Patchwork Challenge

Apologies for the lack of an Inland post last month and the lateness of this one but here goes. The Inland table is beginning to resemble the footballPremier League, with familiar faces dominating the top six and a rather large gulf seperating them from the nearest contenders. At the bottom of the table it's still all to play for with just 12 points seperating 10th from 20th. The Birding Gods smiled favourably on Wayne Gillatt during August, who after removing those dodgy Ruddy Shelducks went on to amass a further 33 points with self-found Great White Egret and Pectoral Sandpiper netting 12 points along with some good 'two pointers' such as Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper. August is a crucial month for waders and clearly Wayne's location helped as did Martin Elcoate's at Topsham. Those further inland struggled with an all too apparent wader drought. At the bottom of the table we lost Tom Raven and Andy Mackay and welcomed Bill Aspin and Nick Croft. D...

The Bresser & Forest Optics Best Find Competition  is the highlight of the  Patchwork Challenge year. This is the best find of the whole patchbirding year as voted for by you, the competitors.  For the winner of the competition, those fine folk at   Bresser & Forest Optics  are very generously furnishing the winner of this esteemed competition with a pair of   Bresser Montana 8.5 x 45 Binoculars  worth £665.00. Follow the link to check out this superb reward for one lucky contender. Autumn migration is an exciting time for the birder. September and October end a summer birding drought as our breeding birds hit the exit doors for warmer climes and familiar winter species start to make the journey back. Amidst this changing of the guard, the birder scours lakes, bushes, skies and seas for the rarer birds that get caught up in these great movements. Rare birds put in appearances all across our isles, along...

September proved largely disappointing for contenders in the Inland North, with few points added resulting in a table broadly similar to last month. Wayne Gillett and Darren Starkey make up the top 3 with Darren having some work to do in the last 3 months of the year to make top spot. Highlights for the month were the impressive 3 Pectoral Sandpipers found together by Paul Massey at Grindon Lough, a Hawfinch at Alkborough, Caspian Gull at Goole Fields and Water Pipit at Pugneys. Andy Bunting and Pete Antrobus are battling it out for the most Birdtrack records submitted and both should top 10,000 by the end of the year. Andy Bunting currently leads the way. The Green league is headed up by James Common at Stobswood who will take some stopping 2 of the 7 contenders in the comparative league have topped 100% with James Common at Stobswood way out in front with a very healthy 116%. Peter Williams at Laycock stays on the 100% mark with both Phil Woollen and Mark Reeder closing ...

In Wales, the islands lead the way. The Bardsey duo are in the clear and only have each other to beat for the top spot. This island piled on the points again in September with classic Autumn species such as Ortolan, Greenish, Yellow-Browed and Barred Warblers, Richard's Pipit, Red-Breasted Flycatcher and a Nightingale. Steve Stansfield has seen more species this year than Ben Porter, but a higher points per bird score for Ben sees him in top spot with 3 months left to run. Will Steve pay for the trip to Sweden that meant he dipped on the Western Bonelli's? Maybe Steve needs to arrange a trip to the mainland for Ben in October! Final podium place is filled by Jason Moss on Skomer who has daylight between 3rd and 4th thanks to a healthy point per bird score, evidenced by an enviable list of rarities this year including Black-Headed Bunting, Lesser Yellowlegs and Melodious Warbler. Zac Hinchcliffe continues to lead the way on the Birdtrack lists, the only Welsh contender into ...

Despite a quite month all round, Alastair Forsyth at Old Nisthouse appears to have the Inland Scotland league sown up, with an impressive total of 160 points at an average of 1.41 points per bird. He also tops the green and birdtrack statistics too. In the comparative league, Alastair has a comparative of 125%. Andy Cage and Chris Pendlebury are battling it out for 2nd and 3rd with just 1% between them.

You may have noticed the appearance of the Big Vis form on the right hand sidebar. Due to the limitations of blogger and google forms it isnt quite as all singing and dancing as I would like BUT it will record the data effectively. In this post we will explain how to fill out the form for those that arent regular PWC competitors (and those that make a mess of it each month - Im looking at you Ryan). There are two main things to note about submissions: They are broken down by hour. You should only submit an individual hour per form. There are only enough fields to submit ten records per form. Please fill in multiple forms if you get plenty of species or birds flying in various directions and need extra fields. This isnt ideal but it is the limitations of google forms I am afraid. The first field is observer name. Who are you? As it is the weekend I will be Judy BUT my submission will be under my given name, The second field is Location and here we need the name of where you...

Despite the best attempts of the chasing pack to close the gap, John Bowler continues to rack up great species on the patch and has now surpassed the 300 mark, adding 11 species and 39 points in September. This included American Golden Plover, Buff-Breasted and Pectoral Sandpipers as well as multiple Barred Warblers. A score was not registered for North Ronaldsay for September, so the gap could close next month. Gary Bell at Sumburgh had a good month, with perhaps the best two birds recorded in the Coastal Scotland league in September, a Myrtle Warbler and Red-Flanked Bluetail. This has put him on an impressive 1.75 points per bird. The best find of the month went to Peter Stronach who located a Rose-Coloured Starling on his Durness patch. Steve Minton at Scatness is leading the non-motorised league with an impressive 4th place in the overall standing. Our own Mark Lewis has submitted the most Birdtrack records and is on target to break the 10,000 records submitted by the end of th...

Irish patch birders got stuck into Autumn with some notable species and points increases from last month. The addition of 12 species including three six pointers in September by Dave Suddaby at Blacksod ensures a comfortable lead with 219 points and an impressive 1.64 points per bird. Niall Keogh at Kilcoole remains in second but Julian Wylie at Baltimore is hot on his heels in third with 12 new species added leaving him just one point short of second place. Not much movement elsewhere on the table but worth mentioning Tom Moore at Kilmore who added nine new species, consolidating his 7th place position. The O'Donnells continue their post 100% run in the Comparative League with Michael adding three new species whilst Eamonn adds one. Great to see the momentum going here although ultimately making a tougher challenge for them next year (but that's what it's all about!). Tom Moore, Alan Lauder (Carrick Mountain) and N...

John Hopper closed the gap on Ian Cowgill at the top of the table but the Lound site still leads the way in the Midlands league. John's Hoveringham patch had additions in the month more reminiscent of a coastal site, with Great Skua, Rock Pipit and Grey Plover among his finds. Nick Crouch had a patch tick and grip back Great White Egret in the month to edge into 3rd ahead of Andy Mackay at Eyebrook. In the non-comparative league, the 100% mark is in sight for most. A final push in the last 3 months should see them bettering last years target. Dave Roberts has managed to climb a place into third leaving Richard Harbird a massive 0.3% back. This is going to be a very tight minileague!

Visible migration is one of the thrills of patch birding as squadrons of finches and larks surge overhead and hirundines snake past. We have been asked by Toby Collett and Trektellen to help support this weekends #BigVis - the inaugural visible migration event for birders in the UK and we want you to join in. What better way to get that elusive Lapland Bunting on your patchlist than by joining in? If you are unfamiliar with Vismigging then it is simply getting to a suitable watchpoint at dawn and watching the diurnal migrants move through. From the 'seep' of the first Meadow Pipits and the twitterings of Goldfinches into the chacking Fieldfare and listening for the 'glip' of a band of crossbills. It is the spectacle of hundreds of birds on the move, with a purpose and with whom you get to share just a few seconds of their existance as the bound ever onward. It makes the common exciting and the commonplace essential as you appreciate Woodpigeons moving en ma...

No changes in positions in this league during September however it was well represented once again with 8 out of the 14 patches having scores submitted. The stand out highlight of the month was Nick Croft's flyover Olive-backed Pipit on his Wanstead patch amongst a host of commoner autumn migrants, a brilliant find and one that means a hatful of bonus points. His rival for the lead Adam Bassett retains the top spot thanks to some autumn migrants including Firecrest and Redstart. It was slower going lower down the league, the best find being a Garganey for Marek at Dinton Pastures. Michael Terry stays top and has now crossed the 110% barrier. A great year down at Hosehill. Adam Bassett stays in second and Jason Reynolds is still to cross the 100% barrier giving Marek and Tom a chance to sneak into the top 3.   

Opposing fortunes for the top 2 saw Tim Hodge extend the gap and continue his surge over the 300 point mark at a highly commendable 1.61 points per bird. Tim added a number of classic autumn species including Greenish, Barred and Yellow-Browed Warblers whilst James had a frustrating month, despite many hours on patch just a Caspian Gull was added to the year list. The classic conditions in September helped a number of birders add Barred and Yellow-Browed Warblers as well as Red-Backed Shrike and our own Ryan Irvine added Red-Breasted Flycatcher to his total to move into the top 5. Bird of the month however goes to Kieran Nixon at Kelling / Salthouse, for whom a Western Bonelli's helped him move up the table. Ryan Irvine heads the two contenders in the non-motorised league whilst Tim Hodge has racked up a fantatsic 11,891 birdtrack records. Congratulations to the Nick Andrews and Gary White who have topped 100% by the end of September. There is a birds wing between them for...

Jamie Wells at Paxton is edging out Ben Lewis at the end of September with both adding good points in September. Ben scored with a Honey Buzzard and both patches added Pectoral Sandpiper. Nick Moran at Thetford had a good month, with Woodlark and Goshawk added but it is Steve Swinney at Linford who had the highlight of the month. Following easterlies on the 11th September, his inland patch scored with Sabine's Gull. Nick Moran at Thetford leads the birdtrack record submissions by a distance, but his lead in the green league from Ben Rackstraw and Alison Allen is much narrower with all still to play for. Steve Swinney's fine year at Linford means that he leads the comparative league with an impressive 127.3%. Joining him in beating last years total are Mark Nowers at Stutton and Jim Bradley at Surlingham. Meanwhile another 5 patchers top 90%, with Jamie Wells and Ben Lewis closing in fast on that all important mark with three months of the year still to go.

Adam Faiers at Sandwich Bay leads the way at the end of September but is locked in battle for the number 1 spot with Andy Johnson at Sandy Point who unblocked a long awaited patch tick with a Red-Backed Shrike in the month. Adam added Wood Warbler, Dotterel and Great White Egret to keep his nose in front. Bird of the month goes to the Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler in early September, a fantastic bird for Amy Robjohns which is more likely in Shetland than the southerly location of Titchfield Haven. In the comparative league, Adam Faiers is in a league of his own with a mammoth 134% compared to last years points score. Mark Lawlor and Chris Powell will be looking for a good October to put pressure on the 100% mark.

Joe Stockwell at Portland Bill is in a league of his own in the south west. Topping 300 points and with an impressive 1.83 points per bird, it seems unlikely that Joe will be caught. Overall a quiet month in the south west, Joe Stockwell extended his lead with Icterine Warbler, Ortolan and Richard's Pipit whilst both Joe and Sean Foote added Yellow-Browed Warbler to their points scores. A Honey Buzzard was also a welcome addition for Sean at North Portland. Peter Hazlewood at Oldbury Power Station is way out in front in the Birdtrack records stakes, topping 5000 submissions for the year. Martin Elcoate at Topsham in 5th place in the league is both the highest placed inland and green birder in the south west. In the all important comparative league, a Wryneck for Roger Musgrove at Wall Common has helped him to top the 100% mark, the only birder to do so in the south west. Hot on his tale are a further 5 birders with over 90%, all of whom will be hoping that October will bri...

With favourable conditions in the east of the country, the coastal north league saw some big movers in September, with some fantastic species added to patch lists. The best bird of the month must go to the Masked Shrike which graced Spurn for a couple of weeks. If Tim Jones had found the bird, he surely would have had one hand on the best find prize for 2014. The Shrike plus an enviable supporting cast including Pallid Harrier and Olive-Backed Pipit is enough to give Tim top spot at the end of September however. Pushing him hard, Martin Garner is the other member of the 300 club, adding Fea's Petrel and wishing that Baltic Gull, Grey-Headed Wagtail and Siberian Lesser Whitethroat qualified as full species! Best find of the month goes to Iain Robson at Druridge. A social media driven twitch along the east coast (started by Martin Garner at Flamborough!), lead to Iain having a decision to make. Head to Newbiggin for the best chance to see the Petrel, or risk missing out for the...

This is my first post on urban patching in North Leeds, or what the townie can do to enhance his birding. I took up the PWC gauntlet for the first time this year after spending a fair bit of time last year sussing out the location of an area to call 'my patch'. By canny use of the mapping tool on the PWC website I was able to get the bulk of Eccup Reservoir and a couple of decent stands of oldish woodland (Adel Dam and Breary Marsh) into my 3 square kilometers, it also included one of the more popular parks (Golden Acre) but that couldn't be helped. Adel Dam looking towards the lake Eccup Reservoir looking West from dam wall  So far I've made less than 2 dozen visits due to circumstances beyond my control but have managed to get to 67 species for a princely 69 points, considering I'd got a list of 58 species over 30 years of occasionally visiting the same area prior to the challenge I think that is a fairly positive result. Most of my visits ...

‘Purist’ birders will often scoff at those notion of setting a moth trap, throwing a few  quadrats  around a meadow or seawatching on a flat calm day without the intent of seeing some seabirds. Boredom? Distraction? Attempted upskilling? Some of the derogatory taglines they cast upon the efforts carried out by those of us who indulge in these ‘extra circular activities'. But the simple fact is, many of us  have an inherent appreciation (and/or obsession!) of all aspects of natural history, not just birds. As such, it is no surprise then that this manifests itself during a days birding, often peaking during the summer months due to a relatively 'quiet' period for birds but also  coinciding  with high time for insects, plants, bats etc. Patch birding results an in-depth knowledge of the birds which can be found on ones patch and this lends naturally to all other flora and fauna. With that, we asked PWC contestants shout from the rooftops about their...