Thursday 29 October 2009

A bit of Vis

Woodpigeon 457 west
Starling 154 west/n/west
Redwing 54 west/n/west
Fieldfare 30 west
snipe 1 west and 1 blogger
female sparrowhawk displaying for 25 mins with full stoops and fluffed out undertail coverts and Collared Doves copulating in back garden.???

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Weekend in the lakes


December Moth and feathered Thorn

Sprawler
A great weekend in the lakes with a couple of nights trapping produced
Sprawler x2
December Moth x 4
Pine Carpet x 1
Merville du Jour x 2
Silver Y x 1
November Moth agg x 30+
Feathered Thorn x 3
Yellow Line Quaker x 3
Brick x 2
Chestnut x 3
Dark sword Grass x 1
Loads of Buzzards,perrys,Sparrowhawks,Bar wits,Oyks,and ranvens over the house and a few RED SQUIRELS(always nice to see)They have a hot line to ring if you see a Grey sq ,they come out an exterminate the problem pity we dont have one in Calderdale.

Friday 23 October 2009

Streak


Another good night in Northowram despite the torrential rain,ngle Shades,Red the Streak one of my favorite moths at this time of year was joined by 3 Yellow Line Quaker,2 brick,Angle shades,red green,Spruce,autumn green. and Common Marbled carpets,Blairs Sh Knot,Silver Y ,Light Brown apple moth,Garden rose tort and acleris sparsana

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Last few Days

Little to report on the vis front except for the continued movment of Starlings w/n/w there must have been about 2000 since last thursday.Mostly in small squadrons of about 50+.The local starlings seem to wheel about between the buildings and the movers are direct,low and fast.
Made it to Ringstone today 175 Goldies,20 lapwing,1 Snipe,6 Grey parrtridge and 2 moorhen,and at EGP 20 Tufted Duck,Kingfisher,GCGrebe and a Shoveler.

Thursday 15 October 2009

No vis but lots of moths

No vis this morning except 123 + 14 + 20 Starlings west,10 Mipits south and 1 SISKIN south,I could hear Redwings but didnt see any. A bumper night in the moth trap,produced my latest snout by 3 weeks....
998 Epiphyas postvittana Light Brown Apple Moth 8
1041 Acleris sparsana 1
1048 Acleris variegana Garden Rose Tortrix 2
1760 Chloroclysta siterata Red-green Carpet 2
1764 Chloroclysta truncata Common Marbled Carpet 4
1769 Thera britannica Spruce Carpet 3
1795x Epirrita dilutata agg. November Moth agg. 4
2232 Aporophyla nigra Black Rustic 3
2240 Lithophane leautieri Blair's Shoulder-knot 6
2262 Agrochola circellaris Brick 1
2264 Agrochola macilenta Yellow-line Quaker 2
2272 Xanthia aurago Barred Sallow 1
2361 Hydraecia micacea Rosy Rustic 1
2441 Autographa gamma Silver Y 2
2477 Hypena proboscidalis Snout 1

Wednesday 14 October 2009

What a difference a day makes.....

Same counting period as yesterday
Starling 5 small squadrons = 102west
Redwing 7 small groups = 117 s/w
Bullfinch 1 male very high south
GS woodpecker 2 together very high south
Grey wag 1 very high south
Fieldfare 4 west
Jay 1 low south
1 male Sparrowhawk ,10 Golfinch and 5 mipits blogging.1 red admiarl also.Tomorrow may be big vis.??

Tuesday 13 October 2009

And so they came.............(about 2000 an hour)


Emley Moor to the s/s/e

A distant Holme moss radio mast

Perfect Vis Mig conditions looking s/s/e

Redwings were every where from first light,7.30 -8.30 at least 2000 were heading s/w... from 8.30 - 9,15 ...another 1875 were counted,700 + Starlings west,550 woodpigeon west.2 Great spotted woodpecker north,a flock of 20 Chaffinch n/w,20+ Mipits s/w ,1 field fare north,8 blackbirds west.Amazing ....33 a minute or 1 every 2 seconds for nearly 2 hours thats a lot of counting and i missed loads cos of the sheer numbers of birds moving.

Sunday 11 October 2009

Redwings and Starlings

The first thing I noticed this morning were small groups of stalings on the move low west from 8.00 till 10.00 along with the first big move of Redwings.A few waders are allways nice to see at this waterless site.
Starlings 458 all low west
Redwing 550 s/s/w
Golen plover 10+7 (17)west
Snipe 6 together west
Great sopt wood 1 south
Jay 2 south
Woodpigeon 70 west
Blackbid 2 south(high and calling)

Friday 9 October 2009

More Pinkies

90 west at about 1.15 today along with 4 TEAL heading east 5 minutes later a new garden tick.The goldfinch flock is now at 50 + and there was an influx of Jackdaws and Starlings all heading west.Redwings should be in evidence over the weekend.

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Are these the last

3 swallows north ? today,2 Little Owls in the field , 30 magpies,and 20 Golfinch.The only birds of note today.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Sallow Kittens Pupate


Of the 70 or so Sallow Kitten cats that hatched five have reached pupation.The pic shows two side by side.I wonder how they would have done in the wild.

Monday 5 October 2009

Woodpigeons on the move

The first move of woodpigs today with a 20+44+12+11 + single figure flocks =120 west
Snipe 3 + 1+1 = 5
Grey wag 1
Alba wag 2
Mipit 2
Common gull 1
LBBgull all s/w
Looked perfect for Pinkfeet today but not 1.maybe this evening.

Sunday 4 October 2009

MOON

All for One snipe (Dross - over)

Terrible morning , although Mipits 120 w/s/w were on the move very little else materialised,40 magpies,50 Jackdaw,38 Collared dove N/w ??,8 Blackbirds,25 Feral Pigeon,100+ racing pigeon,2jays,1Kestrel,10 chaffinch s/w, and just as I d had enough 1 Common Snipe flew east.

Friday 2 October 2009

One by One they came

A real cracker of a morning started with a steady stream of meadow pipits going s/w the largest flock of 35(70 + in all),1 lBBGull n/w then 1 Pink footed Goose n/w,1 Great spotted Woodpecker south,1 Blackbird high s/w,2 swallows s/w,1 Redwing s/w and then an amazing Snow Bunting which flew in from the n/w flew round the field twice before heading off s/w.Thats my second snow Bunt in 9 years at this site.

Thursday 1 October 2009

Crossover

Its always good to reach the crossover time ,this is when you get the last of the summer migrants in the form of 2 Swallows s/w today and 17 Pink footed geesewest last night ( the start of the winter migrants coming to us for the winter).October should see the invasion of redwings ,fieldfares and pinKfeet and by the end of the month Woodpigeons