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June round-up 2026

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Hello from the Patchwork Challenge team! June was about average, and was probably the quietest month of the year so far for #PWC2026 but there were a few glimmers of excellence, and there was still a trickle of late spring drift migrants, particularly in the northern isles. Just one 10km patch in Shetland picked up four national rarities. Other stuff noted included the first of Britain Western Reef Heron in Conwy, Squacco Heron and Kentish Plover in Kent, Pacific Golden Plover and Pallid Swift in Yorkshire amongst a whole load of other stuff! July is an exciting month, and in the birding calendar is the start of autumn although as I write this a Green/Greenish Warbler has started to sing at Bempton, almost certainly an exceedingly late spring migrant?! Otherwise, things to expect this month are the returning waders, with good numbers of common waders on the move. Spotted Redshanks are early movers and they can be looking amazing in their summer plumage at this time of year. Black-ta...
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Best Find Patchwork Challenge 2026 - January to June edition - Entries!

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Hi from the Patchwork Challenge team!  This is an exciting one. This is where you, the public, get to decide on the Best Find of Spring #PWC2026. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who submitted an entry for the competition. All the entries are fantastic and we have thoroughly enjoyed reading through them all. We hope you enjoyed compiling your submissions, but most importantly enjoyed the moment of finding the bird! However, now is the time we head over to the public to vote for the lucky winners! There are three Patchwork Challenge Champion pin badges up for grab so please take your time to read through these submissions and cast your vote at the bottom of the page. Remember, it isn't necessarily about how rare the bird is in a national sense, it is also about how much of a personal achievement and how exciting it was to find that bird on your patch!  Mark Andrews -  Kilnsea 3km² Since relocating from Dorset to Kilnsea in 2018 my garden has been the epice...
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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...
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May round-up 2026

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Hello from the Patchwork Challenge team! We hope you enjoyed taking part in the past month of #PWC2026! If you have yet to sign up and are interested in joining this year's competition, then please do by following this link:    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iZORva8WZXRiaCZcQUE9CNmog3k0EhnhW-GflGqNYoA/edit?usp=sharing May was perhaps not as stupidly good as it could have been, but there was still plenty of birds to be found during the month. Some of the best birds include a full summer plumaged Grey Phalarope in South Yorkshire, Broad-billed Sandpiper in Devon, Spotted Sandpiper in Worcestershire, Great Reed Warblers in Suffolk and Orkney, Iberian Chiffchaff in Kent and Rustic Bunting in Orkney. There were far more superb patch records to be seen so continue reading to see what others have noted on their patches.   June can be difficult month, where nearly everything is on their breeding grounds already apart from a few late straggling Reed Warblers and Spo...
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