Friday, December 07, 2012

Oxenhope.... 2012-10-30

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Tuesday 30 October 2012
Counting period: 7:00 - 10:00
Weather: to follow
Observers: Howard Creber

Moving Birds:
Cormorant 4 -
Chaffinch 9 -
Woodpigeon 20 -
Brambling - 7
Meadow Pipit 19 -
Greenfinch - 38
Fieldfare - 76
Goldfinch - 19
Great Tit * 1 -
Siskin 1 -
Starling - 524


Totals: 718 individuals, 11 species, 3:00 hours

Comments: A lively first hour with finches to the fore and a nice single flock of 7 Brambling the highlight. Starlings were on the go west throughout, using their usual routes. From 08.45 hrs, the morning was afflicted by a dogged heavy drizzle band which made observation difficult, hence an undercount.

Howard 

Oxenhope.... 2012-10-29

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Monday 29 October 2012
Counting period: 7:15 - 10:35
Weather: wind SW3, cloud-cover 6/8, visibility 200m, temperature 5 ℃, becoming fog stratus, 9000m then fog stratus 300 - 400m, 7degC, QNH 1005 rising 1007
Observers: Dave Barker, Brian Vickers

Moving Birds:
Black-headed Gull 6 -
Starling - 987
Common Gull 1 -
Chaffinch 1 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 35 -
Greenfinch 8 -
Woodpigeon 6 -
Goldfinch 1 -
Meadow Pipit 7 -
Lesser Redpoll 1 -
Fieldfare 144 - Totals: 1197 individuals, 11 species, 3:20

Comments: Good visibility below watchpoint but closing down upon arrival with foul smelling murk over the moor, this time from the SW. Improving for a short spell but not for long. Starlings on heat again, today in the direction / regular tracks only bringing many very close to the watchpoint, fog no problem to them, with squads continuing to sythe through NW, to us tho the more distant birds lost. Little else seen but really the visibility was against.

Dave 

Oxenhope.... 2012-10-28

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Sunday 28 October 2012
Counting period: 8:15 - 15:00
Count type: incomplete species list, not all species submitted
Weather: wind West3, cloud-cover 8/8, precipitation rain, visibility 10000m, temperature 7 ℃, becoming variable W or SW F 3 - 5 and gusting more, 65000m max, rain becoming established again pm, QNH 1011 falling 1006
Observers: Dave Barker

Moving Birds:
Black-headed Gull 25 -
Fieldfare - 56
Common Gull 101 -
Redwing - 6
Lesser Black-backed Gull 36 -
Starling - 3333
Herring Gull 11 -
Brambling - 9
Meadow Pipit 2 - f
inch sp. - 53

Totals: 3632 individuals, 10 species, 6:45 hours

Comments: Only came out for a short stay today but mind soon changed despite the conditions. Varied watchpoints as weather permitted and continued at high point after early lunch, taking shelter as the weather was closing down again. Starlings after a virtual blank here yesterday in urgent all day move, and very unusually all continental directions open today, from SW, through W round to N (not split). Some of the SW and W ones much high than the norm and in quite big flocks. Otherwise a big influx of Common Gulls and Herring Gulls, uncommon here were well represented. Time spent concentrating on Starlings at the expense of other species, missed, undercounted, omitted or lumped in unideal conditions but two small groups of Brambling were distinct. Little thrush movement over the hills or in the sky now but lots appearing more settled lower down.

Dave 

Oxenhope.... 2012-10-27

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Saturday 27 October 2012
Counting period: 7:40 - 12:00
Weather: wind North3, cloud-cover 0/8, visibility 100000m, temperature 0 ℃, HARD FROST and ICE, becoming -1, v cold but quite pleasant lover down, watcpoint under influence of upper wind, N F6 gusting F8 at times, hard ice still on cars even at 0930hr, 1 degC. QNH 1018 rising 1021 Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber, Rodney Procter, Brian Vickers

Moving Birds:
Goosander 30 -
Meadow Pipit 1 -
Golden Plover 19 -
Fieldfare 28 -
Black-headed Gull 6 -
Starling - 30
Lesser Black-backed Gull 19 -
Goldfinch 8 -
Woodpigeon 68 -
Reed Bunting 1 -

Totals: 210 individuals, 10 species, 4:20 hours

Comments: Initially, brilliant coast to coast open skies but with many dramatic deep cunims out over the North Sea. Very searching conditions (totally different a bit lower down), thus with the last hour spent at the low watchpoint. Very little of the expected usual passage but a late morning skein of goosanders south were good and included the first "whites" of the season. Also several small flocks of goldies south. Nothing deemed as moving at the low point today. Gulls moving well out further east but beyond the normal counting range.

Dave 

Oxenhope.... 2012-10-26

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Friday 26 October 2012
Counting period: 7:35 - 15:15
Weather: wind NE3, cloud-cover 2/8, visibility 70000m, temperature 0 ℃, FROST, becoming N F3, 6ok, then 3ok, 2deg, 100000m, QNH 1020 falling 1017
Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber, (Brian Vickers, Rodney Procter part AM)

Moving Birds:
Cormorant 1 -
Lesser Black-backed Gull 55 -
Jay * 6 -
Pink-footed Goose * 66 -
Woodpigeon 577 -
Jackdaw - 20
Goosander 12 -
Swallow 1 -
Starling 4 + 346
Marsh Harrier 1 -
Meadow Pipit 24 -
Chaffinch 16 -
Sparrowhawk 1 -
Grey Wagtail 1 -
Brambling - 3
Merlin 1 -
alba wagtail sp. 6 -
Greenfinch 15 -
Peregrine 1 -
Blackbird - 3
Goldfinch 43 -
Golden Plover 6 -
Fieldfare - 4217
Siskin 4 -
Lapwing 93 -
Song Thrush - 1
Lesser Redpoll 1 -
Snipe - 1
Redwing - 866
Black-headed Gull 22 -
Long-tailed Tit - 14

Totals: 6428 individuals, 31 species, 7:40 hours

Comments: provisional, full counts and species list to add, PM last hour low watchpoint DCB...... A fog and mist free morning with Fieldfares moving well, very high initially N and NW, still appearing very fresh. A spectacular flock of 1000+ very high N over the open moor was the highlight of the day. Redwings, fast very high flocks west also appeared fresh, thought they might get stronger, but only short lived and soon died back. By lunchtime the Fieldfare movement, still going was lower in the sky, soon very low with flocks waving over the contours of the moor, for us much more difficult to get onto and see. The last hour at the low watchpoint found them still going after we were getting very few on trhe tops. This migration drawing to a close..... A flock of Whoopers down on one of the nearby waters were either missed or came in a different way. Two flocks of Long tailed Tits. the best birds of the day were both picked up at distance, with one coming right over head NW.

Dave 

Oxenhope.... 2012-10-25

Oxenhope, Bradford (W Yorks, England)
Thursday 25 October 2012
Counting period: 7:35 - 15:20
Weather: wind NE2, cloud-cover 8/8, visibility 5000m, temperature 7 ℃, becoming 200m hv FOG, but always better vv often to high strato base above, 8degC, 70000m, QNH 1021 falling 1019 Observers: Dave Barker, Howard Creber, (Rodney Procter PM only)

Moving Birds:
Pink-footed Goose * - 70
Stock Dove - 1
Mistle Thrush - 5
Merlin 1 -
Woodpigeon 137 -
Starling - 592
Golden Plover 12 -
Swallow 1 -
Chaffinch 5 -
Lapwing 158 -
Meadow Pipit 63 -
finch sp. 13 -
Dunlin - 2
alba wagtail sp. 4 -
Greenfinch 6 -
Curlew - 1
Blackbird - 8
Siskin 1 -
Black-headed Gull 91 -
Fieldfare - 6358
Lesser Redpoll 1 -
Common Gull 10 -
Song Thrush - 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull 141 -
Redwing - 712

Totals: 8395 individuals, 25 species, 7:45 hours

Present: Stonechat 2, Blackbird 3, Song Thrush 7


Comments: Thwarted once again by fogs over moor and lands visible below. Fog top just nicely above WP for extended period, often with visibility up to high strato base above but v poor hv. From first light, big flocks of Fieldfare noted moving NW over head and most above fog top, sometimes in the fog its self, past at eye height. We had split up, HC going down into the valley below cloudbase where good visibility today just to check no masses moving down there, with me remaining on top. Interesting that very Large FF flocks passing me in the fog early on, which from direction would have been directly over HC as they passed, never came below the cloudbase for him to see (he soon came back up!!). Absolutely zero down there, with everything up aloft in and above the clagg. Whilst this was enough to confirm a big FF arrival the relative magnitude remains unknown as with only vv, we could count very few initially and til late AM. By 1100 hr visibility was opening up revealing huge very high flocks of mainly Fieldfare moving both N and NW in seemingly two distinct broad streams. Some flocks were exceptionally high NW and barely visible through optics in and out of the cloud, almost certainly straight in under the high base, without reducing height. Whilst RW were coming N and NW, many were traveling S (not split) but none of the FF were. Thus all in all, a dramatic undercount of thrushes. Seven song thrush in the watchpoint bushes were exceptional, with blackbirds as well. Starling as expected were well up on the continental track once we could see and again must have been a dramatic undercount. A Merlin shot very fast SW, seen looping the loop after someting or other. Pinks, two small skeins going west today well up, after we could see + another which we must have missed earlier on. Gulls also moving above the clagg, so again a dramatric undercount of these. A very large flock of siskin heard up there as well, perhaps the largest this year just went down as one, as did a considerable flock of redpoll.

Dave