Oxenhope... giga flow! 29-10-2009

Big Sun this Morning.... (c) 2009


Pre Sunrise over Soil! (c) 2009


Pre Sunrise.... looking ESE (c) 2009

Pre Sunrise.... looking ENE (c) 2009

Mid Morning Milk Out!! (c) 2009

Multi Cirro sp Skies!!! (c) 2009

Dave checking out the Goose roads... Lancashire routes! (c) 2009

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Thursday 29 October 2009
Counting period: 6:20-12:00
Weather: E F2, 10degC, 65 reducing 25km, 2/8 no sig cirro sp increasing 6/8 stratocumulus, QNH 1020 rising
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber

Moving Birds:
Pink-footed Goose 1945 -
alba wagtail sp. 3 -
finch sp. 476 -
Lapwing 421 -
Stonechat 1 -
Greenfinch 63 -
Common Snipe 4 -
Fieldfare 1699 -
Goldfinch 1 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 8 -
Redwing 210 -
Siskin 15 -
small gull spec. 500 -
Jackdaw 17 -
Linnet 1 -
Woodpigeon 7461 -
Starling - 1345
Lesser Redpoll 2 -
Skylark 5 -
Chaffinch 46 -
Reed Bunting 2 -
Meadow Pipit 7 -
Brambling 1 -
Red Admiral 8 -

Totals: 14241 individuals, 24 species, 5:40 hours

Comments: Wrynecking to use Andy's nomenclature was certainly the scene here this phenomenal morning of numerical magnificence and diversity!! Even when I arrived at 0620hr Woodpigeons, the first big push, in considerable flocks were starting to hurtl south west at great speed down their east Pennine flank flyway at all ranges beyond the Causeway Foot col... the largest flock seen was c250, with a total of 165 flocks counted and a new site record set, but possibly a considerable number were missed as after a while we found they were also sneaking through behind our backs down the Pennine ridge. By 0820hr the sky to the east was milking out and pig migration slowing. Starlings coming all of the time NW in terms of the last week / few days were exceptionally strong... possibly related to the big early hour Skegness arrival noted off the North Sea up the early hours? 44 flocks went SW, many quite high with the tail wind. The next major movers noted, with the exception of one skein south at sunrise, first seen at 0855 but probably some before, were the pinks... some tremendous skeins went through, exceptionally high over Calderdale, with others way out at the same height over Airdale and above the Pennine watershed, possibly even in Lancashire! 930 went SE, 60 south and the rest W... 14 skeins were located, the largest if which was c450 stong... a tremendous sight! Finch sp were very noteable in their magnitude with many seen at distance and very high whilst concentrating on the pigs... absolutely impossible to be specific on most. Also small gulls were prolific with most moving west and south west at all ranges of vision. A terriffic morning to be out with many many more birds in the sky than we could count for this list... even the two of us were under severe pressure, especially in the first two hours when most of which was moving to our backs (NW) would have been missed!

Dave