Oxenhope.... til the next time!! 11-10-2010

First Light... fractus on the clear!.... (c) 2010


Jackdaws!!... NW... (c) 2010


Pinks in the Milk!.... (c) 2010

Pinks....NW... (c) 2010

Buzzard.... pale morph > S on approach!... (c) 2010

and now OVERHEAD!!... (c) 2010

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Monday 11 October 2010
Counting period: 7:05-14:15
Weather: ENE F4, 6degC, 5 - 30km, 0/8 obstructed partially by low fractus becoming open, then 3/8, QNH 1022 steady
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber

Moving birds;
passerine sp. 3 -
alba wagtail sp. 8 -
Chaffinch 30 -
Pink-footed Goose - 27
Stonechat 1 -
Brambling 2 -
Sparrowhawk 1 -
Fieldfare 22 -
finch sp. 10 -
Common Buzzard 1 (pale morph)-
Redwing 179 -
Greenfinch 7 -
Golden Plover 46 -
Mistle Thrush 4 -
Goldfinch 3 -
Woodpigeon 16 -
Magpie 2 -
Bullfinch 4 -
Skylark 1 -
Jackdaw - 165
Lapland Bunting 3 -
Swallow 2 -
Raven 1 -
Reed Bunting 1 -
Meadow Pipit 128 -
Starling - 45
Red Admiral 2 -

Totals: 714 individuals, 27 species, 7:10 hours

Comments: Essentially an open sky overnight and right through the morning to noon, when cloud invading from the east. Wind ENE and QNH steady throughout. A nitheringly cold wind initially was not good but by 0900 the fractus was burning off and temperature rising. Quite obvious that the migration arising from the arivals over the last three days is now essentially dead here with most assumed having passed through.... with no doubt nothing or little now "until the next time" as they say! Redwings very megre but more Fieldfare today with two pure small flocks. Two Swallows south were almost unexpected. Three flocks of Jackdaws went NW (just for the record... note that our local Jackdaw king roost has swelled to c3500 birds but we dont get any traffic from this at all up here). Golden Plovers were moving very strongly south in small flocks. Lapland Buntings, this year quite usual for us went SE and E at 0830, 0838 and 1010, all typical two bird jobs. A few pinks went NW, Almost the birds of the day, four brilliantly glowing Bullfinch went southeast but the bird of the day, through south right overhead at 1140 was a real stonker and stopped the counting for a good while as the true identification struck home... a terriffic pale morph Common Buzzard, to us a very instructive bird and no doubt moving down the spine of the country after having arrived on the easterly blow in the last couple of days.

Dave and Howard

.............................
PAUL CLOUGH

0700-0900

Again very little moving up the Clough, Wood Pigeons moving from first light.Wood Pigeon 224, Song Thrush 2, Coaltit 7, Great Tit 12, Bluetit 4, Raven 2, Gt Spotted Woodpecker 1, Sparrowhawk 2.

Brian Vickers