Caldene Fields Watchpoint 21-11-2008

Caldene Fields Watch Point, South Bradford

Whoopers at last !!!!

21st November 08 Watch 07.15 – 08.30
Weather: A dry morning with 60% thin high cloud cover clearer to the S/E and a F3 with gust to 4 W/N/W wind. After dawn there were brighter periods as the sun tried to break through the cloud cover. Very good visibility to beyond 11 miles.

Comments: A very good morning for me today not because of any movements but because of a single party of Whooper swans which flew S/S/E at 07.55hr. They were first picked up over the Birkenshaw area and moved out of sight to the E of Emley Moor Mast. Within the party was a single dark noticeably smaller Goose Sp

Whooper Swan > 17 S/S/E
Black Headed Gull > 3 S
Wood Pigeon > 57 N + 68 S = 125
Stock Dove > 1 S
Alba Wagtail > 2 S
Starling > 11 W/S/W
Fieldfare > 1 S
Meadow Pipit > 2 W
Greenfinch > 19 S/S/W
Chaffinch > 1 S/W
Goldfinch > 5 S

Martyn Priestley

Oxenhope 21-11-2008

Dawn today (c) 2008
















Cirrostratus.... looking east (c) 2008

Cirrostratus looking north-east (c) 2008

0745 - 0945 DB/HC

NNW F4 rising F5 gusting F7, 4degC falling, 20 - 65km, 4/8 reducing 2/8 cirrostratus, QNH 1013 rising 1015.

A bitter cold morning with no shelter at all from the icy winds especially before the sun broke through. All of the birds in the sky were very low with the few Starlings still moving really hugging the contours! Conditions not condusive to observing migration and time spent sweeping the totally empty skys would have ment ground huggers lost!! Scope, wind blown over, just caught in the nick of time!!!

Moving birds in order of appearance:

Starling 61 > SW + 6 > NW = 66

Woodpigeon 26 > W + 2 > E = 28

Common Gull 4 > N

Dave