Patchwork Challenge

The final score submission form is up. You have until the 9th January to get your final scores in and the results will be published on Birdguides as soon as we can turn this round. Remember to sign up for 2015 as well. Oh and Happy New Year! Hope you find one of these: Photo with thanks to Stuart Taylor

PWC 2015 promises to be bigger and better than ever. Entry is simple, fill in the form on the right hand side of the blog at patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk. The only information we need right now is your name, patch, league and whether or not you have taken part before. Click submit and your entry will be registered. The only information here which you may not know is the league that you will be in, leave this blank if unsure and we will ensure that you are allocated to the appropriate league based on your patch location in time for the start of the challenge. Later this month we will send out the rules and information required for next years competition, including details of any new rules and changes for 2015. This will include an update on the new website and database which should deliver even more value to participants as well as more information on birding trends. Keep your eye on the blog and social media for these updates! Any questions, feel free to e-mail us an...

The Bresser & Forest Optics Best Find Competition  is the highlight of the  Patchwork Challenge year. This is the best find of the whole patchbirding year as voted for by you, the competitors.  For the winner of the competition, those fine folk at Bresser & Forest Optics are very generously furnishing the winner of this esteemed competition with a pair of Bresser Montana 8.5 x 45 Binoculars worth £665.00. Follow the link to check out this superb reward for one lucky contender. Sadly November was not the month for mega's that both October and September had been, indeed only a single mega species was located by a patchworker. Step forward Brian Rabbitts from North Uist, he was advised by Jamie Boyle of a possible coot with white under the tail on Loch nam Feithean at his Balranald Nature Reserve patch. He found the bird and more importantly clinched the id as American Coot giving him a steady 15 points to add to his tally f...

Joe Stockwell still leads the way at Portland Bill with what looks to be an unassailable lead. Despite seeing fewer species than Kev Rylands at Dawlish Warren, his points per bird stands at an impressive 1.84 giving him a 46 point lead. Peter Hazlewood at Oldbury Power Station has now hit an impressive 8000 records on BirdTrack this year. Good birds were there to be found in November in the South West, with a number of patchers picking up good points. Typical late autumn fare arrived at Portland in the form of a brace each of Dusky and Pallas's Warblers. There were no extra points for Kev Rylands' 6th Yellow-Browed of the year, but he did add a number of species to his tally to take him into a clear second in the table. Providing an American flavour, a Black Brant was at Topsham, a Green-Winged Teal was found at Severn Beach and Marcus Lawson found a Ring-Billed Gull at Swineham Gravel Pits on the last day of the month. In true patch style however, there are always those ...

A quiet month in England's capital, with just a Ruff at Little Marlow and a Short-Eared Owl at Henlow Grange in the highlights. Adam Bassett at Little Marlow retains his lead with Nick Croft having a titanic battle with himself for 2nd and 3rd and the green league. Roger Hicks as the leading NGB member, has also submitted 7866 BirdTrack records. Two patches have now achieved better scores than last year with Michael Terry at Hosehill Lake LNR leading the way. Adam Bassett is not so far behind with just one month left to go.

The two horse race at the top will go down to the final month, with Adam Faiers at Sandwich Bay edging out Andy Johnson and Sandy Bay. Amy Robjohns is representing NGB in third. There are 3 green contenders in the South league, with Andy Johnson leading the way at Sandy Point. Birdtrack participation is quite low, maybe something to build on in 2015. A Serin and a Caspian Gull at Sandy Point were good quality finds to help rack up points for Andy Johnson. There was a 2nd patch record of Water Pipit for Mark Lawlor on Guernsey. The highlight of the month at Conningbrook Lakes was a Skylark using the cover of Neil Burt's car to escape the clutches of a local Merlin. The comparative league is no contest this year, although next year there will be a few more participants in this category. Adam Faiers at Sandwich Bay has an impressive 147% comparative. Mark Lawlor on Guernsey just needs a couple of quality additions in December to take him past the 100% mark.

Tim Hodge maintains his impressive lead at the top with over 200 species on his list at an impressive 1.68 points per bird. He also has the best BirdTrack submission count with just short of 14,000 records. Great effort. James Brown looks to have sealed second place but third is a titanic battle with just 5 points seperating 4 patchers. December could make all the difference. November was a quiet month with not many highlights recorded. The clear outstanding record was the Desert Wheatear at North Lowestoft which arrived as part of a small influx of the species. Aside from this little gem, the bird that appeared on a number of lists in November was Little Auk which appeared in the highlights for three patchers. On the comparative scores, Gary White at North Walsham looks to have taken this lead at 117% with a further 3 birders beating last years marker. Congratulations to all those who have achieved over 100% this year.

Jamie Wells has a lead of 6 points at the top of the table. With an impressive species total of 170 species he should have the league sown up by now, but the quality of the bird list at Mid Yare Valley keeps Ben Lewis in contention to the last. Steve Swinney makes up the top 3. Highlights in the month were the first Dartford Warbler in Essex since winter 2005/06 for Steve Swinney at Linford. A Surf Scoter for Mark Nowers at Stutton was quite a record whilst patchers scored point with locally unusual sightings such as Bearded Tit at two sites, Snow Bunting inland at Ebridge Mill and Red-Breasted Merganser at Paxton Pits. Nick Moran at Thetford leads the green league with both Ben Rackstraw and Alison Allen pushing him all the way. There is no contender for the BirdTrack submissions though, as Nick surpasses the 10,000 mark for the year although Alison Allen has also amassed a very impressive record total. There are a number of competitors in the Inland East Anglia comparative...

The top three stays static in the Inland Scotland minileague. Alastair Forsyth is the runaway leader while Graeme Garner and Rory Whytock duke it out for second place. Simon Pinder is in fourth with 101 points level with the leading Chris P (Kinneil version). Best finds this month were few and far between with such patch luminaries as Water Rail, Woodcock and Great Spotted Woodpecker getting honorable mentions. Alastair Forsyth is well clear in the comparative league as well a monster 40% clear of Andy Cage in second place. Chris P at Dunblane is in third on 86% (give or take). 

The top five rankings in the Irish Minileague Points Table remain the same come the end of November. Dave Suddaby claimed and held on to first place a long, long time ago at his Blacksod patch (with a clear lead of almost 70 points!) but still managed to add a species in November, Short-eared Owl.  A fantastic month for Niall Keogh at Kilcoole saw no less than eight species added to his patch year listing effort (most welcome this late in the year), keeping him in second place just short of the 200 points mark. The only movers on the points table this month are Tom Moore at Kilmore Quay who skips up from eight to sixth and Michael O'Donnell at Kilmichael, increasing slightly from eleventh to tenth place. In the comparative league, Michael O'Donnell jumps back into first place with 109.4% on account of a Barred Warbler at Kilmichael, a superb local record and by far the best find of the month.  Tom Moore hits is PWC2014 target reaching 100% on the dot thanks to...

A Lapland Bunting for John Hopper at Hoveringham helps to close the gap, but Ian Cowgill still retains his lead despite no additions in November. Andy Mackay retains third thanks to a returning Ring-Necked Duck, despite Nick Crouch adding the first Stonechat since 2012 on his patch. Other highlights in the month included a Rock Pipit at Sence Valley and Longmoor and an Iceland Gull at Boultham Mere. Sam Pitt Miller in particular had an excellent November, adding Great White Egret, Cetti's Warbler and Bearded Tit amongst others at Priory Water to reach 100 species for the year. Andy Sims leads the way at Boultham Mere on both BirdTrack contributions and the green league. There will be many more competitors in the comparative league in PWC 2015, but this year it looks like Matt Griffiths will take the title, having beaten last years score at Earlswood. One more month for those in the 90's to hit the 100% mark.

Peter Donnelly looks to have stolen a march on John Bowler in the two horse race for the Coastal Scotland league. It would take a very special December at Balephuil to take the title now. Tighter is the race for third, which will come down to the last month. Gary Bell at Sumburgh holds the position currently but Steve Minton and Mike Pennington are hot on his heels. Highlights for the month were the third Ring-Necked Duck of the year at Balephuil, a Great Grey Shrike on North Ronaldsay and a Black Guillemot for Stuart Taylor at Balivanich. Mark Lewis leads the way on BirdTrack records with Sean Morris also recording impressive submissions for the year whilst in the Green scores, Mark Lewis will have a bit of work to do in December to catch up the 10 point deficit on Steve Minton at Scatness. Congratulations to the 5 competitors who have now exceed last years marker. Andrew Whitehouse leads the way with John Bowler and Stephen Welch just behind with all to play for in De...

Steve Stansfields score continues to creep up on Bardsey whilst Ben again fails to make any additions. Jason Moss remains in third with Matt Meehan fourth. David Carrington managed Glamorgan's second latest Osprey record. Other highlights were pretty standard fare with GN Diver, Snow Bunting and Firecrest doing the rounds. Alison continues to hang on at the top with the Bardsey boys in second and third. A plethora of patches in the 90s mean we may see a mass crossing of the 100% barrier fuelled by too much turkey!

Back to real life for some of our patchers and the now familiar top three remains the same with Wayne Gillatt well clear and seemingly putting the inland north minileague to bed. No updates from Darren Starkey leaves Fairburn ahead of St Aidan's. Tom Lowe closes the gap by 10 chiefly because of a self-found Great White Egret. Best of the other finds this month goes to Phil Woollen with an inland Yellow-browed Warbler. We all know that this may be somewhat overshadowed by a certain pipit come the year end but here we celebrate November. Bill Aspin and Pete Antrobus both added Willow Tit which becomes more difficult each year and remarkably this is Bill's first record at Brockholes. James Common continues to be well clear in the comparative league, top by 20% on a cracking as he also managed to catch up with the Rough-legged Buzzard on his patch. PWC's own Pete Williams has retained second at Laycock and Phil Woollen becomes the third member of the 100 club thanks to t...

Tim remains in top place despite not updating this month. Martin cuts the gap with 12 points although a 44 point margin would seem unbridgeable with just one month to go. Jane Turner is well clear in third with a handsome 13 point cushion from Iain Robson at Druridge who himself is under threat from Chris Bradshaw. The battle of two Northumbrian birders sees them both on 210 points but could Tom Cadwallender's experience tell come the turn of the year (or is Jack's freshers term finishing going to give him the time to take the lead ). Seumus Eaves at Fleetwood holds 8th ahead of Alan Tilmouth while Ash Baines closes on James's Barmston patch. Plenty of positions to play for at this late stage! Highlights this month were decidedly wintery. Best find goes to Martin Garner with a Rough-legged Buzzard from home. A Hume's and Pallas's Warbler double sadly led to no bonus points for Jack Bucknall (whilst James missed them both). Little Auks, Long-tailed Ducks and Gre...

The Bresser & Forest Optics Best Find Competition  is the highlight of the  Patchwork Challenge year. This is the best find of the whole patchbirding year as voted for by you, the competitors.  For the winner of the competition, those fine folk at Bresser & Forest Optics are very generously furnishing the winner of this esteemed competition with a pair of Bresser Montana 8.5 x 45 Binoculars worth £665.00. Follow the link to check out this superb reward for one lucky contender. October was great month with many good birds in the British Isles including Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Cornwall and Black-billed Cuckoo in North Ronaldsay.   However great these birds are, as they were not found by patchworkers, they don't qualify for the competition and have to be ignored. Another near miss for the competition was Pallid Harrier - one was found by Roger Musgrove but sadly not on patch, whilst Dick Best had one on pat...

For those not jet-setting off to Shetland or Scilly, what better place to be in October than on your own patch in the Coastal North (should you be so lucky!), a minileague laden down with top notch rares. With a species list of 218, a points score of 407 (yes, you read that right!) and a points per bird score of 1.86, Tim Jones at Spurn is truly untouchable in the Coastal North Minileague. This is what Tim had to say for himself in the highlights section of the monthly submission form... "Highlights:  Too many to remember let alone list here! My best months birding ever with what felt like a constant stream of quality throughout the month! Second Pallid Swift of the year, biggest day total of Goldcrest ringed with 529, nearly breaking the Tree Sparrow record with 2285 flying south, smashing the Bonxie record when 335 flew south, 3x Leach's Petrel, Radde's Warbler, Sabine's Gull, grip back Hoopoe after missing spring bird, 2x Rough-legged Buzzard, Isabe...

Both Ian Cowgill at Lound and John Hopper at Hoveringham continued to increase their species lists since September but remain in their allotted first and second places respectively in the Midlands Minileague points table. Ian has a good lead by 11 species and 21 points ( including the first Grey Phalarope for Lound in 31 years) , will this be enough to ensure first place come the end of the year? Seven new species including Hawfinch & Water Pipit for Andy Mackay at Eyebrook Reservoir sees him take third place from Nick Crouch at Collingham & Besthorpe whilst Matthew Bruce moves into fifth with thirteen new species (including Great Skua) at Draycote Water. A Yellow-browed Warbler was a top find for Matt Griffiths at Earlswood and only the second record for Warwickshire, ensuring he crossed the 100% mark, staying in first place in the comparative league. Dave Roberts at Marston takes second place from Nick Crouch but only by a matter of 0.8%

A self-found Penduline Tit for Ben Lewis at Mid Yare Valley RSPB helps him close the gap between second and first place, the latter currently held by Jamie Wells at Paxton Pits. Just three points separate the two. Steve Swinney at Linford remains in third but managed to add an impressive ten species since September including Eider, Little Tern and Short-eared Owl on consecutive days. Some great patch birding there! Whilst Jamie and Ben will certainly be battling it out for first place over the next two months it would be worth keeping on eye on Steve as he'll certainly cross the 200 points mark and given the excellent year he's having it will be interesting to see how it all settles come 31st December.  Nick Moran at Thetford edges closer to the 10,000 records mark for BirdTrack. Great to see plenty of other patchworkers well into their thousands of records in this league also. The highlight of the month for James Appleton at Ebridge Mill was h alf a ...

Tim Hodge is still leading the way as he approaches the 350 point mark for Horsey while James Brown looks comfortable in second at Lowestoft with a 19 point cushion to Gary White in third. The fight for the bronze medal looks like it will go to the wire with 14 points separating four patches! Best finds of the month were standard October fair with a few Richard's Pipits, YBWs, Pallas's Warbler and Lapland Buntings making it onto more than one patch in October. The region also benefited from the recent Rough-legged Buzzard influx with three patchers finding one this month. Gary White maintains a healthy lead in the comparative scores with a 16% lead. Less than 1.4% separates the next three patches, with Craig Fultcher leading the way, so the other spots in the top three are all to play for with two months to go.

Wayne Gillatt continues to Maintain his 18 point lead at the top of the group. Both of  Darren Starkey's patches slipped this month, losing 2nd place to Jamie Wells and 4th to Ben Lewis and with just 5 points separating 2nd - 5th there' s still plenty of time for more change.    Top find of the month goes to Ben Lewis with a Penduline Tit at Mid Yare Valley. Other notable finds were Yellow-browed Warblers for Marcus Lawson and Matt Griffiths (only the 2nd Warwickshire record), Hawfinch for Andy Mackay (who returned to the table in 17th place), and a Blue Tit (far rarer than Yellow-browed Warbler on Orkney) for Alastair Forsyth.

The temptation of autumn rarities proved too much for several of the Inland North's birders this month, with some having very little time for patch choosing to spend much of October birding islands in the far north or drinking beer  on the Scilly Isles. Meanwhile, Wayne Gillatt continues his dominance at the top with an almost seemingly unattainable lead, adding Cetti's Warbler and Gannet during the month. The former species was also added by Tom Lowe, a new species at Thorne Moors. Surprisingly a Jack Snipe at Fairburn was the first of the year for Darren Starkey who also added a patch tick with Raven at St Aidan's. The mid-table spat between Bill Aspin, Jonny Holliday and Mark Reeder continues. With all 3 away for much of  October there was little change, though Bill appears to be breaking away and moving onto his next targets Andy Bunting and Tom Lowe. A few notable birds for James Common at Stobswood with Slavonian Grebe, Rough-legged Buzzard, Snow Bunting and his...

A quiet October for the Inland Scotland points league, with three new species added by Alastair Forsyth at Old Nisthouse ensuring his lead remains unchallenged (a Siberian Chiffchaff and a patch tick Blue Tit the highlights for him). Just rewards for a non-motorised and active BirdTrack contributing patchworker. The only real change on the rest of the points league table concerns Graeme Garner at Cambus who crossed the 100 species mark taking him from third to second place. No change the comparative league rankings whatsoever with Alastair now rocking a fine 129.7%. Andy Cage at Kilmany increased his second place score slightly. Will Chris Pendlebury at Dunblane take his spot by the end of the year?