Hunter Hill, Calderdale... 14-07-2010

Cold Edge, Halifax (W Yorks, England)
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Counting period: 8:15-10:30
Weather: SE wind F4 decreasing to F3 with excellent visibility. 15c with 100% cloud cover and rain forecast
Observers: David Sutcliffe

Moving birds:
Black-headed Gull 8 + 5
Swift 143 -
Common Gull 1 - Skylark 1 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 8 + 5
Swallow 52 -
Herring Gull 1 -
Meadow Pipit 4 -
Great Black-backed Gull 2 -
alba wagtail sp. 1 -
Woodpigeon - 8
Greenfinch 1 -

Totals: 240 individuals, 12 species, 2:15 hours

Present: Grey Heron 1, Stock Dove 6, Little Owl 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Meadow Pipit 2, Jay 2, Magpie 2, Jackdaw 62, Chaffinch 1, Goldfinch 2

Comments: Little movement other than Swifts - 136 to 9.30 then only 7 in the second period.

David Sutcliffe

Oxenhope.... back on track! 15-07-2010

A "fast" lenticular sky!... soon to deteriorate (c) 2010

SSW F5, 16degC, 65km, 5/8, QNH 1001 falling after rising all day.

1840-2100hr

Thunderstorms until midnight then heavy showers through the early hours. QNH troughing some twelve hours ago at c 994hPa. More heavy showers combining during the middle part of the day over the northern part of the S Pennines to give near continuous rain over the hills. By mid afternoon fine and dry with some sunshine and remaining so into the early evening. Radar at 1930hr shows frontal systems and masses of rain several hours deep moving up from the SW with leading edge currently just south of Manchester.... moderate rain starting at 2030hr. A day of obvious movement in the improving conditions, especially the last half of the afternoon with several hundred gulls on the deck and rapidly increasing as seen by others... but no waders. When I arrived at 1840hr several waders had dropped in but all left together with nearly all of the gulls before I went. Gulls were coming in as usual from both the north and the east and were leaving to the south and north west. Interestingly there were no juvenile BH Gulls in the mix this evening but there was another juvenile lesser.

Moving birds:

LBB Gull 294

BH Gull 149

Common Gull 1

Yellow legged Gull 2 (3s and 2s)

Redshank 1

Ringed Plover 2 (the first of the season here and somewhat early)

Little ringed Plover 4

Oystercatcher 1

Curlew 2

Dave