Oxenhope.... the day of the ducks! 10-10-2009
Pre sunrise this morning... looking east (c) 2009
Pre sunrise this morning... looking NE.. from whence the Redwings came! (c) 2009
Sunrise below the stratus shelf (c) 2009
On Redwing Watch! (c) 2009
Group Excursion! (c) 2009
Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Saturday 10 October 2009
Counting period: 7:00-11:00
Weather: WNW F2/3, 9degC, 65km reducing 15, 7/8 reducing 2/8 stratus, stratus fractus, QNH 1011 rising
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber + various group members
Moving Birds:
Cormorant 1 -
Common Gull 7 -
Song Thrush 3 -
Grey Heron 1 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 6 -
Redwing 552 -
Wigeon 9 -
Woodpigeon 36 -
Mistle Thrush 9 -
Mallard 24 -
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 -
Starling 47 -
Golden Plover 4 -
Meadow Pipit 161 -
Chaffinch 40 -
Lapwing - 40
Grey Wagtail 2 -
finch sp. 8 -
Common Snipe 33 -
alba wagtail sp. 12 -
Greenfinch 33 -
Black-headed Gull 20 -
Fieldfare 1 -
Siskin 7 -
Totals: 1057 individuals, 24 species, 4:00 hours
Present: Sparrowhawk 1, Kestrel 3, Lapwing 200, Green Woodpecker 1
Comments: (This morning) A brilliant Redwing movement of which virtually all came in the first hour. Nearly all were travelling NE to SW max flock c100. After 0800hr just dribs and drabs with most going NW. Snipe were very strong, all travelling west with max whisp 11. Again obvious continental Starling squadrons powered through low and all NW, A Great Spotted woodpecker went high west. With na single Grey heron SW. A small skein of Wigeon came in from the NE mid morning. All of the mipits were travelling W, a sign that the passage is coming to an end!
Counting period: 14:00-16:45
Weather: W F3, 14degC, 65km, 2/8 increasing 7/8, stratocumulus, QNH 1014 rising
Observers: Dave Barker
Moving Birds:
Wigeon 52 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 4 -
Pintail 5 -
Meadow Pipit 14 -
Sparrowhawk 4 -
alba wagtail sp. 4 -
Merlin 1 -
Fieldfare 10 -
Common Snipe 30 -
Carrion Crow 3 -
Black-headed Gull 31 -
Raven 2 -
Common Gull 18 -
Totals: 178 individuals, 13 species, 2:45 hours
Present: Sparrowhawk 2, Lapwing 400
Comments: .......Afternoon visit on the strength of the east coast Redwing arrivals this morning turned out to be a duffer as no Redwings at all this afternoon. However all was not lost a it allowed confirmation that this morning big westward movement of Snipe continued all day with a new site record vis being set. Starlings also continued NW all day with a better movement this afternoon than this morning. Also a considerable movement of Wigeon continuing from this morning with a few Pintail thrown in as well! All of the ducks left to the west. A single flock of Fieldfare went NW towards the end of the afternoon. All well worth venturing out for!
The following are casual observations from elsewhere in Oxenhope from Howard this afternoon produced the following between 14.40 hrs and 15.20 hrs :-
Redwing 85 - flocks of 17,14,33,12 & 9 - all NW
Starling 13 in fast squadron NW
Howard..... so there must have been some Redwings past, I must just have missed them!
This Afternoon... looking east... cu mediocris becoming stratocumulus (c) 2009
Scandinavian Airlines... the home of the Redwings also going WEST! (c) 2009
Wigeon on the move. (c) 2009
Wigeon and Pintail coming in! (c) 2009
Dave
Labels: aero vis
posted by Dave Barker at
10/10/2009 07:53:00 pm
2 Comments
