Watchpoint 11-09-2005

Members only watchpoint 11-09-2005
Sunday 11th September 2005
0730 -1130hr (HC, DCB)
Weather and Sky:
A heavily overcast but gradually improving morning, with cloud base lifting and strato cloud becoming broken to north-west. Wind: between NNE and NE, F1 to F3 variable all morning. Temp: 12 @ 0640 and until c1000hr, then rising 13 by 1130hr. Visibility: >Leck Fell 60km NNW / Pudsey 19km E. Cloud: initially low stratus 8ok, refined to stratocumulus undulatus later (6ok open sky to NW only), and becoming more broken 5ok to W and NW by 1030hr. Cloudbase lifting from c1800ft asl initially to c 4000ft by 1000hr. Pressure: rising overnight with 1016 @ 0640 and 1017 by 1130hr.

Mainstream mip movement this morning from the start with congregating / resting birds not noted until 1055hr and then only a few. Active skies also throughout with moving birds as far as the scope could see. Nearly all of the movement was high and often, at distance well above even our horizon here - no ground hugging here at all today. Quite a bit remained unidentified and therefore uncounted. The sound of overhead vis on the wing was prominent throughout the morning. Virtually all of the Meadow Pipit movement was between SE and S, a little unusual? for early (if it still is early) September here. Swallows were also moving mainly SE but a few did go west and south-west. They did however appear hungry with several seen to catch the large flies over the embankment en-route and one even knocking a large bombus, flightless into the water, which then promptly swam to the side. House Martins interesting as well in that nearly all passed towards the north-west, when just about everything else was off to the south-east. At 0915hr a small skein of six grey geese (assumed to be Pink-feet in view of west coast arrivals in last week) was picked up by HC, very high and far out to the north-west and well above the horizon of the south Dales. The skein was watched as it passed well above the outlines of Penyghent, Whernside and Ingleborough moving swiftly south. Two Cormorant were picked up on a similar track / height at 0950hr. A small mixed group of Ringed Plover and Dunlin was heard but not seen high overhead as it passed on to the cNW. New in were a singing Great Tit in the wood and a small group of three Mistle Thrush.

Moving Birds:
Meadow Pipit 787 > SE / S
House Martin 95 > NW
Swallow 87 > SE / W
Chaffinch 44 > SE / S
Reed Bunting 3 > W
Linnet 35 > NW / W / SW / SE
Lapwing 1 > N
Grey Wagtail 1 > W
Buzzard 1 > W
Skylark 3 at least > W / NW
Jackdaw 7 > NE
Pink footed Goose 6 > S
Grey Heron 1 > NE
Sparrowhawk 1 > SE
Ringed Plover x > NW
Dunlin x > NW
Cormorant 2 > S
Starling 12 > W
Mallard 9 > W
Goosander 1 > S
Redpoll 1 > SW
Raven 1 > NW

Other:
Pied Wagtail 1 (scarce this year to date)
Great Tit 1
Mistle Thrush 3
Tufted Duck 2
Ring Ouzel
Lesser BB Gull c 50 > NW
Black headed Gull 15 > NW

Dave.