South West Minileague - December

Joe Stockwell wins the South West minileague by a handsome margin of 47 points despite last years winner Kev Rylands better his former score by a point (and this when he professed he wouldnt be able to match 2013's effort levels), Sean Foote, another debutant and NGB'er managed to finish third and was only 18 points back on Kev. Marcus Lawson at Swineham managed to split the Bridgwater Bay duo overhauling Dick Best at the last and you could throw a hankerchief over 4th to 11th with small gaps between all these positions. Dan Chaney added 12 points in December to climb a couple of spots into 9th. Aaron B at Axmouth managed to climb a couple of places in December and finished in 19th place. Very well done all!

Highlights for December included Merlin, Pintail, a record count of Med Gulls at Sutton Bingham Reservoir and 3 Penduline Tits which moved all over the Topsham area (I know, I dipped!).

Roger Musgrove completed a fine year at Wall Common with a 116.4% giving him the win in the comparative table. Most of the difference is down to a single bird, the very smart first winter Pallid Harrier which spent an extended period in the autumn around Steart and Wall Common. Dan Chaney in second managed to jump three places thanks to a December Yellow-browed Warbler and a relative glut of December points. Shaun Robson at Lytchett Bay overcomes his Poole Harbour rival Marcus Lawson in the comparative scores despite losing out on straight points. Kev Rylands as mentioned earlier becomes the sixth and final player in the South West to better their 2013 score.