Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Hunter Hill

Vis Mig 07:00 till 12:00 noon
4 degrees c and no wind at 07:00 rising to 9.5 degrees c with a light W wind at noon - good visibility throughout

5,942 Redwings >SW (a couple of minutes from recieving a text from BS at 07:45 (thanks Brian) they came over from Queensbury/Swales Moor heading towards the Calder Valley and they didn't ease off until c11:00)
690 Starling >SW
754 Fieldfare >W (but they started coming through from Soil Hill area from 09:30 until 11:30)
196 Meadow Pipit >SW
127 Jackdaw >SW
116 Woodpigeon >S
58 B H Gulls >S
44 Greenfinch >SW
41 Chaffinch >SW
12 unidentified finch >SW
25 Mistle Thrush >W - mainly with Fieldfares
12 Goldfinch >SW
12 Skylark >W
11 alba Wagtails >SW
8 Goosander >N
6 Blackbirds >W (with Fieldfares)
5 Linnet >SW
4 Snipe >S
2 L B B G's >S
4 Common Gull >S
2 Cormorant >N
1 Grey Heron >W

Other birds present - 1 Pheasant, 1 Little Owl, 7 Magpie, 1 Wren, 1 Great Tit, 2 Stock Dove, 3 Kestrel, 3 Sparrowhawk, 1 Bullfinch, 1 Canada Goose with 1 Barnacle Goose and 2 Greylag Geese came from Cold Edge into Mixenden Res'r, 6 Jay, 1 Green Woodpecker, c20 Carrion Crows and 6 Rooks.
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5 comments:

Brian Sumner . said...

A crippling morning Dave for both numbers and species. All that dedication you put in was certainly rewarded today. Its a morning like this that makes vis mig stick with you forever.

8:12 pm
AndyC said...

Great morning ,bet you had trouble counting all that lot.

9:14 pm
Dave Barker said...

Fantastic Dave.... The best local day count made. For other local site counts see:

http://vismig.blogspot.com/

Footnote: 28982 Redwings over Sandy Pinnacle, Bedfordshire this morning!!!

Dave

9:29 pm
Sandra said...

Gosh - why don't I ever see birds in these numbers? Didn't think I went round with eyes closed. Wish I'd been there .

6:18 pm
Dave Barker said...

Its a matter of being there at the right time and also time of year Sandra. Usually but not always early doors. You need to choose a site with a good outlook towards and across the way the birds you are targeting may be coming. Your site should be elevated but certainly not on a hill top and have a good overview of the land in front which falls away. The topography and habitat of approach is important. The final and most important point is that you need dedication to watch every day with some knowledge as to what weather conditions induce the birds to move, both locally and in the case of yesterdays Redwings at point of departure ie SW Norway.... if conditions are against them up there, they wont come, but a look at yesterdays o/night pressure chart shows a definate green light for all of the stuff from that quater (thus all us vis counters were out), which very obviously came straight across and straight inland!! a scenario that us vis counters always hope for. If you watch on a regular basis, the frequent duff migration days dont matter as you know you will get the right one in the end!! Dave will re-write the Halifax report by doing this, Just as we re-wrote the Bradford one and Keith Clarkson did the same for Sheffield, many years ago! and the list goes on. Give it a go sometime, but be warned, its very adictive once you have had a GREAT day!!

If anyone wants anymore info, just post a comment here as I am a very regular visitor to this very informative / interesting blog and very anxious to promote this wonderful birding interest.

Dave

7:41 pm

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