Saturday, September 15, 2012

Oxenhope.... 2012-09-15

Five Images all Copyright 2012

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Saturday 15 September 2012
Counting period: 6:25-14:00
Weather: wind West4, cloud-cover 5/8, visibility 24000m, temperature 10 ℃, wind soon picking up W F6, sky opening, becoming 65000m, W F4, 1ok, 14degC, QNH steady 1015
Observers: Dave Barker, (Lester Ward, Chris King briefly)

Moving Birds:
Cormorant 1 -
Skylark 23 -
Pink-footed Goose 29 -
Swallow 165 -
Sparrowhawk 1 -
Meadow Pipit 443 -
Black-headed Gull 3 -
Mistle Thrush 6 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 625 -
Raven 1 -
Swift 1 -
Starling 37+ 14

Totals: 1349 individuals, 12 species, 7:35 hours

Present: Wheatear 2, Goldcrest 2

Comments: Not a good morning up here with steady pressure and strong canadian air prevailing. Mips reasonable for first hour but soon falling off to next to nothing. Virtually all very high and broad front tho. Swallows absent til 1100hr, then high parties starting to show, exceptionally high broad front but only a few. Finches virtually absent from the skies, but lbbg (not split) liking it with a good flow in both directions today. A large diffuse flock of skylarks west o/h, the first reasonable one of the year was good. A v high skein of pinks SE as packing up was worth staying for. Just possibly the first hint of continental Starlings?

Dave