Oxenhope.... 2012-09-23

Eight Images all Copyright 2012

 

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Sunday 23 September 2012
Counting period: 6:05-12:45
Weather: wind SE0, cloud-cover 1/8, visibility 50000m, temperature 2 ℃, becoming 200m, (always with vv) or less, then in and out to ultimate 65000m, SE F2 then E F5, max 10degC, QNH 1018 falling 1012
Observers: Dave Barker, (Lester Ward, Chris King, Rodney Procter, Mark Doveston all briefly)

Moving Birds:
Cormorant 3 -
Swallow 495 -
Chaffinch 43 -
Black-headed Gull 23 -
Meadow Pipit 307 -
Goldfinch 11 -
Common Gull 19 -
alba wagtail sp. 16 -
Siskin * 10 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 106 -
Jackdaw 9 -
Reed Bunting * 1 -
Herring Gull 1 -
Carrion Crow 16 -
Woodpigeon 2 -
Starling 25+ 14

Totals: 1101 individuals, 16 species, 6:40 hours

Present: Chiffchaff 1, Goldcrest 4

Comments: Cold and gloomy, soon with cirrostratus overdraw becoming translucidus, then opaque 8ok throughout, initially very clear east but ground mist soon establishing and very excitingly as if by magic before clearing quickly for the first hour of absent sun up to leave a sea of fog below.... birds moving initially but very short lived.... after visibility returned, few birds with the most noteable feature being the big increase of chaffinch south today. albas also picking up and on the move throughout. Dense secondary stratocumulus also becoming 8ok.

Dave

Oxenhope... 2012-09-22

Seven Images all Copyright 2012

 

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)

Saturday 22 September 2012
Counting period: 6:00-17:10
Weather: wind NW0, cloud-cover 0/8, visibility 120000m, temperature 0 ℃, becoming N F1 then E F1 and SE F3. open sky, cu then stratocu before cirrostratus, rising 13degC, QNH 1020 rising 1021 then steady 1020
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber til 1030, Lester Ward, (Rodney Procter briefly)

Moving Birds:
Cormorant 4 -
Golden Plover 8 -
alba wagtail sp. 5 -
Pink-footed Goose * 13 -
Lapwing 13 -
Blackbird * 1 -
goose sp. * 2 -
Snipe * 4 -
Song Thrush * 1 -
Canada Goose - 6
Black-headed Gull 120 -
Mistle Thrush 25 -
Goosander 2 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 200 -
Starling 6+ 22
Red Kite * 2 -
Sterna spec. * - 1
Chaffinch 4 -
Marsh Harrier * 1 -
Stock Dove 1 -
Greenfinch 10 -
Hen Harrier * 1 -
Woodpigeon 21 -
Goldfinch 30 -
Sparrowhawk 4 -
Skylark * 20 -
Siskin * 19 -
Common Buzzard * 23 -
Swallow * 1970 -
Crossbill 2 -
Kestrel 1 -
House Martin 129 -
Red Admiral 4 -
Merlin 1 -
Meadow Pipit 428 -
Peregrine * 2 -
Grey Wagtail 1 -

Totals: 3107 individuals, 37 species, 11:10 hours

Present: Robin 1

Comments: Hard white frost, with measured air temp 0degC at wp. Valuable time wasted waiting for the windscreen to defrost. Starting off relatively quiet but a big increase in Mistle Thrush moving high a blackbird single Song Thrush were interesting. Lots of very high siskin contacts on the edge of perception and later skylark similar. Despite much long and high scanning, only a single skein of pinks detected going out exceptionally, exceptionally high SE. Much later, large raptors detected in the roof, first one (might have missed some initially tho through especially unsuccessful attempts to locate and photograph a few, so soon aborted that!), then several BZ all soaring broadfornt generally SW with occasional glides and kettles and a new common buzzard record set for us. Max kettle for us a diffuse eight. Some high interaction between individuals and sp noted on several occasions as passing through. Mid pm, mixed hirundines, mainly swallows started to flood E, SE and later with a few south...... unid'd distant large bop's bz sp (3), SW.... All in haste and might not be complete.

Dave