Best Find Patchwork Challenge 2026 - January to June edition

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Hello from the Patchwork Challenge team!

We are now accepting submissions for the Best Find of the first half of Patchwork Challenge 2026, although you can still find birds eligible for this competition until the end of June. There are three Pin Badge prizes up for grabs, and here is how to get a hold of one of them. 

One of the Pin Badges up for grabs!

It doesn't need to be a particularly rare bird in a national sense, just something that made you excited to find. For example it could be how you have thought a hedgerow looks amazing for a Pied Flycatcher, but as you live in say Northamptonshire, it is a shockingly rare bird. Finally however, after years of checking that spot, you eventually come across one. We want to hear that buzz and excitement in your entry. 

Firstly, you will need to submit a paragraph or two to describe why that find on your patch was special. Ideally, it would say how you came across the bird on your patch, how many records there have been in your area but most importantly, how it made you feel. A couple of short paragraphs should be enough to convey this to the public, as this will be put forward to them for a vote, alongside a picture of the bird if you have one. 

Secondly, your find, once it has been submitted to us via email by 7th July, will be put live a few days after that to a public vote. The email address to send them to us is patchworkchallenge@gmail.com. The entries will be put onto the blog and linked to a vote on a Google Form. This vote will last a week, and the top three voted finds will all recieve a prize pin badge in the post. 

We ran a similar competition last year, and you can find those entries for some inspiration here: https://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/01/best-find-2025.html 

Good luck and we look forward to seeing your entries! 

The Patchwork Challenge team

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