Patchwork Challenge

Change again at the top of the coastal north comparative league with NGB Ash Baines displacing former front-runner Stewart Sexton with the help of 10 species and 18 points gained during September. Both Ash and Stewart broke the coveted 100% barrier this month with the addition of some good birds at Starr Gate-Fairlawn Road and Howick respectively. Seumus Evans falls to third place this month with Chris Bradshaw still firmly rooted in fourth. Further down the table Patchwork's own James Spencer climbs from seventh to fifth though aside from this things remain largely unchanged towards the lower reaches of this extremely competitive minileague. Some truly monstrous scores throughout the points minileague this month. More than enough to make this particular admin a tad nervous about joining this league next year! Mick Turton remains in first place and looks unstoppable as the years end draws ever nearer, a whopping 67 points ahead of his nearest rival. Martin Garner resides in...

Alison is still top at LlanfairTH although Henry Cook's Conwy patch is playing catch up on 113% and just 13% behind. Perhaps a good October can make the difference. His Little Orme patch also makes strides up the table, moving onto 108% thanks to Arctic Skua, Little Tern and best of all a Marsh Tit. Barry Stewart added 21 points in September to move from third to first. This month he added Goshawk, Little Stint, Whinchat and of course a fine Mandarin. David Carrington managed a little more quality with a flock of Chough and a Cattle Egret on patch at Sker and Kenfig. Laurie Allnatt is still on the podium and has left his post Llanelli so will likely slide out of the top three pretty shortly. No bonus points this month although the first Black Tern since 1966 at Rudry Common was a decent bird for Trevor Fletcher. Little Stint, Conwy RSPB - Henry Cook

Steven Ward's rein at the top of the Inland North Comparative minileague was short-lived as Nick Morgan takes over at the top thanks to his second patch record of Osprey. Nick Tonge manages to hold onto the podium despite no submission and Keith Dickinson also failed to make any progress. Darren Starkey sees his lead at the top cut as he failed to add any points whilst Garry Taylor managed to jump into second after his first update in a couple of months. Andy Bunting manages to hold onto third despite adding just a single point. Best find this month goes to Paul Massey at Grindon Lough as an eclipse drake American Wigeon materialised amongst the moulting ducks. There was a Yellow-browed Warbler for Damian Money at Skelton-in-Cleveland. John Law managed to connect with the Pectoral Sandpiper at Adwick Wetlands. Pete Antrobus added Wood Sandpiper and patch ticked Spotted Fly at Neumann's Flashes. At Wykeham lakes Chris Bradshaw found a Caspian Gull and added Stonechat to h...

Being relatively new to Patchwork Challenge (#PWC2015 is my first!) I’m more than pleased to have been considered to join the current admin team.  As I’m joining the PWC team, I should probably quickly introduce myself: I’m Sacha, a general nature and wildlife enthusiast from County Durham. A passion for wildlife rules my life – I work in ecology and spend my spare time bird watching/ringing. While I’m slightly obsessed with most wild creatures, birds are my passion and are often the reason I’m outdoors exploring the local landscape. I’ve always had a “patch” of some description, whether it was simply where I walked the dogs or where I worked, however, having discovered Burdon Moor and the surrounding area when I moved house, my interest in patch birding has changed. Birding locally on a patch for me has become more than just a pleasant way to spend the day but has evolved into a pastime filled with expectation and eagerness for what will drop in or flyover next. Further, keepi...

Despite being part of the PWC admin team I am useless when it comes to using Facebook but the last 11 days on patch have been some of the most enjoyable days I’ve had at Hemsby and it had finally given me the kick up the backside I needed to post on Facebook but I soon realised that it is too long for a FB post so here we are: 11 days in the life of a patcher! It was on the 8 th October when it all really started kicking off here, a pre-work walk round the Kings Loke (a small patch of trees, scrub and long grass near my house) was duly rewarded with some notable patch birds and this is what I wrote in my notebook: “Great morning, finches constantly moving overhead including 4 Crossbills . 2 Yellow-browed Warbler near east entrance to Kings Loke and a Swift overhead. Another YBW and 2 Firecrest with a large tit/crest flock in the middle of the Loke. Also a Ring Ouzel on the hedgerow. Finally, a Black Redstart on the roof of house two doors down from my house and 4 Snow Bun...

You may or may not have seen us mention on Twitter and Facebook that on the weekend of Saturday 7th / Sunday 8th November some #PWC2015 activities will be taking place. Well let us explain this in more detail now! It has a double edged sword to it, a last hurrah for the autumn and a push to keep everyone enthused in PWC with the winter coming up and the new year fast approaching (yes, #PWC2016 isn’t far off!). Some late autumn bonus points could still be waiting on your patch..... So what does it involve? Visit your patch and do some birding and keep a list for the day, tweet about it as much as possible with the hashtags #PWC2015 and #patchday and encourage others to join in that haven’t taken part in PWC before, the more the merrier! And just in case you need some enticement we have a wee competition for the day and a prize to be won. We mentioned earlier to keep a list for your patch on the day as the person with the highest percentage of species seen o...

Tom Shields again finds himself at the top of the Midlands comparative league this month while Andy Sims jumps from fourth to second and Steve Lyon slides down to third. Both Andy and Steve surpassed the coveted 100% marker this month, aided by some nice scarcities at Boultham Mere and Marston respectively and testament to their hard work and dedication. Further down the table Andy Mackay loses ground and drops into fourth and John Hopper remains firmly rooted in fifth place with Andy certainly within touching distance of the 100% barrier. Sam Pitt Miller gains some ground in September, advancing from twelfth to ninth while Mark Gash leaps ahead of NGB's Matthew Bruce and Espen Quinto-Ashman, both of whom have been off patch for some time due to commitments elsewhere. There is still all to play for in the comparative league during October with only a few points separating the highest ranked competitors. It will be interesting to see how things develop in the weeks to come. T...

At the end of August, a total of three PWC contestants in the Inland South Minileague had reached or surpassed their 100% comp score targets. By the end of September we see this total rise to six. Tom Raven stays in first place at Shapwick Heath/Ham Wall, with five new species including Glossy Ibis and a self-found Cattle Egret boosting him from 112% to 121.65%. With an impressive list of waterbirds, this site is starting to look more and more like the Camargue! The addition of 13 new species in September for Josie Hewitt sees her Blackbushe Airfield patch leap from seventh to second place with a comp score of 110%. Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart and Wheatear were all welcome migrants for Josie, the sole representative of NGB in the Inland South minileague. Currently on 93 species and 102 points, will she make it to 100 species by the end of the year? Tom Stevenson does well to hold on to third place at Ewelme Watercress Beds where a #fullfatpatchtick Spott...

Having not been on patch for two months, Paul Freestone racked up nine year ticks in the space of two days at Gwithian during September. Whinchat was among the list of species which helped Paul break the 100 species barrier and reach a comp score of 118%, placing him firmly in first place on the Coastal South Comparative Minileague table.  Andy Rhodes and Amy Robjohns are now neck and neck in terms of species seen at their respective patches (Calshot and Titchfield Haven) and while Amy has scored more points overall, it is Andy's comp score of 114% which puts him ahead in second. Andy added no score for Sept while Amy reported highlights in the form of Razorbill, Roseate Tern and Cattle Egret.  Roseate Tern with Common Terns at Titchfield Haven  © Amy Robjohns Not to be overlooked are those climbing the ranks further down the table.  The battle to occupy podium positions in the Coastal South Comparative Minileague looks set to be an interesting one as ...

No change for Bryan Rains who remains in first place on the Islands Comparative Minileague table at Mull with 107%. Bolstering his second place score is Alastair Forsyth at Palace, Birsay where five Sooty Shearwaters (but still no Manx!) helped increase his post-milestone score to 104%. Gains are being made elsewhere on the table with those in third, fourth and fifth place now well in striking distance of their 100% target.  After his mega patch Magpie back in August, IanT added somewhat more expected but welcome species such as Pied Flycatcher and Turtle Dove to his Askernish list in September plus a #patchgold Whinchat, taking him to third place. David Wood has been knocked down from third to fourth on the Oa (a Pied Fly for him) while Stuart Taylor rises to fifth at Balivanich with a Grey Phalarope and his first ever Kestrel for the patch. Paul Higson increases his comp score from 76% to 91.9% at Quoyangry where two Pectoral Sandpipers together no doubt made for a ...

Ed Keeble continued his reign at the top of the Estuarine Minileague throughout September, adding a further two species and creeping ever closer to the coveted 100% milestone while Shaun Robson lurks closely behind, remaining firmly rooted in second place at his Lytchett Bay patch. Toby Collett made a rather impressive leap up the rankings this month, advancing from sixth to third and defining the term "patch gold" by unearthing a superb Wilson's Pharalope at RSPB Frampton Marsh. With less than a 4% difference between fourth and sixth positions a good showing in October will be sure to shake up the rankings once again and only time will tell if Toby can hold onto his place in the comparative triumvirate. Further down Martin Elcoate overtakes Joost Brandsma for seventh place, adding 11 species and 18 points since his last submission with highlights of Curlew Sandpiper, Black Tern and Spoonbill.  To the points minileague now and Paul Sullivan continues his stint a...

Stephen Welch is the first to reach the 100% milestone in the Coastal Scotland Comparative Minileague after a fine September at Gosford Bay where a male Surf Scoter, Black-throated Diver and his second patch Merlin in 11 years brought him to 134 species and 161 points. Mark Lewis finally got around to submitting his scores! With a comp score of 93.6%, he is catapulted all the way from last place to second, a feat greatly assisted by some excellent patch finds at Girdle ness (detailed below). Also at Girdle ness (and Torry), Andrew Whitehouse added 8 new species and 8% to his comp score, helping him keep his hold on fourth place. Bullfinch was a good patch find for him there. An epic September of patch birding at Girdle ness for Mark Lewis started with a cracking Red-footed Falcon (which showed extremely well) and was quickly followed up a couple of days later by his long awaited 200th patch tick in the form of a Sabine's Gull. It's product flurries like that w...

Chris Pendlebury tops the table again this month with 110% at Stirling yet it is small additions which make important changes to the rankings elsewhere in the Inland Scotland Comparative Minileague. Andy Cage added four species  to his Kilmany patch:  Kingfisher and Lesser Redpoll plus migrating Golden Plover and Pink-footed Geese. This puts him bang on 100 points, 100% comp score and straight into second place. Alastair Forsyth is knocked back into third place at Old Nisthouse but by less than 1%! Redstart was a #fullfatpatchtick for Alastair.  In the points league we see no change in the rankings except Chris Pendlebury's Kinneil patch which moves from ninth to seventh with a Wood Sandpiper a great bird for him there. Five patches now boast over 90 species and 100 points. Alastair Forsyth is still leading the charge in terms of BirdTrack submissions, with over 6,200 records and 220 lists added to date. Top marks for effort there!

As ever during early autumn migrants both rare and regular adorned the patches of various NGB members throughout September. From awe-inspiring continental raptors to gripping garden rarities, September produced some top birds throughout this extremely competitive league though yet again there was little change in the results tables, with a few notable exceptions.  Looking first at the comparative league and things remain largely the same excluding Josie Hewitt's monumental leap from 4th to 1st, edging Amy Robjohns out of the top spot and pushing former front runner James Common further down the rankings. Josie's rise to the top was aided and abetted by a host of familiar migrants including a long overdue Wheatear as well as Redstart and both Spotted and Pied Flycatchers. The latter of which notched while ringing. Whether or not Josie will keep the top spot is open to speculation with the following three competitors well within striking distance should their luck pick up du...

It seems that nobody wants to budge from their top five ranking positions in the Ireland Comparative Minileague! Eamonn O'Donnell adds another 2% to his first place comp score with Siskin and Lesser Redpoll at Ninch/Laytown during an excellent viz-mig September for those species. Additions of  Kingfisher and Stock Dove at Broad Lough for Alan Lauder sees him hang on the edge of 100% for his patch there in fourth place. While Niall Keogh failed to add any new species to his second place South Dublin Parks patch in September, some good local sightings there included an impressive flock of 72 Mediterranean Gulls , a juvenile Tufted Duck and 5 Ravens at Kilbogget Park. The main mover on the table is Tim Murphy, who now occupies sixth place at St. John's Point where an adult American Golden Plover was the minileague top find of the month at Killough Harbour. Neal Warnock got stuck in at Rathlin Island, adding seven new species with highlights including Sooty Shea...

Ben Moyes continues to advance his score and in doing so grows his lead to 5% over Nick Robinson thanks a brace of two pointers with Tree Pipit and Yellow-legged Gull doing the business this month. Nick's score has also increased a little after adding Yellow Wagtail on his UEA patch. Mike McCarthy failed to make any additions but keeps the third rung on the podium as Ben Rackstraw made just the smallest of gains. A very decent month for Alison Allen sees her surge to 96% - up 10% from August with pride of place taken by a Ring-necked Parakeet. Whinchat, Thetford - Nick Moran Jamie Wells lands the knockout blow in the trade off with Ben Lewis as he gains 12 points whilst his opponent failed to make any headway while Ashley McElwee also stuttered. Jamie's score was bolstered by an inland Yellow-browed Warbler (the first of many to feature this autumn I suggest) which whilst not a find was a handy three points and a superb bird inland. Nick Moran managed to add Whi...