Watchpoint 05-11-2005

Members only watchpoint 05-11-2005
Saturday 5th November 2005
0730 – 1105hr (DCB, JS, CK)
Weather and Sky:
A deteriorating morning with initially open skies overdrawing with a few spots of rain by 1100hr. Wind: initially W F4 @ 0630hr, becoming SSW F4 by 0915hr and remaining similar. Temp: initially 7, remaining 7 by 0915hr, then rising 9 by 1130hr. Precipitation: few spots of rain by 1100hr. Visibility: initially Elslack Moor / Pudsey, improving Settle / Drax by 1100hr. Cloud: initially open skies with stratus and altostratus advancing from the far west to become overdrawn 8ok by 1000hr. Pressure: rising strongly overnight with 1013 by 0630hr, ridging out at c 1015hpa at c1030hr and then falling away.

A poor to moderate morning with little movement initially and with the first Woodpigeon not until 0930hr, then some big groups passing south for the remaining part of the morning, mainly out to the far east with the largest group being c200. None of last weeks "rolling carpet" of Starlings with a meagre 45 being all that was left. Thrushes kept coming all morning with the largest group c200 mixed. Otherwise very few finches and wagtails. One of the three albas was probably alba alba.

Pink-footed Goose 7
Sparrowhawk 1
Lapwing 172 with 22 > NW
Curlew 1
Black-headed Gull 214 mainly > S and SW
Common Gull 115 > S and SW
Lesser Black-backed Gull 17 > S and SW
Woodpigeon 1,157 mainly > S
Meadow Pipit 38 > S and W
alba 3
Fieldfare 582 > S – W
Redwing 421 > S – W
Jackdaw 6 > S
Carrion Crow 1 > W
Starling 45 > W
Chaffinch 19 > S – W
Greenfinch 5 > W
Goldfinch 24 > S and SE
Redpoll 1

Total: 2829 individuals, 19 species, 3:35 hours


Dave.