Oxenhope.... rocketing! 24-09-2010

Angry pre Sunrise Skies.... (c) 2010


Somewhat after Sunrise.... (c) 2010


The open sky... a"window to heaven" with these northerlies... that never came!.... (c) 2010


Sun on "Sun Hill".... (c) 2010


Shelter at the Winter Watchpoint!... (c) 2010

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Friday 24 September 2010
Counting period: 6:45-10:15
Weather: N F7 gusting more, 8degC + windchill, 65km NW, 8/8 stratocumulus stratiformus, some rain later, QNH 1006 rising
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber, Rodney Procter

Moving birds:
Cormorant 1 -
Rock Pipit - 1
Goosander 1 -
alba wagtail sp. 11 -
Lapwing - 1
Raven 3 -
Woodpigeon 6 -
Goldfinch - 1
Meadow Pipit 293 -

Totals: 318 individuals, 9 species, 3:30 hours

Comments: Rain overnight but mainly to our east albeit some very heavy showers. Dry at dawn. Wind from N throughout and gradually increasing before moderating. QNH rising all the time. Severe rain to our east initially tracking down from the north but dry at the watchpoint but very strong northerly wind right into our faces. High ceiling with a clear edge gradually approaching from our north. Little moving initially except for a few weak mips south sometimes flying sideways and often even backwards! A Rock Pipit our first of the year, came up from the pitchings calling overhead and left NW at 0715. As the morning progressed we got colder... must look out those long johns for tomorrow! and decided to move to the winter watchpoint.... once there with cars in formation and forming a shelter things were much better with increasing numbers of very high main stream mips rocketing south, way above any of the topography and using the tail wind to great advantage! A sign of things to come? Otherwise Ravens were prominent with one going through mistaken initially for a barking dog!! and a Cormorant east didnt seem to mind either. All in all whilst conditions were limiting it was an interesting morning. Further rain, this time tracking down the Pennines from the north tipped the balance and made us draw stumps early.

A call at 1430hr this afternoon from Dave Sutcliffe at Giants Stone watchpoint made me / us wish we had never gone home...... a stonking dark juvenile Gannet through the col SW... which looing in the right diection at the right time we may well have got albeit distant and no doubt a product of the heavy weather and storms moving south down the east coast this morning. Thanks a million for letting us know Dave and Well Done on a terriffic bird... the real spirit of local vis!

Dave