Wednesday November 5th 2014 

Visible Bird Migration - Hutton Roof from Burton In Kendal (Track off Vicarage Lane and also on the "Bonk". 0700hrs-1000hrs. Wind North 5-12mph, 5c temp and rising, 9% cloud cover, 18500m vis, 1005mb pressure. Thrush movement to either the SW but predominently W/NW. Small passerines to the S/SE. 

Two separate lines were formed today with the Thrush movements eg: One line went to the South West, these birds appeared to come over Hutton Roof from the Lupton direction and heading SW to a Over Kellet, or Halton direction. These birds were mainly larger parties, at greater height eg 2-300ft and were going unseen because of the bright blue skies making it very difficult to get on them. I must have missed lots, because just on two random occasions when I casually looked up there were parties going overhead. 

However there was also another perhaps stronger passage which went in a West to North West direction and these birds appeared to come from a possible Tunstall/Wennington direction and almost keeping to the alignment of Hutton Roof/Farleton and heading onward to a Kendal direction. These birds seemed smaller parties and were at a lower altitude eg 75ft to 100ft, they were more meandering silent and carefree in their flight. I now have strong opinions that this passage carried on all day in a lazy ad hoc fashion. The reason I suspect this is because when I was leaving home to go to Kendal and waiting for the bus at approx 1250hrs, two parties went through NW, then whilst in Kendal a party of 200 birds came directly over and following the line of the River Kent whilst possibly heading North/North West in a Burneside direction, this would have been at approx 1400hrs and then on my return to Burton In Kendal I had two further parties again cross over to the NW at approx 1530hrs and 1545hrs. 

Chaffinch: 55 (plus a blogging party of 50+) 
Goldfinch: 1 
Meadow Pipit: 2 (plus a blogging party of 20+) 
Alba Wagtail: 1 
Reed Bunting: calling from the hedgerows. 
Fieldfare: 1545 (350SW, 1195 either West or North West) best parties: 160,150,130,100. 
Redwing: 2 SE 
Starling: 17 
Woodpigeon: 101 

IF ANYONE GOT ON THESE WEST/NORTH WEST PASSAGE BIRDS IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HEAR FROM THEM AS TO WHERE THEY HAD THEM AND THE DIRECTIONS THEY WERE GOING, THANKS. 

Bryan Yorke 
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