Inland South Minileagues - January 2016

There were some fast starts and big scores in the Inland South Minileague and none were quicker than Ian Bennell as he rattled up over 78.6% of his comparative score. Four points were courtesy of the Bonaparte's Gull which was a mega for Hertfordshire. Lee Evans also connected with this bird leaving both patchers very happy. Ian also managed to patch tick Marsh Tit and add his second patch Slavonian Grebe. Richard Scantlebury is in second place in the comparative table after a flying start on his Fishponds patch in Bristol with Firecrest and Peregrine his January highlights. Third place goes to Tom Stevenson who is also over the 70% mark already and sitting pretty on 72.2%.

Nick Croft tops the Inland South minileague after a record breaking start to the year at Wanstead. He also managed to uncover the rarest bird of the month and possibly a contender for the Forest Optic Best Find competition after turning up an unseasonal Great Snipe on the 3rd Jan. Head over to Nick's blog for the full story Wanstead Birding. He finished the month with 97 points, just a point ahead of Ian Bennell and a further two infront of Lee Evans, both at Tring Reservoirs.

Bonaparte's Gull - Ian Bennell

Away from the top three there was plenty of interest in January with Great White Egrets present on a number of patches including bonus points for Nigel Milbourne and Neil Burt. There were more bonus points in the form of a Great Grey Shrike for Roger Hicks at Henlow Grange. Nigel Harris, who watches his London garden, managed a Firecrest to get him started. Last years winner, Tom Raven, cleared up on the rare and scarce birds that still grace his Avalon Marshes patch with Dusky Warbler, Glossy Ibis and Great White Egret all under the belt. Roger Murfitt had a superb New Year's Day when he found a male Smew at Moor Green Lakes. Paul Freestone has added his home patch to the challenge this year and got a surprise garden tick in the form of a Merlin from the lounge window. There was a glut of two-pointers for James McCulloch as he got off to a flyer in his first attempt at the challenge with Bittern, Scaup, Mealy Redpoll, Caspian Gull and more all recorded on his Surrey patch. Finally Josie Hewitt managed her second patch record of Crossbill with half a dozen at Blackbushe.