Pennine Skywatch: 9 Nov 2008

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Caldene Fields Watchpoint 09-11-2008

A Remarkable day at Caldene Fields Watchpoint, Low Moor, Bradford!!!!

9th November 08 Watch 07.15 – 10.15
Weather: A dry cold start with only 20% thin cloud cover to the S/E and F3/4 S/W wind. A drop in temp to 3c. These conditions gave remarkable visibility to well beyond 11 miles. Conditions remained stable until around 09.00 when cloud increased from the S/W to 40% cloud cover reducing to 11 miles.

Comments: These remarkable conditions allowed good views of the 13 turbines at Royds Moor wind farm at Penistone South Yorkshire ! With these conditions several excellent movements were noted today. Woodies were seen moving N, an excellent passage of Golden Plover, a very good count of Greenfinch to the S/W, Pink Feet were moving and a single Shelduck flew S.

A break down of the times of the main movements

07.23 Wood Pigeon in one party over Gomersal area = 800 N
08.10 Pink Footed Goose S/E over Middlestown area = 150+
08.25 Pink Footed Goose E over Middlestown area = 700 +
09.57 Golden Plover S over Bierley /Cleckheaton area = 209
10.05 Golden Plover S over Bierley /Cleckheaton area = 223

Pink footed Goose > 850 + E/S/E
Mallard > 2 S + 4 W = 4
Shelduck > 1 S/W
Black Headed Gull > 129 S/S/W
Common Gull > 11 S/S/W
Golden Plover > 432 S
Lapwing > 9 S
Wood Pigeon > 51 S + 1,074 N
Stock Dove > 3 N
Alba Wagtail > 6 W + 3 S = 9
Starling > 43 W + 17 S/W = 60
Fieldfare > 182 W/S/W
Redwing > 91 S/S/E
Blackbird > 2 SW
Carrion Crow > 2 W + 8 = 10
Meadow Pipit > 2 S
Greenfinch > 89 S/W
Chaffinch > 3 S + 5 W = 8
Goldfinch > 2 S + 11 W = 13
Redpoll > 2 S

Martyn Priestley

Oxenhope 09-11-2008

0755 - 1045hr

SF3 rising S F5, 2.5degC, 100km + Lincolnshire Wolds, 4/8 - 8/8 various, QNH 1001 rising then falling.

Heavy rain during the early part of the night now cleared leaving clear skies to the east, giving an open red ball sunrise. Bitter cold in the strengthening southerly winds but fortunately shelter behind the wall!! Several points of note this morning, firstly pinkfeet were on the move! Large numbers were picked up going south, south south east and east. At Oxenhope, not many came directly overhead today but within the time periods 0850 -0940hr I could constantly see skeins through the scope travelling in the above directions way out to my east beyond Bradford all very high in the sky with the Yorkshire Wolds, Humber Bridge, Drax, Eggborough, Ferrybridge and the Lincolnshire Wolds as a back drop...... A vis watchers dream!!! especially when I wasnet the only one to get them!! Many of the skeins were just to me resolveable as moving hairs and snakes in the sky!! but I did estimate a count of the eleven skeins seen which came to 277 > E and 805 > S and SSE. After 0950hr the goose window seemed to close as a rain band pushed up from the south, it certainly shut off my visibiliy. I waited long past it clearing but the passage never resumed. I did alert Andy at Skegness radar, just incase they hit the coast north of him there on the North Shore. So far as I could see there was no change of direction and re-orientation west up Airedale to cross the Pennines today. Other points of interest were that Starlings were again on the move fast NW throughout the morning. the largest group was c100. Blackbirds also have reached us here with at least 3 groups totalling 36 coming up the valley from the south east and continuing on NW, two of the diffuse groups struck out high over the Worth basin.

Moving birds in order of appearance:

Starling 530 > NW

Woodpigeon 30> S

Pink footed Geese 277 > E + 805 > S = 1082

alba wagtail 1 > W

Meadow Pipit 2 > W

Blackbird 36 > NW

Golden Plover 61 > S

Whilst scoping the geese it is very possible that I missed some of the more local vis!!!

Dave

Here are a few landmark shots: