Sunday 28 July 2013

Meet Patch

Everyone who is taking part in the Patchwork Challenge should give themselves a pat on the back. The list of birds that the PWC competition is gradually accruing over the course of 2013, will, thanks to the kindness of those good people at Meopta and Forest Optic, be turned into a donation to the BTO's Out of Africa appeal.

This work has seen the tracking of cuckoos and nightingales on their journeys from Britain to their African wintering grounds and back, using geolocators, the fascinating results of which can be found here for previous years work.

The BTO have been kind enough to name one of their cuckoos for this year 'Patch' which is both tremendously exciting and a massive honour for us here in PWC Towers. You can follow Patch's progress southward (and then very hopefully, northward again, by checking this page.

Attaching geolocators and GPS tags is increasing our knowledge of bird movements hugely. Unfortunately, the hardware for this kind of study does not come cheap, so please contribute to the future of this work and our understanding of migratory birds (as an example, geolocators and data retrieval for each cuckoo on this project will cost approximately £3,000). You can make a general donation here,  or you can sponsor individual cuckoos by following the links for each bird on this page.

Thanks!

Saturday 13 July 2013

Inspirational Patchwork - part three

Yet another fantastic Patch annual report, this time from Jane Turner at Red Rocks. These are real labours of love, and fascinating to read! I've been inspired to put my own report together for girdle ness...anyone else taking the plunge?

Read the Red Rocks Bird Report here 

Monday 1 July 2013

The South Coast

It's turning into a bit of a one horse race down on the south coast points league, with Any Johnson a full 44 points ahead of the competition. Roles reversed at the top of the comparative league though, with Liam Curson swapping 2nd for 1st.

South Coast - Points
PositionNamePatchSpeciesPoints%
1Andy JohnsonSandy Point15221081.5534
2Liam CursonCuckmere Haven and Splash Point131166104.4025
3Ian RobertsSamphire Hoe12615978.32512
4Adam FaiersSandwich Bay111129N/A
5Cameron BespolkaSt.Catherines hill, winchester111120N/A
6Joost BrandsmaHythe101116N/A
7Chris PowellChartham9510475.36232
8Mark LawlorPulias Headland748766.92308
9Andy AppletonHaysden00N/A
10Ashley HoweNeeds Ore NR00N/A
11Barry HForeness point00N/A
12Craig SammelsPegwell Bay00N/A
13Dave BoddingtonSheepcote valley to Brighton marina00N/A
14Jacob EverittArlington Reservoir00N/A
15Jim watermanHamble Point00N/A
16Michael BookerBlack Ditch/Poling00N/A
17Tony Beckett00N/A
South Coast - %s
PositionNamePatchSpeciesPoints%
1Liam CursonCuckmere Haven and Splash Point131166104.4025
2Andy JohnsonSandy Point15221081.5534
3Ian RobertsSamphire Hoe12615978.32512
4Chris PowellChartham9510475.36232
5Mark LawlorPulias Headland748766.92308