Watchpoint 12-04-2005
Members only watchpoint 12-04-2005
Tuesday 12th April 2005
0810 – 1100hr
Weather and Sky:
An improving morning initially with low cloud and drizzle over moor / Alto cu and fractus over home with ground wet from recent rain. Initial poorer conditions, moving east, to give early improvement over moor with good sunny periods. Warm temperatures rising. Wind: initially WSW F2 @ 0630, then rising WSW F3 by 0800hr, becoming WNW F3 by 1100hr. Temp: initially 8 dp 6 @ 0630, then 8 (7 @ wp) dp 7 by 0800hr and continuing to rise 10 (9.4 @ wp) dp 4 by 1100hr. Precipitation: Initially upon arrival, low stratus, fractus and light drizzle (continuing to c 0845) just ceasing – ground very wet. Visbility: initially 7km max NW, 19km max E, improving 53 km NW (Ingleborough), 45km max E (Ferrybridge) by 1030hr. Cloud: initially low deep stratus, fractus etc just lifting from Pennine water-shed and cloud block raising with a mixture of stratocumulus and alto cumulus o/h and to east, total 8ok. By 0900 sun was breaking through and cu mediocris was becoming established from west, with stratocumulus moving off east, revealing high cirrus and milky cirrostratus, with lots of contrailing 6ok. Remaining similar but st cu clearing off > E (total 3ok) to reveal heavy translucent cirrostratus in this direction. Pressure: falling overnight and troughing out at c 0600 at c1019, then rising 1021 by 1100hr.
Bird-wise a disappointment after yesterday, with mipits back to just better than normal, background levels, with only 131 > N ish (snap Bryan, but in twice the time! and very interesting as to what you say about the spring peaks) in the almost three hour watch. Most were in groups of two to four, with the largest being twelve. The upper skies were however quite active, with c45 hirundine sp, the "birds of the day", again going N ish obliquely behind the clearing skies. The majority of these were so high / distant that the bins could only just resolve them, but with the scope – better. Without the scope scans just about all of these would not have been seen and without doubt many were missed, as after a while the scans for sparse high birds became very tedious and were generally abandoned. Suffice to say hirundines are back in the skies. Whilst high scanning a Cormorant was noted, very high going SSE. As was an exceptionally high Heron. Only two gulls were seen, a single Black head, going north and a single Great Black-backed Gull, soaring, even more exceptionally high and gradually drifting east (Any Gull going east here, at this time of year is worth checking out!!). My first bombus of the year, here on the moor was noted going west, just nicely after the sun came out! Golden Plovers were very active in the sky, but only 142 were seen to leave the area and off north-east, together with a single smaller wader, assumed to be a Dunlin. Also very interesting was an again, exceptionally high Short eared Owl, way out over the valley going NNW, this was scope tracked for a long, long way and it was very obvious that this bird was not coming back. As usual a very small trickle of Lapwings were noted going NW in ones and twos. Of the nocturnal stuff, just five Wheatear > N and Willow Warbler song from wood.
Moving Birds:
Meadow Pipits 131 > N ish
hirundines 45+ > N ish
Greylag 2 > NW (local)
Cormorant 1 > SSE
Golden Plover 142 > NE
Dunlin (ass) 1 > NE
Short eared Owl 1 > NNW
Wheatear 5 > N
Lapwing 10 > NW
bombus 1 > W
Great black backed Gull 1 > E
Black Headed Gull 1 > N
Linnet 4 > W
Goldfinch 1 > N
Heron 1 > SSE
Other:
Willow Warbler.
Dave.
Tuesday 12th April 2005
0810 – 1100hr
Weather and Sky:
An improving morning initially with low cloud and drizzle over moor / Alto cu and fractus over home with ground wet from recent rain. Initial poorer conditions, moving east, to give early improvement over moor with good sunny periods. Warm temperatures rising. Wind: initially WSW F2 @ 0630, then rising WSW F3 by 0800hr, becoming WNW F3 by 1100hr. Temp: initially 8 dp 6 @ 0630, then 8 (7 @ wp) dp 7 by 0800hr and continuing to rise 10 (9.4 @ wp) dp 4 by 1100hr. Precipitation: Initially upon arrival, low stratus, fractus and light drizzle (continuing to c 0845) just ceasing – ground very wet. Visbility: initially 7km max NW, 19km max E, improving 53 km NW (Ingleborough), 45km max E (Ferrybridge) by 1030hr. Cloud: initially low deep stratus, fractus etc just lifting from Pennine water-shed and cloud block raising with a mixture of stratocumulus and alto cumulus o/h and to east, total 8ok. By 0900 sun was breaking through and cu mediocris was becoming established from west, with stratocumulus moving off east, revealing high cirrus and milky cirrostratus, with lots of contrailing 6ok. Remaining similar but st cu clearing off > E (total 3ok) to reveal heavy translucent cirrostratus in this direction. Pressure: falling overnight and troughing out at c 0600 at c1019, then rising 1021 by 1100hr.
Bird-wise a disappointment after yesterday, with mipits back to just better than normal, background levels, with only 131 > N ish (snap Bryan, but in twice the time! and very interesting as to what you say about the spring peaks) in the almost three hour watch. Most were in groups of two to four, with the largest being twelve. The upper skies were however quite active, with c45 hirundine sp, the "birds of the day", again going N ish obliquely behind the clearing skies. The majority of these were so high / distant that the bins could only just resolve them, but with the scope – better. Without the scope scans just about all of these would not have been seen and without doubt many were missed, as after a while the scans for sparse high birds became very tedious and were generally abandoned. Suffice to say hirundines are back in the skies. Whilst high scanning a Cormorant was noted, very high going SSE. As was an exceptionally high Heron. Only two gulls were seen, a single Black head, going north and a single Great Black-backed Gull, soaring, even more exceptionally high and gradually drifting east (Any Gull going east here, at this time of year is worth checking out!!). My first bombus of the year, here on the moor was noted going west, just nicely after the sun came out! Golden Plovers were very active in the sky, but only 142 were seen to leave the area and off north-east, together with a single smaller wader, assumed to be a Dunlin. Also very interesting was an again, exceptionally high Short eared Owl, way out over the valley going NNW, this was scope tracked for a long, long way and it was very obvious that this bird was not coming back. As usual a very small trickle of Lapwings were noted going NW in ones and twos. Of the nocturnal stuff, just five Wheatear > N and Willow Warbler song from wood.
Moving Birds:
Meadow Pipits 131 > N ish
hirundines 45+ > N ish
Greylag 2 > NW (local)
Cormorant 1 > SSE
Golden Plover 142 > NE
Dunlin (ass) 1 > NE
Short eared Owl 1 > NNW
Wheatear 5 > N
Lapwing 10 > NW
bombus 1 > W
Great black backed Gull 1 > E
Black Headed Gull 1 > N
Linnet 4 > W
Goldfinch 1 > N
Heron 1 > SSE
Other:
Willow Warbler.
Dave.
posted by Dave Barker at
4/12/2005 02:17:00 pm
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