Patchwork Challenge

Hello from the Patchwork Challenge team!  We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a find for the spring Best Find Competition. Now, we would like to congratulate the three winners who came through the public vote with the majority of the public vote. These three winners will all  receive a Patchwork Challenge Pin Badge.  If you want to catch up on the submissions , then click this link .  First Place: The long-staying, singing male Great-tailed Grackle found by Jackie Binks at Garston Coastal Reserve and Oglet. Nearly 60% of voters had the Grackle as part of their favourite three. Well done Jackie, truly well deserved!   Second Place:   A male Common Redstart found by Tom Bedford  at his urban Lye Valley patch, he just nipped ahead of third place by a single vote! A wonderful submission, and very descriptive.  Third Place:  Wood Warbler found by Tyler Atkinson at Clifford Hill Gravel Pits finishe...

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...

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...