Patchwork Challenge

There was no let up for Noel Keogh at South Dublin Bay who added Fieldfare, Jack Snipe and Eider to his year list in December, bringing him up to 124.09% at the top of the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague. The rest of the top five here managed to equal or better their 100% target but second place was 19% or so behind Noel. Woodcock and Pheasant added in December at the Bann Estuary ( patch blog here ) allowed Richard Donaghey to keep hold of second place while a fine end to the year for Cathal Forkan at North Galway Bay helped him to claim a podium position, moving up from fifth to third thanks to a #fullfatpatchtick  Fieldfare plus Black Redstart and bonus points for not only being the first person to find the returning Forster's Tern this winter but also for locating it well away from it's usual haunts. Derek Polley kept patch birding at Bangor West right up to the bitter end of the year and was rewarded for his efforts with a #patchgold Mute Swan seen at 3:15pm o...

A Long-tailed Duck off Irishtown Nature Park was the only addition for Noel Keogh at South Dublin Bay during November but it brings him to a fine 120% at the top of the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague where his first place title looks set in stone now for #PWC2016 . A fantastic year he's had there with 124 species so far but will he be able to match it in 2017?  The other contestants making up the top five on the comparative table remain in their allocated rankings for another month, increasing their scores slightly here and there. Common Scoter made it on to Richard Donaghey and Derek Polley's Northern Ireland patch year lists at the Bann Estuary (second place) and Bangor West (fourth place) respectively while a dog walk around Killiney Hill at dusk one evening bore fruit for Eleanor Keane with a Long-eared Owl there for her patch, currently in third place. The Under 25's representative on the west coast, Cathal Forkan, did well by re-finding the Forster...

The Coastal Ireland Minileague got in on some rare passerine action during the month of October. Checking the coastal scrub at Irishtown Nature Park proved fruitful for Noel Keogh who added two Yellow-browed Warblers and a Ring Ouzel to his South Dublin Bay list, great finds on the edge of the capital. This puts him on 118.9%, comfortably in the lead with Richard Donaghey still in second on 103.5% and Eleanor Keane still in third now on 100.8%. Richard chanced upon a pair of roosting Long-eared Owls at the Bann Estuary while Eleanor added Red-throated Diver, Black-tailed Godwit and Bar-tailed Godwit to her list at Killiney Hill to Dun Laoghaire coast. Tim Murphy makes a bold move from twelfth to sixth place at St John's Point where an absolutely cracking find in the form of Red-flanked Bluetail (along with Glossy Ibis and Sabine's Gull) propelled him from 78.6% at the end of September up to 94.8%. The bluetail represents the first record for Northern Ireland and ...

September brought three new year ticks for Noel Keogh at South Dublin Bay with Black Tern in the autumn roost at Sandymount Strand (up to 17,000 Sterna terns there!) plus Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint with the Dunlin at Merrion Gates. His first place position in the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague is in safe hands for the moment thanks to a comp score of 112%. Richard Donaghey reached 100% with a couple of patch tick Black Terns at the Bann Estuary, holding on to second place for another month. Eleanor Keane is plugging away in third place, adding Crossbill during the month at Killiney Hill to Dun Laoghaire coast. Cathal Forkan had a great month for waders at his North Galway Bay patch with a fine duo of Baird's Sandpiper and Long-billed Dowitcher at Rusheen Bay hanging around long enough for him to catch up with them plus Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Little Gull also present. Quite a productive spot! This purple patch moves Catha...

Additions of Bullfinch and Stock Dove for Noel Keogh at South Dublin Bay leave him safe in first place by a matter of 10% on the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague table for another month. However, some of the minileague contestants who are in their first year of comparative scoring are moving up in the ranks and challenging the status quo... Richard Donaghey's ringing efforts at the Bann Estuary paid dividends when some nocturnal wader mist-netting produced both Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff! Certainly not what he was expecting. The Curlew Sand may well represent the first ever to be ringed in Northern Ireland while the two Ruff were the first ringed there since 1983! More details on the excellent Causeway Coast Ringing Group blog . These additions plus others bring Richard to second place on the comparative table with 98.6%. Eleanor Keane is bumped down to third place but managed to add Little Egret at her Killiney Hill to Dun Laoghaire coast patch, bringing her score...

No change in the rankings at the top of the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague by the end of July where Noel Keogh continues his run in first pace with a comfortable lead from South Dublin Bay on 106.5%, Roseate Tern his latest addition. Eleanor Keane in second also added Roseate Tern to her patch year list which now stands at 94.6% along the Killiney Hill to Dun Laoghaire coastline. Also well into the 90% bracket is Richard Donaghey in third who managed some #patchgold by finally nailing Moorhen for the Bann Estuary patch list, flushed from reeds at one of the local ringing sites (see the Causeway Coast Ringing Group blog for more). Tacumshin continued to provide the megas since the last update and while he missed out on Greater Sand Plover and Pacific Golden Plover, Noel Keogh still managed to catch up with the Western Sandpiper and White-rumped Sandpiper found there during the month. Western Sand is a new addition to the overall PWC list since it began in 2013! This le...

Come the end of June we see Noel Keogh top both the comparative table and the points table in the Coastal Ireland Minileague for another month. His South Dublin Bay patch remains in first place on the comp table with 105% after a male Ruff put in an appearance at Merrion Gates where Joe Proudfoot also connected with the same bird for his patch year list (the two lads have their respective patches overlap around here).  Further to the south, Noel's patch at Tacumshin Lake is the first to reach 200 points on the points minileague table with 143 species after an amazing month for the site where he added a plethora of rarities including Semipalmated Plover, Gull-billed Tern, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret and a #patchgold Rock Pipit! Bonus points for the month came in the form of a stunning adult breeding plumage American Golden Plover which he found while twitching the Semi-p Plover! No other major updates received from other contestants here so another brief update for...

Noel Keogh is the first to reach the 100% milestone on the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague table with some great patch birds for South Dublin Bay seen during May including singing migrant Reed Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler at Irishtown Nature Reserve plus a Great Skua and  a Cuckoo(!) seen while seawatching the bay. He finished the month with a clear lead on 104.38%. Eamonn O'Donnell adds Roseate Tern at Ninch/Laytown, completing the list of expected migrants for the site. This lands him on 90% but slips to fourth place due to the advancements of Eleanor Keane and Richard Donaghey. While watching four Wheatears at the West Pier Dun Laoghaire, a trio of Whimbrel flew overhead for Eleanor making an evening stroll all the more worthwhile as she finishes the month in second with 91.964%. Close behind in third is Richard who had a double duck patch tick day on 22nd May with a male Garganey and a female Scaup at the Bann Estuary. You can...

Noel Keogh is on the fast track to reaching his 100% target at South Dublin Bay with a suite of common migrants boosting him up to 96.3% and remaining in first place on the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague table. Eamonn O'Donnell moves into second ahead of Eleanor Keane (second place holder in March) as he clocked up 12 migrants species in April at Ninch/Laytown including Whimbrel and Little Tern. Eleanor keep the momentum going in third place at Killiney Hill to Dun Laoghaire coast with a singing Whitethroat, a scarce species for the site.  Richard Donaghey is climbing the ranks, moving up from eighth to fifth on 81.8% at the Bann Estuary. A breeding plumage Spotted Redshank was his find of the month. No less than three patch ticks for Dave Suddaby in first place on the Coastal Ireland Points Minileague table. A splendid breeding plumaged Red-necked Grebe was backed up by Tufted Duck and Carrion Crow. All new and all welcome as they keep him one point ahead o...

Another month at the top of the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague table for Noel Keogh who makes it to 90% during March with a Gadwall at South Dublin Bay, his 100 th species there. Climbing the ranks and into second place is Eleanor Keane, patching for her second year from the Killiney Hill to Dun Laoghaire coastline where 6 Brambling, 3 Buzzards and a Kestrel were all great patch birds plus the addition of her first Chiffchaff of the year on 29 th March resulting in an end of first quarter score of 80%. One to watch! Regular faces at the top of the table, Eamonn O’Donnell and Neal Warnock, take up third and fourth place respectively. Eamonn was treated to a patch tick Jay and his second patch record of Shoveler at Ninch/Laytown while a Greenland White-fronted Goose was a patch tick for Neal at Larne Lough (with Tufted Duck, Pintail, Gadwall, Common Scoter and Iceland Gull as other notable highlights). Three contestants come in with a score of 127 points at the top...

Noel Keogh furthers his lead on the Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague table by adding seven points during February, taking him to 86.8% at South Dublin Bay. Gaining finders points for a second adult Ring-billed Gull was followed up by a wintering Common Sandpiper and most importantly, a Velvet Scoter (the first here since 2002) which hung around for some time and was twitched widely by Dublin county birders. Eamonn O’Donnell continues his excellent start to the year at Ninch/Laytown with Glaucous Gull, Long-tailed Duck and Velvet Scoter taking him to second place with 75% on the dot. Looks like he’s on track for another good year of PWC effort. Neal Warnock bags an adult Ring-billed Gull at Larne Lough, placing him in third with 67.68%, just ahead of Derek Polley at Banger West in fourth. The best rarity finds of the month can be found further down the table however. Julian Wyllie sits in eleventh place on 55.9% but boasts an impressive duo of Black Duck (12 points fo...

The rankings on newly formed Coastal Ireland Comparative Minileague table at the end of January 2016 perfectly demonstrate the different ways in which patch contestants begin to achieve their scores in a given year.  For some patch birders, a large proportion of their expected species can be found with some solid effort in the first month but with the result of often leaving long gaps between further year ticks. For other patches we see a steady accumulation of species added as the months go by.  As a prime example of this, at the end of January 2016 Noel Keogh leads by a huge margin at South Dublin Bay with 81.7% while some patch stalwarts like Dave Suddaby and Neal Warnock can currently be found towards the bottom of the table in the 30-40% bracket. A case of the tortoise and the hare? We've a long way yet to go to see who will come out on top! Noel's impressive first month comp score can be attributed to (a) it being his second year of takin...