Oxenhope Spring Watchpoint 29-03-2009

Pre Sunrise 0640hr BST... cloud over the North Sea (c) 2009

















Pre Sunrise... The Big Picture (c) 2009
















First Sun on the Hills.... Stoodley Pike (c) 2009

Inchfield Moor with a sprinkling of Snow! (c) 2009

Sun Up... illuminating Castle Scout (c) 2009

Coal Clough.... Wind Turbine Generators (c) 2009

Penyghent... looking North through the haze (c) 2009

Woodcock Hall (c) 2009

Cumulus fractus, developing humilis

Hope you like the shots of our New Horizon!

0645 - 1215hr Dave Barker / Howard Creber

Calm / N F1 / S F2, W F3, -4degC frost snow on some hills rising 4degC, visibility Peak District to Lake District, 0 ok increasing 1 ok, QNH 1012 rising slowly.

A brilliant morning to be out in the hills, with visibility from the snow clad Lakeland hills, south to the Peaks, first thing. Here just a very hard frost, so sharp that the trypod legs were coated in "white". The dawn chorus on the moor was wonderful with Canadas, Red Grouse, Curlews, Golden Plovers and Skylark all prolific in the totally calm, sub zero, sun rosed conditions. Dispite the cold, there was a strong early morning mipit rush, all north and exceptionally high, even at this altitude. It petered out after 0830hr only to resurge later on but even higher. Many at distance were seen through the scope at exceptional hight powering north whilst scoping other things. Also very interestingly there was a lot of directional Skylark activity just after sunrise with movement both west and north noted, also a great height. Cormorants were also on the move and again exceptionally high, mainly NE but a single bird went west. One pair of very differently sized birds were tracked across the sky for about 15minutes as they approached from deepest Lancashire..... passed close high overhead and onwards NE. Two Common Buzzards were tracked moving through from the very far south west, high over the moor and outwards to the the NE till they vanished from view. A single Raven did the same and was without doubt passing through high.

Moving birds in order of appearance:

Skylark 10 > N and W

Meadow Pipit 110 > N

C Crow 15 > N

Oystercatcher 1 > N

Linnet 2 > N

Common Gull 1 > SE

Redshank 1 > NW

Cormorant 4 > NE and W

Wheatear 2 > N at close range

Woodpigeon 2 > S

Common Buzzard 2 > NE

LBB Gull 1 > NW

Curlew 2 > NE, 3 > N.Total 5

Goosander 2 > S exceptionally high

Goldfinch 1 > N

Raven 1 > N

Others:

Dave and Howard