Meadow Pipits on the Move North over Dalton Crags

Illustration showing the main corridors of  Meadow Pipit migration passage over Dalton Crags (deforested) Click over to enlarge

Check out recent blogs below:
Saturday April 6th 2013 (1000hrs-1230hrs)
Earlier at 0630hrs had the regular "Tanpits" Song Thrush giving the strong Curlew call, its been doing it all week every morning. Also a Curlew going over to SE at 0630hrs.
(1000hrs)A much better day, warming up and sunny with just very light Northerly gust hardly anything and the Mipits had picked up today and going through regularly every two or three minutes, counted well over 120 whilst going to Trig and back. All flying to North. with singles, pairs and parties up to about 8. 

Sunday April 7th 2013 (1315hrs - 1415hrs)
Great to see a friends pond full of frogs with lots of healthy spawn maturing well.

Even as late in the day as 1315hrs to 1415hours I had a continuous run of Mipits going through Dalton (deforested) to Trig heading North. In fact recorded 152 over the hour (2. 3/4 birds per minute) the best parties were: 11,10,9,8,5 and some fours. The weather was fabulous, warm little wind.  Must have been a fabulous count of birds both yesterday and today (but today better). 

Monday April 8th 2013 (0900hrs - 1100hrs)
Movement whilst going up Dalton Crags very poor in fact perhaps a quarter of what it was like yesterday. The reason being a return to strong North Easterlies (15-18mph). But I thought I would go down into Lancelot and Burton etc to check out all the Warbler hot spots and what I did notice was that lots of Mipits were moving further down to the West side and at lower altitude eg: Lancelot, Burton Fell, Storth Wood and Lower Dalton. Here there was a good count, all going North, usual pairs and threes and several parties up to ten in number.  Told by Paul down at Rossall they had over 3000 on Sunday morning all head out NW in a Heysham direction. Today flushed a Woodcock in Storth. Also no Warblers returned yet to Dalton, Lancelot or Burton Fell. 

Tuesday April 9th 2013 (approx 1730hrs)
Witnessed two Swallows (my first of the year) heading through the Grane Valley down in Haslingden (East Lancs)

Wednesday April 10th 2013 (0800hrs-0915hrs)
Mipit movement well down in numbers, maybe had about 20 over the hour.
(1700hrs approx) Five Swallows hawking over the River Kent by the Levens Bridge. 

Thursday April 11th 2013 (0900hrs-1130hrs) 
Mipit movement through Hutton Roof right down, the wind was OK, its now far milder without those piercing Easterlies. I probably only had about 10-15 over the full two hours. Checked out all the Warbler sites on the West   side of Hutton Roof and nothing in as yet.