Oxenhope... fragmented morning! 11-09-2010

Overnight rain heads off to Harrogate!... (c) 2010


Rain comes in over the Moor.... (c) 2010


Vis-ing in theRain!.... (c) 2010

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Saturday 11 September 2010
Counting period: 7:00-12:00
Weather: SW F3, 15degC, 40km down to 1000m in rain, 8/8 becoming 4/8, QNH 1008 rising
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber


Moving birds:
Sparrowhawk 1 -
Stonechat 1 -
Black-headed Gull 30 -
Mistle Thrush 10 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 299 -
Carrion Crow 6 -
Swallow 101 -
Starling 1 -
Meadow Pipit 524 -
Chaffinch 18 -
flava wagtail sp. 1 -
Goldfinch 6 -
alba wagtail sp. 1 -
Siskin 19 -
Whinchat 2 -

Totals: 1020 individuals, 15 species, 5:00 hours

Present: Lapwing 75, Black-headed Gull 10, Lesser Black-backed Gull 198

Comments: Heavy rain becoming established from the SW overnight with QNH troughing 1007 at 0520 then rising all day. Rain showers, heavy at times becoming more intermittent from 0700hr and apart from heavy showers gradually drying up from the SW. Wind from a westerly quarter all day and gradually picking up. Sky opening late morning to become bright and sunny. Bird wise the highlights were a flava wag SW at 0710, the first double figure party of Siskin W and an alba wag, zilliping through SW sounding very white! Two Whinchats and a Stonechat were nice! The very obvious influx of gulls continuing all day and nothing really dramatic with the mipits both west and south, which were spread thinly right through the morning but reducing up to lunch time. Morning conditions were really too fragmanted by long periods of heavy rain for too much to be going on up here!

..........................................................................
Counting period: 13:00-16:00
Weather: WSW F3/4, 18degC, 100km Humber Bridge, 3/8 to 8/8 showers, QNH 1008 rising
Observers: Dave Barker,

Moving birds:
Black-headed Gull 265 -
Herring Gull 3 -
Common Gull 5 -
Swallow 53 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 291 -
Meadow Pipit 34 -

Totals: 651 individuals, 6 species, 3:00 hours

Present: Lapwing 43, Black-headed Gull 140, Lesser Black-backed Gull 179

Comments: Gull influx from the north / passage continuing and really thats about all that was happening here.... no rings were in evidence... mipits had died right back and Swallows were few but with the direction of travel set west! One of the Herring Gulls appeared to be a hybrid.

Dave and Howard