Forest Optics Best Find Competition 2016 - January Roundup

Following a superb competition in 2015, Bresser and Forest Optics  have once again kindly agreed to sponsor the Best Find Competition this year. Whilst many of the rare birds appear on coastlines and islands, the last two years have seen winners from the estuarine Meare Heath and inland Pugney's Country Park, proving that the bird of the year can appear almost anywhere. A couple of the PWC admin team have predicted a UK first to be found on a patch this year, which if it happens I am sure will be a front-runner for PWC's most prestigious competition. Could it be you?

With such a prestigious competition comes an excellent prize. Last year Bresser and Forest Optics  donated a pair of Bresser Montana 8.5 x 45 binoculars worth a grand total of £665! This years prize is still tbc but will again be a pair of binoculars. An incredibly generous prize I am sure you will agree and we really appreciate their continuing support. Have a look at their website and see what they have to offer.

January is always an exciting month in Patchwork Challenge. Everything counts again, and even the one pointers are all ticks for the year! Bonus pointers can be hard to come by however and often come from scouring flocks of gulls, geese or wildfowl. Perhaps the most surprising find this month however was a Great Snipe at Wanstead Flats for Nick Croft. Flushed from scrub on the 3rd it gave close flight views before ditching down but could not be relocated again despite extensive searching. An amazing bird to find in the autumn in any part of the country, to turn one up in Greater London in January is a superb result, and already puts itself in contention from the off!

The first patch visit of the year for Derek Charles on New Years Day resulted in him finding a Black Guillemot on Lough Neagh, the first inland record for Northern Ireland since 1932! A great start to the year for any patch but even more incredible on an inland site. 

Black Guillemot at Ardmore, Lough Neagh c/o Derek Charles

On his first patch visit of the year, William Rutter located a pale redpoll in a flock at Birling Carrs. Fortunately it stuck around all month, providing the opportunity for many birders to pay a visit to this corner of Northumberland. Definitely one of the most popular birds of the month, there are many excellent photos and discussions on this stunning bird to be found online supporting the identification as Coue's Arctic Redpoll.

Arctic Redpoll at Birling Carrs (photo c/o Sacha Elliott)

Hardly a best find update goes by without John Bowler and Dave Suddaby getting a mention! This month they both scored bonus points for Kumlien's Gull, a second patch record for John, whilst Dave's find had the good manners to then add itself to his office list!

Third winter Kumlien's Gull at Blacksod (photo c/o Dave Suddaby)

American ducks are a feature of the winter with a few long stayers from last year providing points this year but no find bonuses. American Wigeon were found at Hesketh Out Marsh and Scarborough whilst a drake at Steart WWT for Joe Cockram was joined by a Green-winged Teal. Any patcher with a flock of Teal will spend the winter scouring them for their American cousin, and Pete Antrobus, Steve Nuttall and Ross Ahmed also got lucky when the vertical white stripe appeared in their scopes in January.

American Wigeon at Scalby Mills (photo c/o Nick Addey)

Ceri Jones and Peter Howlett bagged points for the same Lesser Scaup which commuted between Cosmeston and Cardiff Bay. There have been a few Surf Scoters on the east coast this winter, and Mike Hodgkin located one on the sea at Aberlady Bay in Scotland. 

In the last couple of years, a couple of the easier bonus pointers (if there is such a thing!) to link up with are Great White Egret and Yellow-browed Warblers. The latter has taken to wintering in a couple of locations in the south-west and Ilya Maclean unearthed a new bird at Lizard Point. New Great White Egrets were at Blagdon Lake and Hale and Pickering whilst a brace graced Conningbrook Lake. The influx of Cattle Egrets last year has left a few stragglers across the UK, but only one of those was a new bird in January with a  single at Topsham on the 3rd helping to boost Martin Elcoate's January points total. Meanwhile a flock of twenty Glossy Ibis at Tramore Backstrand in Ireland must have been quite a sight for Arlo Jacques who must be wishing their was a notable flock size bonus!

Cattle Egret at Topsham c/o Martin Elcoate

Scottish specialities White Billed Diver and White-Tailed Eagle put in appearances at Quoyangry and Balivanich respectively whilst the wintering Great Grey Shrike was relocated at Henlow Grange. Finally, Ben Rackstraw had his first bonus pointer in the form of a Serin on his last visit to his Downham Market patch before moving house!

Serin at Downham Market c/o Ben Rackstraw

Coastal East Anglia Minileague - January 2016

James Brown at North Lowestoft has made an excellent start to the year, nailing 120 species which is 11 higher than last year. It has enabled him to take an early lead in the comparative league, with Thorpeness just a whisker behind. Craig Fulcher's Southwold patch took the prize last year with a superb 130.8%, so he has set himself quite a task this year but has started well by also hitting 100 species in month one. Newcomer to the comparative league, Nige Lound's monster score at Gibraltar Point last year has set him quite a challenge this year, emphasized by a points total in January of 117 making only 34.5% of last years total.

James Brown lead at the end of January last year with a score of 129. This year  he has hit top spot again, his score of 147 including a raft of two pointers. He ticked off a number of winter scarcities including Glaucous and Caspian Gulls, Hen Harrier, Water Pipit and Velvet Scoter. He also scored with Great Northern Diver, James Spencer's bird to look out for on the podcast! It has given him a 23 point gap at the top. Paul Eele at Titchwell has started his first year in PWC well with 124 points whilst Craig Fulcher makes up the top three with 123. Paul's highlight was a redhead Goosander, a difficult bird to connect with at Titchwell, whilst watching the sea paid off for Craig with Great Skua, Little Gull and Velvet Scoter in the month.

Other highlights in the month were a patch first for Gary White in the form of a Pintail, surely one of the most graceful of our wildfowl. Irene Boston is enjoying her first month in the competition and the well twitched Shore Larks at Thornham were a real treat. Brancaster proved to be harder work though, with wildfowl numbers down and time spent scouring the brent flocks for Black Brant didn't provide reward. Justin Zantboer looks like he has a very productive spot for the year ahead with a range of habitat, perhaps demonstrated by the variety in his sightings in January which included Smew, Bonxie, Bearded Tit and Lapland Bunting.

Lapland Bunting c/o Justin Zantboer

Although no bonus pointers in the month, there were two birds on patch scoring 3 points. Whilst still a regular bird in the UK now, Great White Egret is still a lovely bird to find on your patch and has helped boost Rob Hall's score this month whilst Tommy Corcoran bagged American points for a Lesser Yellowlegs on his Great Yarmouth patch.

Record shot of Smew at Trimley Marshes in January c/o Justin Zantboer

Finally - the nature of coastal birding is perhaps reflected in Ryan Irvine's score. Whilst lower down in the table at the moment, Ryan has had his best January to date. By the year end his score is always in contention for the top places, demonstrating the importance of the migration seasons on the coast and emphasizing that PWC is a marathon not a sprint.

Coastal South Minileagues - January 2016

As ever, the Coastal South leagues are are eagerly awaited, and the array of species seen in January have not disappointed. Highlights included (but were not limited to!) Penduline Tit, Bonaparte's Gull, Firecrest, and Black Brant.

Amy Robjohns tops the comparative leader board this month at the ever awesome Titchfield Haven with a respectable 63%, giving her a 6% lead over Mark Lawlor at Guernsey: Hommet to Rousse. Both have set quite a lead over the other patches who are currently lingering well below the 50% mark (although, it is only January, after all!).

#patchgold Barn Owl at Titchfield Haven (Credit: Amy Robjohns)

Moving on to the Coastal South Points Minileague, Joe Stockwell sets the standard at Ferrybridge to Weymouth with 98 species and 121 points. He added two species which didn't feature on his patch last year: Bittern and Little Gull. In second place is Amy Robjohns at Titchfield Haven where she connected with Penduline Tit, Iceland Gull and Barn Owl to leave her with 99 species and 115 points for January. Very close in third place is the Dawlish Warran patch where Kev Rylands managed a great mix of species including Bonapartes Gull, Purple Sandpiper, Yellow-browed Warbler, Sandwich Tern, Velvet Scoter, Firecrest, Cirl Bunting, Coal Tit, Treecreeper and Little Gull. Excellent!

Ilya Maclean also bagged some cracking species at Lizard point with highlights being Ross's Gull, Rose-coloured Starling, Grey Phalarope, Pomarine Skua, Balearic Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, Great Skua and Yellow-legged Gull. 

Bonus points for the month included a Black Brant at Sandy Point for Andy Johnson; Siberian Chiffchaff at Loe Pool for Ilya Maclean; and Yellow-browed Warbler at Lizard Point for Ilya Maclean. Cracking stuff!

Inland Scotland Minileagues - January 2016

A new year and a new start for the Inland Scotland leagues, however, no new name at the top of the Comparative Minileague for January. Chris Pendlebury was the person to beat last year and it would seem he would like to remain at the top for another year running. His Kinneil patch tops the board with 63%. Chris's Blairdrummond patch also nabs second place with 55%, while his Dunblane area patch also claims third position with 54%. However, Graeme Garner isn't far behind in fourth at 53% so perhaps he can shake up the Top 3 next month.

A few new patches and new faces added to the competition this year brings the Inland Scotland Points league to a total of 16 challengers. Yet again, Chris leads the table with his Kinneil patch adding a #patchgold Mute Swan and Med Gull and Red-throated Diver to give him a total of 72 points for January. Elsewhere, Chris added  a first patch record for both his Stirling (Barn Owl) and Dunblaine area (Shag) patches.

Not far behind in second place is David Carrington at Sker and Kenfig with 61 species and 68 points. In second and third, Graeme Garner is tied with, um, er, himself on points with both his Clackmannan and his Cambus patches scoring 62 species and 62 points.

Estuarine Minileague - January 2016

Jumping straight in with a hefty 76.47%, Joost Brandsma plants Dibden Bay & Hythe firmly at the top of the Estuarine Comparative Minileague for January. Managing a delightful Hawfinch and adding patch ticks of Stonechat and Marsh tit gave the Dibden Bay & Hythe patch just short of a 8% lead over Paul Freestone in second position.

It's exceedingly close between second and third place with as little as 0.467% difference. Paul Freestone at Hayle Estuary added a cracking assortment of birds (Firecrest, Yellow-browed Warbler, Water Pipit and Red-necked Grebe) to just pip Martin Elcote at Topsham to second on the leader board. However, Martin's collection of highlights weren't exactly shabby with Cattle Egret, American Wigeon, Black Brant and Jack Snipe to name a few!

With a start like this, the 2016 Estuarine Comparative Minileague looks set to be quite exciting!

American Wigeon, Topsham (Credit: Dave Helliar)

On to the Points Minileague, Dave Craven at Hale & Pickerings Pasture sets the bar high with 114 species giving him at total of 133 points for January. Not only did he pick up bonus points for Great White Egret, he scored a #patchgold in the form of Lapland Bunting.

Looking further down the league, it's close between Anthony Bentley at RSPB Lincs Wash Reserves and Howard Vaughan at RSPB Rainham Marshes with 128 points and 127 points respectively. Howard added a  quartet of gulls with Little Gull, Kittiwake, Iceland Gull and Caspian Gull all making an appearance. In addition, Dartford Warbler and Short-eared Owl were still a highlight on his Rainham Marshes patch. Great Stuff! Else where, Stuart Darbyshire gained bonus points for finding American Wigeon at his Hesketh Out March patch. 

Inland East Anglia Minileague - January 2016

Steve Chapman has one of the less heralded patches in PWC and Sparham Pools can sometimes get lost amongst the higher scorers but over the last couple of years Steve has patched away and it is great to see him at the top of the comparative tree on 67.5%. At Thorpe St Andrew, Adam Nicholls has also managed to connect with plenty of species on a low scoring patch with a score of 63.6%. His January Shoveler was his highlight and hopefully he pushes on past the 100% mark when the spring migrants come in. Nick Robinson is in third place. Last year Nick led the comparative minileague from the get go only to be pipped at the post. It looks like he will be in the mix again but can he improve on his final position? His January highlight was a Brent Goose which in Norwich is a very decent bird.

There are plenty of familiar names near the top of the points minileague and none more familiar than Ben Lewis. He leads on 108% and so far has managed Siberian Chiffchaff and Water Pipit amongst that haul on the Mid Yare RSPB reserves. With perennial rival Jamie Wells in eighth position and 27 points behind is this Ben's chance to open up a lead? Newcomer Luke Wake is in second position, bolstered by a brace of Serin which have graced his Fen Drayton patch, Joint second is Nick Moran on his new Lakenheath patch which leads his Thetford patch in fourth by 5 points. Nicks best bits at Lakenheath include Great White Egret and remarkably Harbour Seal. Obviously no points for the latter but a remarkable record so far from the sea.

Serins, Fen Drayton RSPB - Luke Wake

Other highlights this month include Cranes for Nick Moran and also Pete Antrobus at Eldernell. There was a Long-tailed Duck for Adam Faiers at Lackford Lakes. A Merlin for David Gomer at Terling and there was a Grey Plover for Jack Dawson at Haverholme and Ruskington. Lizzie Bruce had up to 50 Bramblings at The Lodge whilst Tim Phillips had the first patch Goosander at Ingoldisthorpe for 9 years.

Coastal Scotland Minileagues - January 2016

Chris Rodger is top of the comparative minileague for Coastal Scotland with 67% and a lead of 0.5% thanks to a Surf Scoter and a brace of patch ticks in the form of Green Woodpecker and Black Guillemot. After a flying start to the year at Donmouth, Andrew Whitehouse is in second position. His Thayer's type gull is the highlight. Stephen Welch in third has managed to top the ton and with a comparative score of 165 he is well on course for a new best score. This months highlights for him included a raft of seabirds such as Great Northern Diver, Great Skua and Black Guillemot but his highlight was Chiffchaff. In fourth position is Chris Hill at Burntisland who is also over the 60% mark ad only 4% back on the lead and his highlight was a Peregrine chasing Little Auks.

The leader in January for the points minileague is also Chris Rodger. Second place goes to Geoff Morgan at Barns Ness thanks to a plethora of geese including a Tundra Bean. At Aberlady Bay, Mike Hodgkin has bagged 114 points in the first month including bonus points for a Surf Scoter. Stephen Welch is in fourth spot, 9 points further behind whilst podcast maestro Mark Lewis is on 95 points in fifth after patch ticking Red-necked Grebe and adding Glaucous Gull and 'loads' of Little Auks.

Tundra Bean Goose, Barns Ness - Geoff Morgan

Midlands Minileague - January 2016

Andrew Chick tops the comparative league with 69.7% after a productive first month on patch at Fulbeck. Phil Hyde is 4% back at East Keal in second place. January highlights for him included his first Lesser Redpolls for patch and a wintering Peregrine. Andy Sims is in third place after his second Smew on patch in 33 years. 83 species is also his highest ever score species tally for January so he is on for a decent year.

Rutland Water's entrance to the competition was always going to be revelatory and so it proved as Rod Baker opened up a 7 point lead over John Hopper at Hoveringham. John managed a quintet of decent gulls with Iceland, Glaucous, Caspian, Little and Med all gracing his patch. Steve Nuttall is in third place at Belvide Reservoir after finding a Green-winged Teal.

Shag at Whisby - Ben Ward

There was plenty of interest uncovered around the patches with a Great White Egret shared by John Belsey, Mike Wakeman and Andy Ambrose at Upton Warren. Marston STW held Siberian Chiffchaff for Dave Roberts. There were Smew for Tom Shields at Holme Pierrepoint, Carl Cornish at Langford Lowfields and Andy Sims at Boultham Mere. Ben Ward had a seabird/duck bonanza at Whisby in Lincolnshire with Scaup, Shag, Red-breasted Merganser and Common Scoter. Apologies if I havent mentioned your #patchgold but there were Bitterns, scarce gulls, Woodcock, Cetti's Warblers etc everywhere.

Wales Minileague - January 2016

Another year in the principality and an ever increasing minileague. Hopefully in the not too distant future we can split this into coastal and inland as we have with the Irish minileagues but for now we will keep all the patches together. Top of the comparative league is Chris Jones with his Llysfaen patch which hit 60%. Alastair Flannagan is in second place at Swansea Vale to Fendrod Lake with 56%. Alastair also managed 46 complete lists and 1002 records on Birdtrack. Tony Swann at Brynna Woods is in third place just 0.3% back.

Ceri Jones is the leader in the Welsh points league with 102 and a healthy 1.21 PPB indicative of a productive month. His highlights include finding the Cosmeston Lesser Scaup on its visit this year with some fly past Brents also worthy of mention. Richard Dobbins and Wendy James both watch Teifi and are in second and third place respectively. Richard's highlight was the first Great Northern Diver for the estuary since 1985 and Wendy managed to connect with some close in Red-throats at the mouth of the estuary.

Elsewhere Peter Howlett refound the Lesser Scaup at Cardiff Bay for a healthy dose of bonus points. There was a skatter of unseasonal skuas with Arctics at Aberthaw and the Ogmore Estuary and a Bonxie chowing down on auks at Porthcawl. There were Firecrests for Alex Jones at Rhyl and Henry Cook and Julian Hughes at Conwy RSPB with a Siberian Chiffchaff for Henry as well. Certainly one of the best sightings was a Goshawk taking out a Woodpigeon on Rudry Common for Trevor Fletcher.

Coastal Ireland Minileague - January 2016

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 taking part in PWC which often comes with an increase in effort and enthusiasm and (b) it genuinely having been a great month on the patch! He added some nice species such as Red-necked Grebe, Ring-billed Gull, Arctic Skua, Snow Bunting, Black Redstart and a wintering Sandwich Tern but most importantly, a trio of #patchgold Shoveler!

Derek Polley is also in his first comp scoring year at West Bangor with Great Northern Diver and a garden Jay helping him claim second place with 67%. Both Eamonn O'Donnell and Neal Warnock got stuck in during January and came up with 65% and 62% from their long running patches at Ninch/Laytown and Larne Lough respectively. Slavonian Grebe and Brambling were highlights for Eamonn (in third place) while Neal put together a fine medley of Goosander, Jack Snipe, wintering Sandwich Tern and best of all, a 2cy Kumlien's Gull which sees him in fourth at the end of the first month. 

Tramore Backstrand just keeps on producing the goods for Arlo Jacques who connected with not one but 20 (TWENTY!) Glossy Ibis, 3 Grey Phalarope and a drake American Wigeon at his Co. Waterford patch. What a way to start the year! He currently holds fifth place with 57.3%.

Red-necked Grebe at Dun Laoghaire © Joe Proudfoot

A productive start for some the comp patchers means we see many of them at the top of the points table also where Noel Keogh is in first place again with 92 species / 112 points at South Dublin Bay. Joe Proudfoot's patch between Sandymount and Dun Laoghaire overlaps with much of Noel's and as such he also saw many of the same highlights like the returning Red-necked Grebe and Ring-billed Gull plus Black Redstart, Snow Bunting, the Arctic Skua but most importantly, a #fullfatpatchtick male Goldeneye. Joe is in the under 25's league and straight into third place with 84 species / 103 points. 

A 4cy Kumlien's Gull was a good office tick for Dave Suddaby at Blacksod where 99 points sees him in fourth. Our other under 25's league contestant, Cathal Forkan, is birding in North Galway Bay where Niall Keogh's new west coast patch of Galway City overlaps around the Nimmo's Pier area. Both of them secured some good gulls as expected where up to 3 Iceland Gulls and 5 Ring-billed Gulls have been hanging out! 

Larids proved popular at other sites with Glaucous, Iceland and Yellow-legged Gulls at Baltimore (Julian Wyllie), Iceland and Yellow-legged Gulls at Kilmore Quay (Tom Moore) and yet more Iceland and Glaucous Gulls at Dunhill ecopark/Annestown/Boatstrand (Keith Adams...who also got Grey Phalarope there).

Just as popular as gulls in mid-winter are ducks! Long-tailed Duck was a nice local bird for Graham Johnston at Rinville, Neal Warnock got his second patch record of Gadwall at Rathlin Island and Christopher O'Sullivan made sure to get the Green-winged Teal found in December at White's Marsh for his Clonakilty/Inchydoney patch (with Black-throated Diver offshore too). 

Iceland Gull at Nimmo's Pier © Cathal Forkan (click for blog link)

Inland Ireland Minileague - January 2016

Welcome to the inaugural Inland Ireland Minileague blog post! With an increasing number of participants from all corners of the country, it was deemed time to split the Ireland Minileague into coastal and inland groups which is a great testament to the growing popularity of PWC.

A small number of inland patchers will compete in the comparative minileague in 2016 but enough to get the ball rolling. For the moment, just Niall Keogh and Des Higgins have updated their comp scores for January 2016 but we eagerly await updates from other contestants over the coming months. 

Niall shoots straight to first place at his group of local suburban parks in South Dublin with a fine 79.45%. A good clean up of all the expected winter species in the first month was down to some hardcore scouting for the annual Dublin Bird Race at these sites! All of this first month enthusiasm may result in slow progress until the Spring migrants arrive however. The highlight of the month for Niall was the arrival of a flock of 115 hrota Brent Geese which have taken to using the football pitches at Kilbogget Park as a foraging site, a new development for this location. Otherwise, an adult Peregrine over Clonkeen Park was a good addition seeing as he didn't connect with the species here in either 2013 or 2014.

Des clears the halfway mark with 57.89% at University College Dublin with Mediterranean Gull and Little Egret adding some extra points to the scoresheet plus the first modern campus record of Great Black-backed Gull. Will he manage to reach his 100% comp score in 2016 after the stellar find of Ring-necked Duck on the 'new lake' last May?

Lots of new names gracing the Inland Ireland Points Minileague! At the top is Derek Charles who is patching from the productive southern shores of Lough Neagh. Derek got off to a cracking start on 1st January with none other than a Black Guillemot from Ardmore! Only the second record for the lough with the first being as far back as 1932! This is what patch birding is all about folks. Pink-footed Goose and Bar-tailed Godwit were other noteworthy additions to Derek's species list of 63 and sees him finish the month on 68 points.

Black Guillemot at Ardmore, Lough Neagh © Derek Charles

Andrew Power kicks of his patch birding efforts from Kildavin in Co. Carlow with a nice spread of goodies including Iceland Gull, Yellow-legged Gull and Goosander on the pit plus Red-legged Partridge (birds no doubt derived from released stock but one of the few sites in the country where confirmed breeding is going ahead). These place him in second with 54 species/59 points. 

A 2cy Iceland Gull was a welcome surprise for Ian Stevenson at his Grand Canal Way patch in Dublin. Getting out on a wet & windy day to see if something different might be about resulted in this excellent find. Patch tactics on the brain! 

Christian Osthoff's Wicklow woodland and farmland patch at Carrigmore produced a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 32 Crossbill and his second record of Stock Dove. A Long-eared Owl in the car headlights was top find of the month for Liam Lysaght at Bramblestown, Co. Kilkenny (a great blog post on Liam's first month on the patch can be read here) while Julian Wyllie gets the momentum going at Skibbereen in West Cork with a Mediterranean Gull.

Iceland Gull at Grange Castle Business Park, Clondalkin © Ian Stevenson

Inland North Minileagues - January 2016

The Inland North Minileagues are frankly bonkers with 28 folks in the comparative table and an astounding 50 in the points table it is going to be exciting for everyone, no matter the patch. The comparative table is especially exciting for David Franklin as his trio of Doncaster patches dominate with between 67-84% already. Top of the pile is Campsall CP. David has managed to get out an awful lot and he has 161 complete lists and over 2000 records for Birdtrack already. An astounding effort I'm sure you will agree. David added Mediterranean Gull at Askern, Green Sandpiper at Norton Common and Meally Redpoll at Campsall. Away from South Yorkshire and into the East Riding, Mike Pilsworth is best of the rest with his Swinefleet and Reedness patch where he patch ticked Bewick's Swan.

Chris Bradshaw holds the lead on his Wykeham Lakes patch after patch ticking Grey Plover and adding less than annuals in White-fronted and Bean Goose and Mealy Redpoll. Stalwart, Bill Aspin is in second with an 11 point lead over his long-term rival Mark Reeder. Bill's month at Brockholes featured 2 Bitterns and 3 Scaup with the former being the first multiple record since 1998. Duncan Bye at Wheldrake Ings holds third spot along with Mike Pilsworth. Duncan benefited from the monster gullfest that is going on at Rufforth with roosting Iceland and Yellow-legged Gulls.

The only bonus points in January go to Pete Antrobus who found a Green-winged Teal at Neumann's Flashes but that wasnt enough to keep him ahead of the young padawan, Findlay Wilde, who holds a one point advantage. Elsewhere there was a Smew at Killingworth for the patcher who goes by the handle of @lophophanes. Bill Aspin found Andy Bunting a Bewick's Swan whilst purchasing some new optics at Martin Mere, Gary Storey patch-ticked Willow Tit at Chopwell Woods as did Keith Dickinson at Roundhay Park and Stephen Westerberg added Kittiwake at Tindale Tarn due to one of many storms. Short-eared Owls were a feature of several patches with them being seen for the first time in several years in many places including five on Mark Doveston's Riddlesdon and Whetstone patch.

Islands Minileague - January 2016

Paul Higson makes his annual, White-billed Diver fuelled, grab for top spot before his self imposed torpor until spring. He outstrips IanT at Askernish by 4% to hit 59%. Ian himself started with a bang as both White-tailed Eagle and Grey Phalarope graced his patch with the latter a full-fat patch tick and the former now established as a patch regular. On Islay, David Wood made an excellent start on the Oa with 48% including a Little Auk which is a fair effort given the height of the cliffs on his patch! 

Paul also tops the points table with a whopping score of 120. Perennial Islands table-topper, John Bowler, sits in second spot with a Kumlien's Gull the only bonus points for him this time out (there will be more!) but a raft of 2 pointers put him in a decent position. Notably it was the same two patches lined up in reverse order this time last year and both are down on last years opening month (Paul scored 122 and John managed 126 in January 2015). IanT has made a better start than last year and is 12 points ahead meaning that whilst Barrie Hamill is also up on last year he is a place worse off.

A selection of the 700 Twite on the Oa - David Wood

Five patches recorded Little Auks in January which is to be expected for these forntiers men and women at this time. Other standard two point fare included white-winged gulls and Slavionian Grebes. There was a Kumlien's Gull at Scatness for Steve Minton in the half hours daylight up there. On Scilly, John Headon was left frustrated by a Surf Scoter that wouldnt make itself visible from his patch whilst at Askernish, YvonneB consoled herself on Ian's fast start by finding a Water Rail which he failed to connect with. As Barra makes its debut this year there were White-tailed Eagles on both patches for Bruce Taylor. More Western Isles White-tailed Eagle action was at Balivanich for Stuart Taylor who also added a patch tick in the form of Guillemot. On the Isle of May, Mark Newell went owl crazy with 22 (twenty two) Short-eared Owls and a patch tick Barn Owl. Nice!

NGB and AFON Under 25 Minileague - January 2016

The newly amended "under 25's" minileague kicked off in explosive fashion this month with birders from both NGB & AFON scouring their respective patches in search of winter rarities. Something which seems to have paid dividends with great birds such as Long-Billed Dowitcher, Penduline Tit, Green-Winged Teal and Ring-Billed Gull featuring in this months round-up. With more competitors than ever taking part and many PWC stalwarts opting for a change of scenery this year; this league looks set to reach new heights over the course of 2016.

Green-Winged Teal - Tim White

Looking first at the comparative league and Amy Robjohn's seizes the top spot with an impressive 63% of her former score at Titchfield Haven, no doubt aided by the addition of Penduline Tit to her patchwork total. Sam Pitt Miller comes it at second at Priory Water, wracking up a similarly impressive 58% while Espen Quinto-Ashman lands himself in third place with 54%. Further down the table things appear neck and neck between other familiar names such as Josie Hewitt, Joe Stockwell, Rhys Chivers and Ash Baines. 

Jonathan Farooqi heads up the points league this month with a whopping 127 points at Hadston to Hemscott Hill, adding Long-Billed Dowitcher among a host of other goodies. Joe Stockwell lands himself in both second and third place, taking both runners up positions with scores of 121 and 117 respectively at Ferrybridge and RSPB Arne. Just how much time do you spent in the field Joe? It's certainly paying off. Next; Amy Robjohn's finds herself in fourth position followed by James Common in fifth and Joe Proudfoot in sixth place. What will February hold I wonder?

LATE EDIT: Anthony Bentley submitted his score late but now tops the points minileague. Cain Scrimgeour also added to the league.

LATE LATE EDIT: Elliot Montieth added after late score.

Moving on to the birds notched throughout January and other glaring rarities sighted this month include a Green-Winged Teal for newcomer Sarah Woods at Rising Sun Country Park and Ring-Billed Gulls for Cathal Forkan and Joe Proudfoot. A wintering Yellow-Browed Warbler was similarly a nice touch for Sam Wall at Lilstock. Elsewhere in the league; Espen Quinto-Ashman managed Red-Crested Pochard at Wellington while James Common caught up with a small flock of Waxwings at Blyth. On the subject of Waxwings, other typical winter scarcities were abundant in the league this month, among them; two Iceland Gulls, two Spotted Redshank and a hearty helping of Jack Snipe. Wildfowl featured as highlights for many competitors; White-Fronted Geese and Whooper Swans noted on a number of patches alongside the odd Scaup while seawatching clearly paid off for some with Little Gull, Little Auk and Red-Necked Grebe featuring prominently. Elsewhere other January highlights included; Snow Bunting for Sam Wall, Black Redstart for both Ollie Thomas and Joe Proudfoot and both Long-Eared Owl and Bittern for James McCulloch at Hedgecourt Lake. Concluding; former "most valuable player" Josie Hewitt also nabbed some #patchgold in the form of only her second ever Crossbills at Blackbushe Airfield. 

Red- Crested Pochard - Espen Quinto-Ashman

Water Pipit - Jonathan Farooqi

- James C (Patchwork Challenge)