Long time leader of the Coastal North comparative league (Ash Baines) does it for the west coast and canters to victory. An excellent 132% is a great score topped up with a Snow Bunting in December. Ash's highlight for the year was undoubtedly Desert Wheatear with Yellow-browed Warbler and Pomarine Skua representing a fine supporting cast. Well done Ash, your score will definitely make it harder in 2017! Damian Money had an excellent year at Saltburn to seal second place, scoring maximum points for arguably the #PWC2016 bird of the year in the form of a Siberian Accentor.
Siberian Accentor (c) Damian Money
Third spot goes to PWC's own James Spencer. Barmston sits in the shadow of Flamborough Head and James will be swapping one for the other this year, so it is great to end on a high.
The top eight all surpassed the 100% mark, a great performance.
The coastal north points league it where the big east coast hitters come out to play. The Spurn and Easington areas in particular always generate some monster scores that top the overall points league and this year is no exception. Tim Jones is a familiar name at the top and does it again, matched species for species by Mick Turton but with a better points per bird total, both totalling more than 400 points!! Paul French will be a force to be reckoned with as well in 2017 and falls just shy of the leading pair this time on 392 points. Tim won't be competing in 2017 so Mick and Paul will be battling it out for top spot but will the east coast get another year like 2016?
Nick Addey finished fourth above Andy Hood at Flamborough. Nick scores more than 300 points as he takes a break for #PWC2017. Meanwhile Andy has entertained us with his pictures from Flamborough all year and some superb birds. Well done both.
December was short on highlights from the coastal north, with new additions hard to come by at these locations after the rush of autumn. Tim Jones and Mick Turton added a Glaucous Gull whilst Mick also enjoyed a Purple Sandpiper, not the easiest bird at Spurn. Nick Addey added Red-necked Grebe whilst a Long-tailed Duck was a #fullfatpatchtick for Nige Lound at Crook Bank. Nige Lound also had the privilege of two Shore Larks at his Rimac patch - a joy of a bird. Final mention for December goes to Will Scott who added a few extra points at the death to finish in mid-table including a White-fronted Goose.
2016 was a tremendous year for rarities in coastal north. There have been some excellent birds found on patches in what has been a superb autumn, particularly in the east. The year highlights include Siberian Accentor, Eastern Black Redstart, Paddyfield Warbler, Desert Wheatear, Citrine Wagtail, Kumlien's Gull, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Brown Shrike, Isabelline Wheatear, Stejneger's Stonechat, etc etc...
It really has been an excellent year, thanks to all who contributed to it.
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