Oxenhope.... mip crossover takes hold! 05-09-2010

A Murky Sunrise this Morning... (c) 2010


Looking NW post sunrise... (c) 2010


Cirrus... a mixture but mainly intortus.... (c) 2010

Globemaster C-17.... one of two in quick sucession!.... through murky skies... (c) 2010

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Sunday 5 September 2010
Counting period: 6:15-12:50
Weather: SSE F5, 13degC, 40 increasing 65km, 4/8 becoming 8/8, QNH 1021 ridging
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber

Moving birds:
Mallard 9 -
Common Gull 3 -
alba wagtail sp. 4 -
Goosander 1 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 181 -
Chiffchaff 1 -
Sparrowhawk 1 -
Herring Gull 3 -
Jay 1 -
Lapwing 2 -
Swift 2 -
Carrion Crow 7 -
Curlew 2 -
Sand Martin 1 -
Starling 1 -
Turnstone 1 -
Swallow 277 -
Linnet 1 -
Mediterranean Gull - 1
Meadow Pipit 311 -
Black-headed Gull 31 -
Grey Wagtail 2 -

Totals: 843 individuals, 22 species, 6:35 hours

Comments: Open sky overnight with a Chiffchaff in the wood. Right on the interface of the weather systems this morning with an active low moving in from the west complete with much higher wind speeds here in compaarison to those just 4km east. The second day of the mip crossover with all hard south now! Swallows as usual took a while to get going and it was obvious by comparison to BS at Fly that the topographic routing today low over the ground due to the wind was giving us the miss in the mid part of the morning... but things improved later on with more birds flying higher over the lunch time period. Swifts (2) went SW at 0700 and 0925 and a Jay west was the first of the season here. Albas possibly just starting to move as well. A flying "Murder" of crows went south. The bird of the day.... just as we were packing up was Turnstone which dropped out of the sky from the NW and came in over our heads "tuckering" away... alighting for a moment in front of us on the pitchings before flying up water to alight again. This induced a search as it flew off again... at the end of the morning a final check of the gulls found an ad Med Gull in amongst which departed NW along with most of the lessers.... the Turnstone was still present, flying around calling when I left but having overstayed by c 1hr, I had to leave.

Dave and Howard