Wheatear
Willow Warbler inspecting a spiders web
Blackcap
Linnet
Migrants have been few and far between on my patch since the beginning of March and I put the blame firmly on the weather. Fall conditions have been scarce largely due to the long periods of high pressure over the UK. Atlantic lows squeezing the high off to the east on the 15th March allowed a backlog of migrants through on 16th, 17th and 18th March. Next a Low developing in the Mediterranean and Bay of Biscay moved northwards reaching the UK on the evening of 22nd March brought a fall of Chiffchaffs the next day which incidentally went unrecorded on the south coast, an event sometimes recorded on radar in the 50's and 60's. Stubborn high pressure again dominated until nearly the end of the month when it moved west out to sea allowing Low over Scandinavia to move in. Dropping barometer levels, northerly winds and cloud signified the arrival on 31st bringing Portlands biggest fall on record. Sadly the further west you were the less you saw of the action. None of Portlands fortunes were echoed on my patch that day or the next. April started off slightly mixed with QNH quite high until the 8th when a drop to 990mB on 10th caused by a system passing through to the north. With only a 3mB rise today conditions remained suitable and a small fall was noted on the patch which like other sites held little variety perhaps owing to the early time of year.
No comments:
Post a Comment