Oxenhope.... white "christmas" 12-09-2010

Raven Flythrough!!... W... nine images (c) 2010

albas today.... just a sample!!.... (c) 2010

Danger in the Skies!!!.... a close encounter!!... (c) 2010

Linnets through the heat haze!.... stopping for a rest (c) 2010

The Roof of the World!!!... (c) 2010

Pre Sunrise.... (c) 2010

Early Sun... looking NE.... (c) 2010

The end of the Morning.... (c) 2010

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Sunday 12 September 2010
Counting period: 6:10-13:00
Weather: W F2 rising WNW F4 then reducing considerably, 12degC, 65km, 3/8 reducing, QNH 1019 rising 1023
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber

Moving birds:
Greylag Goose 25 -
Black-headed Gull 190 -
alba wagtail sp. 9 -
Mallard 10 -
Common Gull 6 -
White Wagtail 2 -
Goosander 14 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 326 -
Mistle Thrush 4 -
Sparrowhawk 2 -
dove (Columba) sp. 1 -
Blackcap 1 -
Kestrel 4 -
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 -
Magpie 2 -
Peregrine 5 -
Skylark 3 -
Raven 2 -
Lapwing 31 -
Sand Martin 1 -
Starling 3 -
Dunlin 4 -
Swallow 426 -
Chaffinch 55 -
Common Snipe 2 -
House Martin 50 -
Siskin 16 -
Curlew 1 -
Tree Pipit 5 -
Linnet 39 -
Common Sandpiper 1 -
Meadow Pipit 1779 -
Lapland Bunting 1 -

Totals: 3022 individuals, 33 species, 6:50 hours

Present: Lapwing 60

Comments: Open sky overnight, broken from dawn then becoming scattered. QNH rising very strongly overnight and throughout. Wind W becoming WNW and picking up before dropping off again. Dry and mainly sunny right through to 1300hr when very heavy shower from the W stopped the show. A terriffic morning with mipits moving very well initially both high south and lower west, then to quieten off but then in the latter part of the morning and over the lunchtime period to to storm through very heavily west in big fragmented groups the largest of which was c75! Every alba heard sounded zilliping white and all of the ones on the deck certainly were! a good surge of Tree Pips early doors. Chaffs were all coming through from the east, most going straight through and very much on the early side for numbers like this here. Yet more Siskins going through SW. Swallows were strange with only a few moving low down and mainly west but the main flow was exceptionally high south, detectable only by scoping... thus as we wernt doing this most of the time, most would have been missed. The same applied to House Martins... just a few moving low but much bigger distinct direct parties as Swallows way up. Ravens were going west and for here an incredible number of Pegs... some way up and some almost touchable as they passed!! A couple of Great spotted Woodpeckers flew very high west during the morning, both coming in from way out east. A snatch of Blackcap song from the wood was the only evidence of night migration and finally another Lap Bunt through SSE at 1153 coming in at eye height from the north then rising when it hit the land... calling prominently at intervals as it went through with the typical "two bird" call. Three well spaced Skylarks came through in the last hour. All in all except for a raptor sp which got away... a very fulfilling morning in the skies and well worth while the extra two hours in the field!! Interesting that Jackdaws were much more up in the sky and over the moors than over the period to date.

Dave and Howard