Inland North Minileague - December 2016

David Franklin ends the year in top spot on the Inland North Comparative Minileague with 124.05% at Campsall CP and S Instoneville... one of his three (yes three!) patches in the region.

John Law takes second despite not adding any new species - a feature of the top 4 in this league. A total of 17 patches passed the 100% target with new entries from Andy Bunting, Rob Worlsford and Mike Pilsworth - the latter two saving up their totals for the December submission.  

Despite not adding any new species Bill Aspin clings on by the skin of his teeth to take the title of Cock of the Inland North in the Points Minileague. Bill was given a few sleepless nights by his arch nemesis Mark Reeder who added Bewick's Swan, Red-breasted Merganser and Merlin before realising that he'd never credited himself with 2 finders points for a Blue-headed Wagtail back in April, taking him just a point shy of Bill! John Law was moved down into third place bu Andy Bunting on the basis of Points Per Bird. John promises to make a real game of it in 2017! 

Bill was ecstatic when he heard confirmation of his achievement! 

Potentially bird of the month was a putative Brown Shrike found at Geltsdale by Adam Moan, some commentators considered it to be a juvenile Red-backed Shrike and at the time of writing the jury is still out. Other highlights included Black-throated Diver for Chris Bradshaw, Tundra Bean Goose for Mike Pilsworth and Green-winged Teal at George Dunbar's Woolston Eyes patch.

Putative Brown Shrike (c) Adam Moan

Bewick's Swans at Orgreave (c) Mark Reeder

Inland North Minileague - November 2016

It was with great sadness during November that we learned of the untimely and very sudden death of Pete Antrobus (POD). Pete was a familiar face in UK birding and a stalwart of the Cheshire birding scene, particularly his beloved Neumann's Flashes.  He will be missed by friends and birders far and wide, our thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and family particularly his wife Debbie. 

No change at the top of the Inland North comparative minileague as David Franklin sits tight despite adding just one species - his first Tawny Owl in two years. John Law added White-fronted Goose, Merlin and (finally) Treecreeper to close the gap, a similar points haul in December could see him nick it from David. Out of nowhere Bill Aspin leaps to 3rd place - more of that nonsense later! David Franklin failed to add anything to his Askern patch which slips to fourth. Nick Morgan drops out of the top five and is replaced by NIck Tonge.

Bittern - Brockholes - Bill Aspin

As previously mentioned, in the comparative minileague Bill Aspin (it hurts to even type that name) leapt from 8th to 3rd, which can only mean one thing he cheated had a very good month! All joking aside Bill had an amazing month, where he added a gut wrenching 23 points, giving him what must at this late stage be an unassailable lead. Key species for Bill during the month were Cetti's Warbler(5th record), Brockholes' 1st Great Grey Shrike, 2 Smew (3rd record), Great White Egret (5th record) and the 1st site Siberian Chiffchaff. Never one to give up a fight, Mark Reeder hit back with a meagre 8 points that in a normal November would have been an excellent haul. Mark added Scaup, Jack Snipe, Long-eared Owl (a patch 1st) and 2 Mealy Redpolls, consolation enough to put daylight between him and John Law who dropped to 3rd. Duncan Bye slipped to fourth with 3 Knot a new patch bird, keeping him above Andy Bunting by a whisker.

Great Grey Shrike - Brockholes - Bill Aspin

Cetti's Warbler - Brockholes - Bill Aspin

Siberian Chiffchaff - Brockholes - Bill Aspin

In addition to the aforementioned patch firsts, other patchers firsts were a Tree Sparrow for Hilary Milburn at Pugneys, Brent Goose for Nick Tonge at Rodley and Marsh Harrier at Winsford Flash for Findlay Wilde.

Long-eared Owl - Orgreave Area  - Mark Reeder

Inland North Minileague - October 2016

Bearded Tit - Duncan Bye (Wheldrake Ings)

Still no change at the top of the Inland North comparative table as David Franklin sits pretty but another month of no additions for him at both Campsall and Askern leaves him vulnerable with the vultures starting to gather with John Law in third just 1% behind and Duncan Bye just a further 3% back. John this month added Rock Pipit to keep up the pressure with his Wath Ings patch. 

John Law continues at the top but he is now sharing it with Mark Reeder who adds four points this month for Pintail, Knot and Twite. Duncan Bye at Wheldrake is just a further two points behind in third place level with Andy Bunting's Martin Mere WWT patch. Duncan added his first Wheldrake Jack Snipe and Bearded Tits as part of a notable eruption this autumn. It should also be noted that Brockholes hovers just 3 points behind the podium places. What can Bill do to close the gap?

The only bonus points this month were for a Yellow-browed Warbler in Stephen Dunstan's garden. There was a male Hen Harrier for Alan Todd at Mootlaw Quarry and a radio tagged juvenile for George Dunbar at Woolston Eyes. Pete Antrobus had a Jack Snipe at Neumann's Flashes and there was a White-fronted Goose for Peter Williams at North Cave Wetlands. A Tree Sparrow at Tindale Tarn was a patch tick for Stephen Westerberg and Findlay Wilde had his first patch Firecrest at Winsford Flash.

Inland North - September 2016

No highlights of note from David Franklin this month at his two table topping patches, but his cracking year keeps him dominating the top two places. There is still plenty of time to be toppled though, and John Law at Old Moor is having a good crack, another two percent will be enough to dent the domination. Twelve patchers have now hit the 100% marker with plenty more not so far off. 

In the points league it is mighty tight at the top and is one of the most exciting league in 2016 - just seven points splitting the top 6 places with very familiar names fighting it out. It was Andy Bunting at Martin Mere who made the greatest strides adding Pectoral Sandpiper and Great White Egret. Two patchers were lucky enough to bag the bonus points in September, George Dunbar at Woolston Eyes was the latest to unearth a Yellow-Browed on patch whilst Pete Antrobus found a Spotted Crake trying to hide against the background at Neumann's Flashes.

Spotted Crake posing nicely at Neumann's Flashes c/o Pete Antrobus

Other notable additions in the month included Pintail, these graceful ducks started to come back to UK shores in September, including a patch first for Findlay Wilde. It was a month for patch firsts with Adam Moan getting first ever Shoveler and Marsh Harrier and Casper Pottle had Little Egret and Peregrine. Pete Antrobus narrowly missed out on bonus points for Great White Egret at Neumann's Flash in the month.

A rather disgruntled looking Great White Egret at Neumann's Flashes c/o Pete Antrobus

A quieter month overall in Inland North, perhaps summed up by Duncan Bye who pointed out that Rotherham United added more points in September than he did.

Inland North Minileague - August 2016

Despite no further additions David Franklin continues at the top of the table with Campsall in top spot on 122% and Askern in second on 117%. Lower scoring inland sites tend to do best in spring and this is where David made his strides but I am sure he will be eager to connect with a few more migrants in the autumn to take both patches over the 100 points mark. John Law at Wath Ings is in third position and he adds 3 points this month closing the gap on David. Wath, consisting of the RSPB sites at Adwick and Old Moor is a high scorer and there is plenty of potential for passage waders, terns and several of the gull species which John refuses to acknowledge (although I'm sure he would whack them on his list should he by chance espy one) so change at the top is still likely. The top ten have all now passed the 100% mark as Bill Aspin, Nick Tongue, Mark Reeder and Nick Morgan become the latest additions to the club.

Common Scoter at Brockholes - Bill Aspin

As well as challenging in the comparative minileague John Law continues at the top of the points minileague but he is joined there by Mark Reeder who has had an impressive resurgence since his tern around and this month adds Little Stint and Spotted Redshank. Duncan Bye at Wheldrake remains in third but is now only a point behind top spot, as is Bill Aspin who shares the third rung on the ladder despite his daily complaints of how bad Brockholes is (water levels, crassula and now Chinese Mitten Crabs). Duncan adds Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and Ringed Plover whilst Bill adds his first Pied Flycatcher in 18 years as well as Wood Sandpiper and Common Scoter.

Elsewhere Peter Williams manages to add Spotted Crake to his haul at North Cave Wetlands in East Yorkshire and there were Ospreys for David McGrath and Nick Morgan plus a much sought after Coot for the latter. Mark Doveston added Tree Pipit which is a sad state of affairs as this former breeder at his Harden Beck patch is now just a passage migrant. Nick Tonge managed to add his first Rodley Little Egret to the list whilst there was more Osprey action for Steven Ward at Hawes as well as Merlin and Greenshank. Finally at Rossington, Stuart Churchill added Spotted Flycatcher and Redstart.

Inland North - July 2016

The top three in the Inland North comparative minileague remains the same as last month with David Franklin going double top with Campsall and Askern in first and second. John Law is in third place at Old Moor. David added Hobby and Garden Warbler at Campsall and Sand Martin at Askern. 

Caspian Tern at Orgreave - Mark Reeder

John Law remains top of the points minileague despite a blank July. Chris Bradshaw at Wykeham is in second place and he added Grey Partridge and Spotted Flycatcher. Rounding off the top three is Duncan Bye at Wheldrake Ings who added Nuthatch and Whinchat in July.

White-winged Tern at Orgreave - Mark Reeder

Find of the month was Mark Reeder's Caspian Tern and he doubled up with a fine White-winged Tern as he returns to the competition in style. Also in on the hot tern action was Andy Bunting who also got a White-winged Tern. A Quail for Alan Todd at Mootlaw Quarry was a good find and there was a Woodlark for Stuart Churchill at Rossington.

Inland North Minileagues - June 2016

A mere five days after the belated May Inland North Minileague and we have the June edition. A mostly quiet month as June often is inland there was little change in the comparative minileague. David Franklin failed to make any additions at Campsall or Askern but stayed clear in first and second while John Law added 5% to close the gap and move into third place meaning Duncan Bye slips off the podium for the time being. Ryan McClarence became the 6th member of the 100% club on the patch he shares with David.

Common Tern - Findlay Wilde

John Law jumps from third to first place, overhauling Chris and Duncan as no additions were garnered at Wykeham or Wheldrake. In terms of quality it was thin on the ground with a few early autumn waders the pick but these might not even have made it onto the breeding grounds. A Knot for Alan Todd at Mootlaw was probably the pick of the bunch and a first patch record. Bill Aspin added Ruff while there were Green Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover for Nick Morgan and Pete Antrobus respectively. Non-waders included a breeding attempt by Common Terns at Winsford Flash as recorded by Findlay Wilde above and passerine interest was piqued with a brace of Crossbills at Hawes for Steven Ward (his first since 2012) and a patch first Tree Pipit for John Conlin at Gott's Park.

A bit thin but we already know that July has been better for one patcher...

Inland North Minileague - May 2016

David Franklin maintains his double headed stranglehold on the Inland North comparative minileague with his Campsall patch on 120% including a hepatic Cuckoo whilst down the road at Askern he hits 113% with a Hobby being Mays best bird. Duncan Bye at Wheldrake Ings moves up into third displacing John Law. Duncan's highlights included a brace of Cranes, Black & Arctic Tern plus Garganey and Hobby. A very reasonable haul and takes him over 100%. There were two other patchers to hit 100% - John Law and Chris Bradshaw with new ground being broken for the rest of the year by these guys.

For raw pointage Chris Bradshaw leads the way by one point on 161 at Wykeham Lakes with Osprey and Wood Sandpiper his highlights. He dipped a Pallid Harrier which he then co-found on his 'other' patch at Long Nab which he hasnt entered this year. Duncan Bye moves up one place into second spot. John Law drops two posts but holds onto the podium level with Bill Aspin in this place on 156 points. Bill was a beneficiary of a Pallid Harrier as he found the first for Lancashire at Brockholes giving him a handy 15 points (this is a species which will be changed to a 4 pointer next year).

Bill Aspin's Pallid Harrier

Beyond the top of the table there was a Red-necked Phalarope at Grindon Lough for Paul Massey which despite discussions remains a two pointer much to Paul's chagrin... In Newcastle Andy Rickeard turned up a rather late Ring Ouzel whilst Adam Moan at RSPB Geltsdale had his first Red Kite for the site. Justin Parker at Rossington added Black-necked Grebe and Peter Williams connected with the two Glossy Ibis that did a tour during the month at North Cave Wetlands.

Inland North Minileague - April 2016

April sees many Inland North patches beginning to spring into life. Lots of cracking birds recorded and a few bonus points for those lucky enough to find them. Andy Bunting locked onto a Siberian Chiffchaff at WWT Martin Mere, while Green-winged Teal graced Duncan Bye's Wheldrake Ings patch. Elsewhere, Findlay Wilde spotted Ruddy Shelduck at Windsford Flash but saving the best for last - George Dunbar was given a slight shock when White-crowned Sparrow causally dropped by at Woolston Eyes.

White-crowned Sparrow (Credit: David Bowman)

In addition to regular migrants, other highlights for the month included Garganey for Bill Aspin at Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT and Adrian & John at Northwich Woodlands. An unexpected patch first Little Ringed Plover for Steven Ward at Hawes. Little Ringed Plover also dropped in for Keith Dickinson at Adel Dams/Breary Marsh/Eccup Reservoir providing him with a patch tick and at Norton Common for David Franklin (another patch tick!). Green Woodpecker gave Mark Doveston a patch tick at Riddlesden & Whetstone but his personal highlight was seeing three pairs of buzzards displaying on territory (almost unheard of in the Aire Valley!). 

Moving onto the leagues, David Franklin is keeping a tight grip on the two top spots in the Inland North Comparative league. He's pushed past the 100% milestone with his Campsall CP & S Instoneville patch and has broken the 100% barrier with his Askern patch. In third, John Law at Old Moor/ Adwick has pushed on from 11th adding a further 29 species.

John Law takes the top spot in the points league this month moving up from third position and swapping places with Duncan Bye at Wheldrake Ings. Andy Bunting at WWT Martin Mere jumps from fifth into second adding 35 species and 44 points for April.

Inland North Minileague - March 2016

David Franklin finishes March with a BOOM! A flyover Goosander and a returning Sand Martin at Campsall CP and Instoneville make him the first person in the minileague to reach the 100% milestone. While David keeps his Askem patch in second place, Ryan McClarence loses ground and drops into fifth place. Making a leap from thirteenth to steal third is Nick Tonge at Rodley who connected with a further fifteen species in March.

Duncan Bye continues to lead the pack in the Inland North points minileague with single point seperateing him from second place. Duncan's eleven points this month included Mediterranean Gull and Common Scoter which were both patch ticks for him at Wheldrake Ings. Chris Bradshaw remains in second place but applies the pressure by closing the gap. Nuthatch was a new species for the site at Wykeham Lakes and he also patch ticked Kittiwake this time out after good numbers were spread inland. John Law remains in third spot as he added 11 points for March.

Long-eared Owl - Ryan McClarence

There were precisely no bonus points acquired during March in a somewhat surprising turn of events - hopefully some over shooting migrants or moving wildfowl rectify this for April! Alan Todd managed to add Stonechat to his patchlist at Mootlaw Quarry, Bill Aspin had his earliest House Martin in 63 years of watching Brockholes whilst additions of Yellow-legged Gull and Osprey were noteworthy. Chris Knight at Thritoft added a trio of new birds to his patchlist with Firecrest a great bird in the Inland North. Phil Oddy had his first record of Woodcock at his Poynton Pool micropatch which is accruing birds at a very decent rate.

Inland North Minileague - February 2016

The 'Inland North' is perhaps one of Patchwork Challenge's most popular and competitive leagues, something highlighted during February with great birds, high scores and (arguably more importantly) a good number of Birdtrack submissions.

Looking first at the comparative minileague and David Franklin claims both first and second place with scores of 91% and 81% at Campsall and Askern respectively. Ryan McClarence secures third place with an impressive 73% followed by a host of PWC stalwarts nipping at his heels. Among these; David Franklin (again), Duncan Bye, Nick Morgan and Hilary Milburn. 

Duncan Bye heads up with points league with an impressive 108 points and 97 species at Wheldrake Ings, a patch-tick Great Skua featuring amid a host of other goodies. Chris Bradshaw comes in at second, a mere four points behind the frontrunner followed by John Law at Old Moor. Further down the table a number of other competitors have notched similarly impressive scores, among these; Andy Bunting, Bill Aspin and PWC-newcomer Findlay Wilde.

The North provided a wealth of avian delights this month with a healthy array of scarcities noted and one glaring rarity in the form of Penduline Tit for Alan Crossley at RSPB Saltholme. Raptors featured prominently; three Hen Harriers logged alongside a number of Merlin, Peregrine and, of course, owls. Ryan McClarence finally catching up with Tawny Owl - his fifth owl species of the year at Askern/Campsall/Norton. Elsewhere highlights included; Iceland Gull for Stephen Dunstan, Bittern for Adrian and John at Northwich Woodlands and Jack Snipe for George Dunbar. Duncan Bye continued his winning streak with a mouthwatering series of ticks that included; Caspian Gull, Scaup, Smew, Glaucous Gull and Marsh Harrier. #Patchgold was similarly well represented in February, some notable examples including; Kingfisher for Tom Lowe, Goldeneye for Mark Doveston and finally, Raven for Alan Todd at Mootlaw Quarry. Keep up the good work guys and gals!

- James C (Patchwork Challenge)

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.

Nick Morgan - Ainderby Steeple #PWC2015 Review

2015 was my second year of PWC so the competition for the comparative league title was a real added incentive to get out in the field this year.

January started quietly but I managed to pick up most of the regular resident and wintering species. Pick of the birds were Green Sandpiper, Redshank and Grey Wagtail giving a January total of 64 species.

February’s highlight was undoubtedly Water Rail, a long anticipated first record for the parish.

But the second patch sighting of Goldeneye and the first winter record of Little Egret were also noteworthy. A cracking flock of 200+ buntings got all the common species ticked off and February also turned up Oystercatcher, Siskin and wintering Blackcap pushing the list to 72 species.

March is the best chance of finding Whooper Swans here as they move up through the Vale of Mowbray but with no standing water on the patch it’s mainly a matter of luck so a group of nine flying over was a bonus. A flock of Thirteen Goosander,  Shelduck, Barn Owl and the first summer migrants, Chiffchaff and Wheatear, helped push the March total to 78 species.

April was productive with this typically skulking Grasshopper Warbler a new patch tick for me.

A pair of Little Ringed Plover on a small field pool were #patchsilver and Red Kite and Cuckoo (depressingly my first patch record for almost a decade) as well as a number of regular summer migrants pushed me on to 89 species by the month end.

May added Whinchat, a very scarce migrant in the parish, and the first of a record number of Hobby sightings (chasing Swallows around the church). With the rest of the summer migrants ticked off  I was up to 99 species, 10 ahead of the equivalent point in 2014, a further spur to getting out there…

It then ground to a halt with no new year ticks in June or July although searching for them gave me a good picture of the breeding birds on the patch including the best ever year for Barn Owl and at least 10 singing Corn Buntings.

Apart from Chiffchaff and Blackcap most summer migrants were noticeably scarce although it was better than recent years for Spotted Flycatcher.

August got me back on track with some good local finds including another patch first in the form of three Mandarin, a Yellow-legged Gull amongst hundreds of large gulls loafing by the Swale and Common Sandpiper on the river. In late August a day of torrential rain dropped my first and second patch records respectively of Tree Pipit and Stonechat into the same field. Together these moved me on to 104 species.

September added Osprey and my first Lesser Redpoll of the year and for the first time I crept ahead of Steve Ward in Wensleydale, literally my nearest rival. A skein of 100 Pink-footed Geese and a cracking Peregrine over the house in October kept me in top spot in the Inland North Comparative League.  

The second winter period was dominated by floods but despite good numbers of common birds I only managed to add Wigeon to my annual tally in November and Steve leap-frogged me into first place.

Floods

So it all came down to the last month. The floods attracted record numbers of Teal and over 1000 Golden Plover but more importantly from a PWC point of view the first parish record of Shoveler, my first winter record of Greenshank and only my second patch record of Gadwall…

Giving me a final total of 112 species/120 points. Enough to finish a hair’s breadth ahead of Steve.

With Steve in it again and Chris Knight entering a patch in the neighbouring village, 2016 is hopefully shaping up to be another year of enjoyable birding and intense if friendly rivalry…