Water Rail but in the end the lure of a couple of pints of Everades Original in the Tap & Spile was much stronger - so obviously dipped put

I would agree. Not taking anything away from the outstanding achievements of Ed, Nige, Andy et al for their impressive bike rides last year, only a tiny minority of people are motivated enough to do this. The original idea of the gren list, as far as i can remember, was to see how many species you could get in your local area.

Including public transport (and thereby contributing to its improvement in the long run...) would seem a sensible way forward to any future green list, and would mean i'd be more motivated to get to Gib!

Nontheless once you get used to cycling it soon becomes fairly easy to cycle 30 miles ( or more) in a day, of course time is the main issue with working people, woudn,t it be nice if buses had bike racks on them allowing cycling one way and bussing the other, as they do in Holland
for example, cheers John.

For a change I'm not being sarcastic or having a pop at anyone, honest.

This question is aimed at all the cyclists.

How safe is it these days on the roads?

I used to love cycling in days gone by and had no fear of being knocked off etc. Last cycled about twelve years ago and as I remember it was getting dangerous on A-roads. Back then there wasn't any or not many cycle lanes in town.

Would be interested to hear the views of all the cycling birders.

Regards

Max

I could probably write a book on this one. Traffic levels have increased and there's still lots of drivers riding along with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the mobile phone. However, with a bit of positive action, cycling can still be quite safe and enjoyable.
There are a lot more cycle lanes about nowadays, and bridle paths can also be used.
On road its best to ride about a yard out from the kerb and wear something bright. Also give an occasional look behind you.
At junctions from the left try and get eye contact with the oncoming driver (I think this is where most accidents occur).
Look out for oncoming cars overtaking (inappropriately) on narrow roads
Be especially careful of overtaking queued traffic on the inside (opening car doors) and of lorries (which have blind spots - soon to be rectified by EU law making extra mirrors compulsory)
I find the most unnerving places to cycle in Scunny are Burringham Hill and the lower end of Ashby High Street where traffic islands narrow the carriage way so much as to make it unsafe for a car to overtake. I ride even further out and look back for eye contact to make sure they don't try .
Positivity and awareness are needed. However I've been cycling 9-10 000 miles a year for the last fourteen years and I've never had an accident . I've been pipped and shouted at occasionally and sometimes I've risen to the bait and replied with appropriate hand gestures, but mostly I either ignore them or give a friendly wave or smile! The more cyclists that get out and about the more car drivers will be aware of them and drive appropriately!