Pinks pour through.... 18-01-2011
Wharfedale.... PINKS ahoy! 18-01-2011
PM... brilliantly clear conditions after a run of atrocious days!
Two skeins of Pinkfeet over Deerstones at c2pm numbering 105 and 96
F Jones
c650 Pink-Footed Geese in 5 skeins travelling NW over Wharfedale
between 14.00 hrs and 14.30 hrs.
H Creber, Gordon Holmes etal
...........................
Oxenhope.... freeze gives in! 16-01-2011
Late pm after a wet couple of days!
The weather was atrocious at the start with a W F6 dropping to W F4 with driving rain then drizzle which eventually cleared slightly even showing a bit of blue sky although this was short lived.
The water was very choppy making it difficult to pick anything out in the waves but I eventually had a good score of Goldeneye and a few Goosander. Two Cormorant called in briefly but didnt stay, soon flying off > W.
Stayed up till near last light but there was no sign of a gull roost building. A few LBBs came in and small groups of Common Gull but these all moved off > E after a quick dip and a preen.
1 Snipe
9 Goldeneye 7f 2m
12 Goosander 9f 3m
4 BH Gull
23 Common gull
5 LBBs
2 Cormorant
Brian Sumner
...............................
Oxenhope... birdless! 09-01-2011
1530 - 1700hr
Still deep frozen... in contrast to last week, virtually no birds, not a single Fieldfare but just a very small group of Common Gulls preparing to roost on the ice... dessolate!
Dave
......................................................
Oxenhope.... Fieldfare influx! 03-01-2011
1530 - 1700hr
Thickening temperatures yet again and a sneaky wind were causing the ice to bang, creak and groan... a cross between mermaids on the rocks and a distant grumbling thunder storm which in toto any gulls alighting on the ice with a view to roost found terrifying and moved on straight away.... Several BH Gulls frozen into the ice at roost and left over from the very low temperatures before Christmas were now almost picked clean by the ever present corvids... needless to say both regular gull, goose and Goosander roosts have most unusually broken up due to the prolonged and deep freeze with daytime sightings suggesting a big overfly west of both large and small gulls.... with few actually using the area... the Goosanders are without doubt now using a lower ice free roost. The most interesting thing about today was the big influx of Fieldfares earlier on with masses seen feeding on the softening fields both in the area of home and around Oxenhope.... flocks were very active in the sky during the visit with many groups flying in W and SW, going down on the edge of the moor to roost.... again a continuing overfly of gulls with several pure groups of herrings, mainly going west... some were prospecting for roost but quickly moved on due to the grumblings and moaning from the ice....
Fieldfare c660+ in many flocks into roost
Herring Gull 33 > W
small gulls 400 overfly
Dave
...................................................
Oxenhope... Fieldfare relocate! 02-01-2011
0905- 1100hr
Fieldfares much in evidence grounded and feeding at sites various, many more than normal for this area at this time of year. A few flocks also moving east and south east but nearly all low level stuff... otherwise just a handful of gulls in the sky and a single Jackdaw high east was interesting...
Moving birds:
Common Gull 9
BH Gull 3
Fieldfare 103 > E
Jackdaw 1 > E
Dave
Baildon Moor with Otley Chevin beyond.... (c) 2011
Catstones Moor.... (c) 2011
Dave
PM... brilliantly clear conditions after a run of atrocious days!
Two skeins of Pinkfeet over Deerstones at c2pm numbering 105 and 96
F Jones
c650 Pink-Footed Geese in 5 skeins travelling NW over Wharfedale
between 14.00 hrs and 14.30 hrs.
H Creber, Gordon Holmes etal
...........................
Oxenhope.... freeze gives in! 16-01-2011
Late pm after a wet couple of days!
The weather was atrocious at the start with a W F6 dropping to W F4 with driving rain then drizzle which eventually cleared slightly even showing a bit of blue sky although this was short lived.
The water was very choppy making it difficult to pick anything out in the waves but I eventually had a good score of Goldeneye and a few Goosander. Two Cormorant called in briefly but didnt stay, soon flying off > W.
Stayed up till near last light but there was no sign of a gull roost building. A few LBBs came in and small groups of Common Gull but these all moved off > E after a quick dip and a preen.
1 Snipe
9 Goldeneye 7f 2m
12 Goosander 9f 3m
4 BH Gull
23 Common gull
5 LBBs
2 Cormorant
Brian Sumner
...............................
Oxenhope... birdless! 09-01-2011
1530 - 1700hr
Still deep frozen... in contrast to last week, virtually no birds, not a single Fieldfare but just a very small group of Common Gulls preparing to roost on the ice... dessolate!
Dave
......................................................
Oxenhope.... Fieldfare influx! 03-01-2011
1530 - 1700hr
Thickening temperatures yet again and a sneaky wind were causing the ice to bang, creak and groan... a cross between mermaids on the rocks and a distant grumbling thunder storm which in toto any gulls alighting on the ice with a view to roost found terrifying and moved on straight away.... Several BH Gulls frozen into the ice at roost and left over from the very low temperatures before Christmas were now almost picked clean by the ever present corvids... needless to say both regular gull, goose and Goosander roosts have most unusually broken up due to the prolonged and deep freeze with daytime sightings suggesting a big overfly west of both large and small gulls.... with few actually using the area... the Goosanders are without doubt now using a lower ice free roost. The most interesting thing about today was the big influx of Fieldfares earlier on with masses seen feeding on the softening fields both in the area of home and around Oxenhope.... flocks were very active in the sky during the visit with many groups flying in W and SW, going down on the edge of the moor to roost.... again a continuing overfly of gulls with several pure groups of herrings, mainly going west... some were prospecting for roost but quickly moved on due to the grumblings and moaning from the ice....
Fieldfare c660+ in many flocks into roost
Herring Gull 33 > W
small gulls 400 overfly
Dave
...................................................
Oxenhope... Fieldfare relocate! 02-01-2011
0905- 1100hr
Fieldfares much in evidence grounded and feeding at sites various, many more than normal for this area at this time of year. A few flocks also moving east and south east but nearly all low level stuff... otherwise just a handful of gulls in the sky and a single Jackdaw high east was interesting...
Moving birds:
Common Gull 9
BH Gull 3
Fieldfare 103 > E
Jackdaw 1 > E
Dave
Baildon Moor with Otley Chevin beyond.... (c) 2011
Catstones Moor.... (c) 2011
Dave
posted by Dave Barker at
1/18/2011 09:37:00 pm
1 Comments
