Oxenhope 17-09-2006

Members Only Watchpoint 17-09-2006
Suunday 17th September 2006
0700 – 1100hr. (DCB, HC, CK)
Weather and Sky:
An improving morning, with little wind, mist and shallow fogs mainly below the watchpoint. WSW F1 / 2, 14 increasing 16, 1800m increasing 3000m max, dry, shallow fog and fog stratus initially improving fractus and stratocumulus 4ok and better, 1010 rising 1011hPa.

A magical morning of mipits all on the southward push and finches filtering west. Initially the twinkling sound of mip vis on the wing was constant overhead and around with only a fraction being seen through the low fractus above. A typical finchy morning with little and opposing wind. The mips were weighted much more towards the first hour of the watch between 0700 and 0800hr, but kept on coming with a good second and also a third wave of birds this morning and still trickling through at the end. As typical with Skylarks the first birds did not show until later, 1030 (almost home time) with two and then two singles 1044 and 1048hr going very high WSW – there may well have been more but these were birds near enough to be picked up on call on approach and then overhead. A good fullfilling morning but not before time after almost three weekends of abysmal birdblocking weather. Fortunately the deeper fogs which could be seen a little further south-west never really reached us and the majority of birds were moving in skirting directions.

Moving birds:

Mipit 755 > S
Starling 79 > E
Chaffinch 26 > W
Reed bunting 1 > W
Alba Wagtail 22 > SW S and a few SE
Goldfinch 137 > W
Redpol 1 > W
Greenfinch 20 > W
Linnet 47 > W
Snipe 1 > W
Siskin 7 > SW
Swallow 51 > S
Skylark 4 > WSW
Magpie 1 > W
Curlew 1 > W
Jackdaw 1 > W
Goosander 3 > SE
Wigeon 1
Greylag Goose 25 > SW
Lapwing 249 > S

Other:

Whinchat 1
Wheatear 1
Common Sand 1

Dave