running back to normal

 

11th Feb

Friday's weather looked pretty decent so Mary risked a tentative return to running. We needed to see if the Berlingo was still working after sitting unused for 3 weeks, so drove to Gullane and set out on the usual 6 miler round the Aberlady circuit. The sun was shining but it was properly Baltic and not weather for hanging about.

After a gentle start to warm up Mary seemed remarkably close to normal.

little egret at the peffer burn near Aberlady

It was really very nice on the beach. Very few other folk about and there was an atmosphere that the photos fail to convey. Even though there was little in the way of things to photograph I was having a very pleasant time. I had got the bridge camera out to photograph the little egret before the bridge into the reserve and kept it out for the rest of the run. We were going at a pace that allowed me to carry it, although I was careful about anything that looked slippy or that might make for a fall. 

Towards Gullane I asked if Mary wanted to look for fieldfares beyond the car park. She did not but was happy to wait in the van while I took 10mins for a quick search. In previous years I have found small flocks of them in the trees on the East side of the car park. And sure enough within minutes I saw 2 or 3 trees full of birds. Some proved to be starlings (another favourite and absent from my Edinburgh stomping grounds) and some were fieldfares. I haven't seen any this season and wanted to get some photos of this member of the thrush family. 

They were more flighty than I remembered and had a tendency to fly off when I approached. I tried some semi-stealthy stalking but didn't have the time or outfit for it. And all I was after was a few record shots. Which I pretty much got. 

starling

fieldfares

starlings

Having ticked that box I thought I better not keep the chauffeur too long and ran back to where the car was parked. On the way I passed a blue tit which asked to be in the blog and so I obliged. I also saw a muddy billed oystercatcher on Goose Green and took a few shots in passing. Trying to get a decent shot of those crazy red eyes. What I didn't realise at the time, since it appeared to be walking normally and without any impediment, was that it was a one footed bird. It walked on the remainder of the second leg and didn't seem hindered. Or any slower. 

blue tit

The best news was that while Mary's run was not ache-free (knee and ribs still in contention, hips mostly back to normal) it was the first proper run (6 miles) that she has done in a month and probably didn't make anything (too much) worse. She has been out since and trying walk-running and another short run and is (fingers crossed) possibly on the road back to normal. It seems months since she has been running normally so this is a considerable improvement. 

looks normal enough...

stumpy the oystercatcher!