North Portland 2014 - Sean Foote

Kilcoole 2014 - Niall Keogh

It was going to take some serious luck and determination in 2014 to beat my 2013 patch birding efforts at Kilcoole. A new patch year list record of 152 species was set in 2013 thanks to extra effort facilitated by living on site for three months in a caravan as a tern warden resulting in a decent showing of patch scarce and rare. I figured 2014 would fall well short on account of working offshore or abroad for extended periods during the year. By some miracle I ended up with an equal species list and a points total just shy of the previous year plus three #fullfatpatchticks (patch life list now on 205) and lots of #patchgold. The thought of matching this in 2015 is looking rather daunting now!

Here’s a synopsis of how it all went…

JANUARY

The year got off to a flier with a sneaky twitch on 2^nd for a Crane present on the coastal fields at Newcastle. This bird was a patch tick when it first showed up in Nov 2013 (found by local birders Cian and Tommy Cardiff) so great to get it again on another year list.

Crane

My first full day of the year came on 8^th when I went down to survey the entire stretch of marsh and coast between Kilcoole, Newcastle and Blackditch East Coast Nature Reserve (ECNR) for the monthly I-WeBS count. This resulted in a fine 1^st-winter albifrons White-fronted Goose among the Icelandic Greylag Geese wintering here. Score! The first time I have seen this subspecies on the patch. It hung around until March but remained elusive. Other patch scarce on the day included Redwing, Feral Pigeon(!), Great Northern Diver, Grey Plover, Mediterranean Gull, male Hen Harrier, Merlin and a fine Snow Bunting. A fantastic start seeing me on 79 species by the months end.

Russian White-fronted Goose

FEBRUARY

The undoubted highlight of the month was a brute of an adult Ring-billed Gull day roosting on the flooded coastal fields at ECNR on 20^th. My third patch record and the first since 1997! Blustery conditions towards the end of the month added Great Crested Grebe and Little Gull off the back of some winter seawatching. Both good species here. Excellent flood conditions on the marshes resulted in peak counts of 286 Icelandic Greylag Geese, c.750 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits and 68 Shoveler. A Carrion Crow at ECNR on 28^th was another most welcome addition (they’re just about annual) bumping me up to 95 species.

Ring-billed Gull

MARCH

A Tree Sparrow found by Stephen McAvoy in a farmyard along Newcastle Sea Road during the Wicklow County Bird Race was duly twitched and became the first #fullfatpatchtick of the year! One I have been waiting a long time for. The rest of the month was largely uneventful save for another go at the Russian White-fronted Goose, a Dark-bellied Brent Goose among a peak count of c.785 Light-bellied Brent Geese and the first Chiffchaff of the year on 15^th. I was away off to sea then until the second week of April.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

APRIL

Back with a bang on 11^th with Spring migration in full swing. The ensuing ticking bonanza saw a tidy 21 species of migrants added bringing me to 118 species for the year. Most of these were the expected fare (Wheatear, warblers, hirundines etc.) but included Marsh Harrier and a flyover Pink-footed Goose at ECNR, Arctic Skua and Arctic Tern offshore, singing Reed Warblers back on territory and a stunning male Whinchat at Kilcoole on 26^th, just my second patch record. Managed to finally connect with Black Guillemot in April also, a species I normally see on Day 1 in January! Bird of the month (and quite possibly the year) goes to a stonking white-headed sinensis Cormorant at Newcastle on 22nd. Again, like the albifrons White-fronted Goose, this was another new subspecies for my patch list.

Whinchat

sinensis Cormorant

MAY

Probably one of the best months to be birding on the patch but unfortunately I was away for most of it. As such just three species were added: Swift, Bar-tailed Godwit and a flyover Yellow Wagtail.

JUNE

Some extended volunteering at the Little Tern colony over ten days of glorious weather across the month made up for a lot of lost ground adding 9 new species including Puffin, Storm Petrel, Roseate Tern, Knot and best of all a flyover Osprey on 4^th, my third patch record. Half time scores were 131 species and 169 points (83.25%) comparing well with 136 species and 176 points by the same stage in 2013.

Osprey

Reed Warbler... a bumper breeding season for these on the patch (this one caught & ringed during CES)

JULY

More volunteering at the Little Tern colony through July added some class species. The first of these was an epic Long-eared Owl on the morning of the 5^th, seen at 0415 when on my way down to ECNR for a CES ringing session. Fantastic views of it hunting for half an hour! A most unexpected sight of a flyover Bonxie along the beach on 26^th caused quite a stir at the tern colony! Rambling around the wood at ECNR I connected with a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker first detected there some days previously by the CES team. Great to see Spotted Flycatchers and Reed Warblers breeding successfully there this year too, a real highlight. The 30^th saw two very fine passage waders drop onto the marsh, a juvenile Wood Sandpiper in the early morning followed up by a cracking moulting male Ruff which joined it that evening.

Wood Sandpiper

Ruff

AUGUST

Just one patch year tick in August bringing me to 140 for the year, a brace of Green Sandpipers on the lagoon during the first week. A female Whinchat on 9^th was the second record of that species of the year and only my third patch record overall (but I assume they are more regular than I have recorded). The Little Tern colony had its most successful breeding season on record with 120 pairs fledging a max. of 219 young. Superb! Then it was off to my perch at The Bridges of Ross for some seawatching during the second half of the month.

Colour ringed Little Terns coming to a beach near you!

SEPTEMBER

While scanning the marsh on 12^th I could here the raucous call of some Jays coming from a nearby hedge! Totally unexpected, figured I'd get them in the wood at ECNR but three were here on the closest set of tree lined hedge to the coast. Migrants or dispersing locals? Leading a BirdWatch Ireland branch outing to Kilcoole on 27^th resulted in a distant Red Kite soaring with Buzzards over the inland hills. The second #fullfatpatchtick of the year and one which was on the cards. It was so far away I couldn't see if it had wing tags or not. That'll do! A snazzy juvenile Marsh Harrier arrived towards the end of the month and proceeded to spend the winter here.

Jay

Leucistic Wheatear

Marsh Harrier

OCTOBER

Got down for a cursory look on 1st before heading off to sea for three weeks and was chuffed with the sight of a female Pintail sat in Webb's field. Back on dry land and on the patch on 27^th and a Rock Pipit was waiting for me in The Breaches (well earned after much searching) followed up by some bonus rare subspecies points from a Siberian Chiffchaff on 29^th which made its way inland along Newcastle Sea Road, calling its head off! Some southbound Greenland White-fronted Geese overhead topped off the month nicely.

NOVEMBER

Unreal scenes! November came out of nowhere and added no less than 8 new species to the patch year list. It all started with some #patchgold. I had planned to meet up with Des Higgins on 7^th to go trampling around the wood in ECNR for Woodcock (a lifer for him and a patch tick for me). Having checked the marsh at Kilcoole that morning and making my way down to the reserve via Newcastle, I got a phone call from Des to say he had just seen a Lesser Whitethroat at the main entrance to ECNR! I made it just in time to get a couple of brief but close views as it fed in a wee copse. Certainly had an eastern feel to it but never called or showed its outer tail feathers so we’ll never know for sure. My second patch record after connecting with it as my 200^th patch tick last summer.

Flyby Red-breasted Mergansers offshore on 14^th and 20^th were great to get seeing as I missed out on them in 2013. Down for an I-WeBS count on the 7^th where a feral canadensis type Canada Goose was looking suitably shifty in Webb’s field. Dodgy but it will do! My last two Swallows of the year on the same day also. Late Nov saw quite a few Black Redstarts arriving along the East coast. With that on 26^th I made the point of having a look around The Breaches railway bridge as it is a likely looking spot for one…and there it was! My third patch record. Delighted. This was followed swiftly by a Barnacle Goose in Webb’s field with the Brent. The 150^th species for the year.

Canada Goose

Black Redstart

Barnacle Goose

Fieldfares can be right dodgers here on the east coast, easily missed if not seen during migration or if a cold snap doesn't set in. Quite pleased to get four birds at Newcastle from 25^th. Taking part in the Cameron Bespolka Bird Race at the end of Nov paid real dividends, a total of 91 species recorded between 28^th and 29^th including Jack Snipe and Yellow-legged Gull. The Jack Snipe came in the last hour of light on 28^th after spending all day trashing about likely habitat. One finally appeared on the edge of some flooded saltmarsh in The Breaches (thank Jaysus!). The 3^rd-winter Yellow-legged Gull was the final #fullfatpatchtick of the year. It flew south along the coast past Kilcoole train station on the afternoon of 29^th with a mixed flock of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Textbook! Species number 205 for the patch life list and number 152 for the PWC2014 list.

DECEMBER

By this stage I was getting around to just enjoying some generally fine birding on the patch with nice arrivals of winter visitors in decent numbers and so on. My (failed) quest for patch ticking Woodcock continued with some more visits into the wood at ECNR. Three Chiffchaffs with a roving flock there on 3^rd were nice but no Hume's! Goodies such as the juv Marsh Harrier, Barnacle Goose and Canada Goose were still hanging around, threatening to stay into 2015 (edit: they did… Hurrah). My last visit was on 5^th and then work, friends, family, festivities, turkey dinners, bottles of wine, tins of chocolates, Jurassic Park on the telly and all that got in the way.

The year finished on 152 species, 199 points and 98.02%. All in all a fine result.

And now, the dips…

There were many, including a few howlers!...

Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull (continuing as my patch bogey!), Purple Sandpiper, Garganey, Mandarin Duck, Spoonbill, Curlew Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Little Stint, Black Kite, Long-tailed Duck and Scaup.

Thetford 2014 - Nick Moran

Thetford - PWC2014

Patchwork Challenge Year 2 had lots to live up to at the Nunnery Lakes and surrounding area south of Thetford. 2013 had started in style with the long-staying Black-bellied Dipper and an always-welcome patch Waxwing. It culminated with a fantastic late-autumn haul of Mediterranean Gull (surprisingly scarce in Breckland and a patch-tick for me) then better still, self-found Kittiwake and Green-winged Teal on consecutive days in November: true #patchgold! Winter 2013/14 proved to be a ‘finch winter’; the appearance of several Common Redpoll in early December was a fitting way to round off a great year, which saw me end on 130 species / 155 points. I managed a respectable 6th place – all ‘green’ a.k.a entirely non-motorised – in the incredibly tough Inland East Anglia mini-league, against some ridiculous competition: step forward Jamie Wells at Paxton Inland Sea and Ben Lewis along most of the Mid Yare Valley!

January

Vital statistics: 79 species/85 points; 1,356 BirdTrack records/35 Complete Lists; 7th in Points table

Celebrating New Year very modestly in Thetford (I’m getting on, you see) meant I was patch birding before first light on 1/1. By 10:30am I’d notched up an encouraging 61 species/62 points (every southern half of Britain PWCer’s favourite ‘tarty 2-pointer’ – Little Egret – bagged at the first attempt). As I arrived home, the ‘phone rang and fellow Nunnery Lakes patcher Neil Calbrade breathlessly informed me he was watching a Hawfinch 800m from my front door! About-turn, dash back out and the first quality bird of 2014 was secured on day 1! Common Redpoll began to appear at our feeder site as early as 3/1, with Peregrine (9/1) and Jack Snipe (31/1) both ‘January patch ticks’ too, and other great 2-pointers to register early on. Pochard (1/1), Wigeon (27/1), Yellow-legged Gull (28/1), a couple of Woodcock, Chiffchaff (doesn’t winter annually on my patch) and plenty of Brambling constituted the best of the rest.

Common Redpoll : I like frosties in the morning

If I stay really still.....Jack Snipe© Neil Calbrade

February

Scores on the doors: 86 species/93 points; 2,125 BirdTrack records/53 Complete Lists; 7th in Points table

After such a positive start, February ran aground somewhat. Red Kite (13/2) was the only 2-pointer and ‘patch month-tick’ to fall, with Goosander the next day the only other species of genuine note. Skylark belatedly came on board 3/2, with Great Crested Grebe following a week later. My earliest-ever returning Curlew showed up on 10/2 and the next returning breeding wader, Oystercatcher, appeared on 23/2.

March

Numbers up: 87 species/94 points; 2,723 BirdTrack records/66 Complete Lists; 10th in Points table

If February was on the quiet side, March was dead (though spending over a week of it in Morocco probably didn’t help). The only addition was Shelduck (22/3). I had to ‘let a crossbill go’ the same day; given the prevalence of rarer crossbills around the country at the time, it didn’t seem entirely sporting to chalk up Common Crossbill on the basis of a couple of calls and the briefest of flight-views. Ending the month 10th in the Points table would prove a sign of things to come.

April

Stat attack: 107 species/116 points; 4,227 BirdTrack records/98 Complete Lists; 6th in Points table

I’m not sure about other inland (or even coastal) patches but April is by far and away the most diverse month in the Brecks. With 111 species recorded on patch over the previous 4 Aprils, it was time to apply Positive Mental Attitude and hit the patch hard. The abundance of BTO nest-recorders and birders had the same idea, exemplified by the fact that at 8:05am on 3/4, I was the 4th person onto the Nunnery Lakes’ first-ever Red-crested Pochard! Good job there were no find-points at stake. Ring Ouzel was true star of the month though, with Reserve Manager Chris Gregory, Neil Calbrade and I laying claim to one each during the period 2–22/4 (all of which I managed to see). To put that into context, I’d never logged a spring Ring Ouzel in my previous 4 years on patch. Common Tern (28/4) was the other patch month-tick, though Green Sandpiper (2/4), Stone-curlew (3/4), Lesser Whitethroat (22/4), Whinchat (25/4) and Little Ringed Plover (28/4) are equally worthy of mention. The nature of the previous year’s breeding season probably accounts for why it took me until 29/4 to record Barn Owl!

May

Numbers game: 115 species/126 points; 5,056 BirdTrack records/121 Complete Lists; 9th in Points table

May started with a bang. My Number 1 patch bogey-bird, Goshawk, finally gave itself up on 4/5, while Little Owl and Wheatear the same day were new for the patch in May. Other new birds for both May and PWC2014 were Yellow Wagtail (13/5), Grey Partridge (14/5) and a Spotted Flycatcher (16/5), the lattering first appearing on my TV aerial! Late-returning migrants Swift (2/5) and Hobby (11/5 – a very late date by local standards) rounded off an encouraging month.

Spotted Flycatcher : Proper record shot

June

Déjà vu: 115 species/126 points; 5,251 BirdTrack records/126 Complete Lists; 9th in Points table

Siskin (7/6) and Little Ringed Plover (25/6) were ‘patch June ticks’, and it transpired that last month’s Spotted Flycatcher had hung around to breed close enough for me to ring one of its offspring in my garden! However, as far as PWC2014 was concerned, a dreaded ‘dot month’.

Spotted Flycatcher Jnr

July

And at the end of that round: 118 species/130 points; 5,755 BirdTrack records/140 Complete Lists; 7th in Points table

Although to all intents and purposes 2014 was a dire late summer/autumn for waders inland (in our part of the country, at least), I did manage Common Sandpiper (12/7) and patch-mega Whimbrel (21/7). Turtle Dove (2/7) is barely annual these days; sadly a species that’s becoming increasingly worthy of an upgrade to (at least!) 2 points…

August

Score: 120 species/132 points; 6,559 BirdTrack records/162 Complete Lists; 9th in Points table

Bird of the month was undoubtedly a Redstart (18/8) that I managed to bump into nearly a week after it was first seen by another BTO Nunnery Lakes regular. My other PWC2014 addition was Shoveler (27/8); that, the Redstart, the Spotted Flycatcher family and a Water Rail (30/8) accounted for my 4 patch month-ticks for August.

September

Stagnating stats: 121 species/134 points; 8,321 BirdTrack records/214 Complete Lists; 10th in Points table

Hmm. September. The time the coast goes crazy while the (my) inland patch goes to sleep. Fortunately another long-overdue patch-tick, Woodlark (9/9 and 21/9), came to my rescue; otherwise a Lesser Whitethroat (3/9) was my first autumn record on patch and Herring Gull (9/9) barely deserves a mention as a patch September tick.

October

Score draw: 121 species/134 points; 9,230 BirdTrack records/233 Complete Lists; 10th in Points table

See September. Demonstrating bus-like tendencies, Woodlark (3/10) made it onto my October patch-list. Otherwise my latest-ever patch Reed Warbler (4/10) was the sum total reward for my efforts. Away-patching (whatever happened to that?!) proved more profitable, with a self-found Olive-backed Pipit the highlight of a very enjoyable week on St Agnes, while Scolt Head Island yielded Red-necked Grebe, Great Grey Shrike and Pallas’s Warbler, to go with blythi-type Lesser Whitethroat, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Wryneck the previous month.

Blythi-type Lesser Whitethroat : Coastal patch? Taking candy from a baby, more like ;-)

November

Countdown: 123 species/137 points; 10,316 BirdTrack records/256 Complete Lists; 9th in Points table

Like 2013, November trumped October. However, nice though they were, the 4 Bearded Tit (3/11) in the balancing pond between the Nunnery and my house and a female Goldeneye (10/11) weren’t in the same league as the heady delights of November 2013. Grey Partridge, Goshawk and Tawny Owl (!) were new on patch for the month.

Bearded Tit ©Neil Calbrade

December

Final Score: 124 species/139 points; 11,442 BirdTrack records/280 Complete Lists; 10th in Points table

Having presented him with a Bearded patch-tick in November, I was more than a little gripped when Neil Calbrade photo-IDed a flock of Whooper Swans over the Nunnery Lakes 2 days later while I was away at a meeting. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait too long for this much-craved patch-tick, as a lone Whooper Swan flew over my head on 1/12. And that was it; many more hours hard patch-graft, tails of ultra-rare pipits raining down onto other inland patches, but diddly squat to trouble the scorer in my neck of the woods.

On the plus side, apart from another fascinating year of green patch-birding, some smart birds and 4 patch-ticks along the way, I’ve knocked down my comparative score to something a little more attainable in 2015! Bring it on…

Species Accumulation and Species by Month graphs, generated using Explore My Records in www.birdtrack.net