Oxenhope.... a Swift return! 18-07-2009

Common Gull going > NW (c) 2009

0800 - 1330hr
W F4 increasing W F6, 16degC at 0830, 65km, 6/8 stratocumulus, QNH 1008 rising.

Yesterdays very heavy rains now ceased leaving a very fresh westerly with very occasional showers. Initially a poor morning with little in the sky. Black headed Gulls collapsed to only a single bird NW and LBB Gulls little better with only 60 > mainly NW. Swifts were on the move W and WNW throughout the morning with numbers picking up dramatically after 1100hr. Only small numbers seen in the sky at any one time but constantly coming through in singles and small groups, mainly fairly low and on a broad front. Some passed only inches from me whilst standing at the watchpoint! The scoping test confirmed the movement to be broad front, thinly, both to the SE and NW of me. Brian Sumner in Halifax confirmed the same westerly movement was taking place over Queensbury and Halifax in similar numbers and just heard from Mick Cunningham to say that the same was happening over Huddersfield as well.... either relocating after a weather move or working their way back south? Over Oxenhope the vast skies would have produced twice as many with two observers as everywhere you scoped and looked Swifts were filtering through in similar small numbers into the W F5/6 blow. Other migrants were a Little Ringed Plover > S and 0905hr, two or three groups of linnets west and at least four flocks of Starlings all powering south. South west went a single mipit. Two flocks of Lapwing went west as did a single Oystercatcher and two Common Gulls. South east went a single Sand Martin.

Moving Birds:
Little Ringed Plover 1 > S
LBB Gull 60 > NW
Mipit 1 > SW
Starling 50 > S
Lapwing 26 > W
Linnet 7 > W
Swift 649 > W and WNW
Sand Martin 1 > SE
Oystercatcher 1 > W
Common Gull 2 > NW
Black headed Gull 1 > NW

Dave



De Havilland Canada DCH-8-402Q Dash 8 (c) 2009


Boeing 737-330 (c) 2009

Dave