Patchwork Challenge

Chris Pendlebury had a busy December, adding new species to all four of his patches in the Inland Scotland Comparative Minileague. Blairdrummond remained the only patch to break past the 100% target and as such wins the minileague title for #PWC2016 with 103.53% thanks to a Long-tailed Duck. Other additions for Chris included a Peregrine at Dunblane, a Lesser Redpoll at Stirling and a double act of Stonechat and Kingfisher at Kinneil. Chris's Dunblane patch steals second place from Cambus where Graeme Garner takes up third place for the year, ensuring the top of the table wasn't completely dominated by one person! Rankings were close in the Inland Scotland Minileague throughout the year, with just a percent or two separating most contestants on the table in the end. Roll on #PWC2017 ! Waxwing at Dunblane (c) Chris Pendlebury No new additions from David Douglas in December but his patch at Loch Leven remains in first place on the points minileague table at ...

Inland Scotland must be one of the most competitive comparative leagues with just over 7% separating the entire league. A good December could see anyone claim the top spot. Onto the highlights for November, David Douglas may be languishing in 7th spot but he added 12% (20 points) with the highlight a Common Scoter at Loch Leven. Graeme Garner (Crambus) and Chris Pendlebury joined the Waxwing fun at Dunblane and Chris also added Raven and Goosander at Kinneil. David Douglas's 20 points see's him leap frog Alastair Forsyth at the top and gain a commanding 13 point lead this late in the year. Alastair was another lucky patcher to see Waxwing (and another Siberian Chiffchaff) while  Graeme Garner managed a cracking duo for an inland patch, Scaup and Mediterranean Gull. Mike Hodgkin also added Waxwing this month as well as White-fronted Goose. The wintery feel was rounded off with a Lesser Redpoll at Kilmany for Andy Cage.  Like the comparative league a good Decembe...

All but one patch contestant in the Inland Scotland Minileague are now in the 90% range for the year but none have hit 100% as yet.  Yellow-browed Warbler at Old Nisthouse (c) Alastair Forsyth ( check out his blog ) With two months to go, Chris Pendlebury's first place Blairdrummond patch is just a one pointer away from the ton, but no additions in October continues the frustration. Will it fall? Graeme Garner at Cambus is in second with 95.6% and Chris P's Stirling patch makes up the top three just a fraction of a percent behind. It is tight through, just a single Waxwing could change everything! Alastair has the advantage over David Douglas in the points minileague. Old Nisthouse had a good month with four different Yellow-browed Warblers and Siberian Chiffchaff all earning bonus points. Perhaps best of all though was a patch tick Mistle Thrush while a Siberian Accentor made for a delightful distraction (albeit a 35 min drive away from the patch). No additio...

Still awaiting the first contestant to reach 100% in the Inland Scotland Comparative Minileague at the end of September but several contestants are making progress on that front. Chris Pendlebury's only addition for the month from his multitude of patches was a Spotted Flycatcher at Stirling, new for his patch list and his office list! This takes him to 93.5% and third place there. Graeme Garner moves into second place at Cambus, now on 94.8% while a fine duo of Black-tailed Godwit and Stonechat at Kilmany takes Andy Cage to 93% on the dot at Kilmany.  Little movement on the Inland Scotland Points Minileague table save for Graeme Garner's Clackmannan patch which moves from fifth to fourth place thanks to a Long-tailed Duck there which leaves him on 95 species and 102 points by the end of the month. Five contestants are now over 100 points. Some welcome additions during the month included a flyover Rock Pipit at Liberton West for Geoff Morgan and Kestrel finally ma...

August brings little change to the Inland Scotland Comparative Minileague table with the only mover being Chris Pendlebury at Stirling where the honour of adding Canada Goose to his patch year list saw him progress into fourth place after breaking the 90% threshold. Graeme Garner and Chris are almost neck and neck in second/third, both in the region of 93% with just a fraction of a percent separating the two. Graeme added Green Sandpiper at Cambus during August, bringing up his score to within reach of the top of the table. The same four contestants with scores of 100 points or more remain at the top of the Inland Scotland Points Minileague where Alastair Forsyth claims first place in the BirdTrack rankings with a very respectable 186 lists and 5240 records from Old Nisthouse. Geoff Morgan was keeping a sharp eye on garden flyovers at Liberton West, adding both Mediterranean Gull and Snipe along with a skua which he was unable to ID 100% but Pomarine seeming the...

No change at the top in Inland Scotland as the top three don't add any further points in July. Andy Cage at Kilmany added the most points in the comparative league with Redstart, Whinchat and Magpie all added on the last day of the month to move him onto the 90% mark.  It looks like David Douglas has top spot nailed despite no additions in the month. Alastair Forsyth added 2 points for an Osprey but had a very different highlight to his month when an Orca breached in his scope view in Clestrain Sound 10km away! He doesn't count any birds from the Sound for his PWC list, but still quite a sighting for an inland patch. An Arctic Tern at Kinneil was enough to bring up the 100 points for Chris Pendlebury this month. Other highlights in the month were a Grasshopper Warbler and Golden Plover for Jonathan Clarke at Croy. Also, Reed Bunting at Stirling in the month was worthy of multiple exclamation marks for Chris Pendlebury. The joy of patch birding!

The 100% mark gets ever closer for a number of patchers with Chris Pendlebury at Blairdrummond closest to hitting the marker, just one more point to go! That point didn't come in June however, a traditionally quiet month which is reflected in the table. Graeme Garner in third breaks up the monopoly of Chris patches at the top of the comparative league. David Douglas retains top spot at his Loch Leven patch, leading by 25 points to Alastair Forsyth at Old Nisthouse. Graeme Garner at Cambus  takes third. A quiet month with one clear highlight. A Gull-Billed Tern arrived at Kinneil in early June and stayed on for most of the month allowing many people to connect with this excellent bird including Chris Pendlebury. In what was a purple patch at Kinneil, Chris also connected with Fulmar and Grasshopper Warbler in the space of two days as well as the Tern. Superb shot of the Kinneil Gull-Billed Tern c/o Scott Wotherspoon (@spoony123456) The only other additions in the mo...

Another month goes by with a Chris Pendlebury double header at the top of the Inland Scotland Comparative Minileague table. A Spotted Flycatcher at Blairdrummond along with a supporting cast of the usual Spring migrants has brought him to 98.8% there by the end of May. He is sure to make it to 100% in June.  A Pintail was a #patchgold patch tick for Graeme Garner at Cambus bringing his patch species list to 94 for the year (the highest in the minileague) and over the ton in terms of points. This puts him in third place on the comp table with a score of 87.069%, narrowly knocking Andy Cage down to fourth place at Kilmany where he added Osprey, Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warbler in May. Alastair Forsyth and Graeme Garner both move past David Douglas at Loch Leven to take first and second place on the Inland Scotland Points Minileague during May with their post 100 points scores. Alastair secured the lead at Old Nisthouse where a Great Crested Grebe  was a fine #patch...

In typical fashion, Chris Pendlebury once again resides at the top of the Inland Scotland Comparative league. He's moved his Blairdrummond patch into 1st place, thereby knocking his Dunblane patch into second position. Finishing the month with a strong 91.765% for Blairdrummond, surely that 100% milestone can only be just around the corner. Great work Chris! Further down the table, Andy Cage at Kilmany manages to knock Graeme Garner and his Cambus patch from third place. Andy managed a further 11 species and finished on 77% for April. Moving on to the points league, no change at the top of the table with David Douglas and his Loch Leven patch still holding off the competitors despite not adding any further species for the month. In second place, Alastair Forsyth remains as he plays catch up adding another ten species and finishing on 95 points. With only three points separating the top two, David may not be holding onto 1st place in May! No bonus points thi...

Chris Pendlebury's grip on the comparative table loosens a little but only by the loss of third spot. His Dunblane patch is top of the tree on 77% having added his annual Redshank. His Blairdrummond patch moves on to 76% with Whooper Swan his March highlight there. At Cambus, Graeme Garner moves into third place after patch ticking both Short-eared Owl and Golden Plover. Green-winged Teal, Croy - Jonathan Clarke The inland behemoth that is Loch Leven keeps David Douglas on top of the Inland Scotland tree. This month he adds 9 points, keeping him 15 clear of Alastair Forsyth in second place with highlights including a Little Egret. Graeme Garner's new patch at Clackmannan is in third place on 79 points. Liberton East and West Goshawk, Geoff Morgan Find of the month goes to Jonathan Clarke at Croy after turning up a patch Green-winged Teal (one of two on his patch this month). One Goshawk made two patch lists as Geoff Morgans patches, Liberton East and West joi...

Another month passes in the Inland Scotland league with Chris Pendlebury dominating the Comparative minileague throughout February; securing first, second and third place! With 72% of his 2015 score notched already at Blairdrummond, Chris appears well on his way to setting a new record during 2016. Further down the table Graeme Garner takes fourth place at Cambus followed by David Douglas at Loch Leven. Will the onset of Spring migration help these competitors break into the upper echelons of this, thus far, one sided league? Only time will tell. To the points minileague now and David Douglas finds himself rooted in the top spot with a high score of 89 points at Loch Leven; followed by Gareme Garner in second place and Chris Pendlebury in third - I am sensing a theme here! Alastair Forsyth takes fourth place while Alex Ash rounds off the top five. Thus fair things remain fairly neck and neck between many competitors in 2016, it will be interesting to see how the situation develo...

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 s...

The rankings on the Inland Scotland Comparative Minileague table remained the same through December as they were at the end of November and with that, Chris Pendlebury wins the comp league with his excellent 115.7% score from Stirling (Green patch too).  No change for Alastair Forsyth at Old Nisthouse where he claims second place with 108.7% and Andy Cage adds a last minite Red-legged Partridge at Kilmany taking him to 101% in third. The rest of the comp league contestants finish with respectable 90% and 80% scores.  David Douglas steals first place on the Inland Scotland Points Minileague table from Alastair by a matter of four points with a fine end to the year at Loch Leven which included both Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon! David ended up with 166 points and the highest species tally in the league with 137. Good to see almost half the contestants scoring 100 points or more in the end. And a final shout out to Alastair for his excellent contribution t...

November was a month of #patchday rewards for those who took part in the Inland Scotland Minileague.  Alastair Forsyth started off his #patchday efforts with a #fullfatpatchtick drake Ring-necked Duck at Old Nisthouse but this was followed by a dodgy Black Swan (!) and what seems to be a mega patch grip after receiving a very good description of what may well have been a white morph Gyr pretty much in his back garden! Either way, he remains in second place on the comparative minileague table for another month with 108%. Ring-necked Duck  © Alastair Forsyth Chris Pendlebury's #patchday birding at his multitude of sites added a flyover Barnacle Goose with Pink-feet at Dunlbane, a Cormorant at Blairdrummond and a trio of ticks at Kinneil (Rock Pipit, Raven & Stonechat). Chris remains in first place on the comparative minileague table with 114% at Stirling while his Kinneil patch remains in eight but increases the comp score there by 10%. Alastair's Rin...

An extra two species including Redwing added and a 4% increase sees Chris Pendlebury's lead unchallenged again in the comparative table for his Stirling patch. Alastair Forsyth made similar gains with 5% added this month although he did manage three Yellow-browed Warblers (plus Chiffchaff and Goldcrest) for yet more bonus points. He also overtakes Andy Cage and becomes the third Inland Scotland patcher to reach the hallowed three figures. The aforementioned Mr Cage failed to make progress in October and as such slips to third. As mentioned above it was another good month for Alastair Forsyth at Old Nisthouse and he retains top spot in the points league and increases his lead from 6 to 14 points as David Douglas didnt register a score this month. Pete Antrobus didnt make any gains at Lochmaben and so remains a way back in third but now under pressure from Graeme Garner who added 8 points in October at Cambus. I could list all of Chris P's finds this month but sadly we kno...

Chris Pendlebury tops the table again this month with 110% at Stirling yet it is small additions which make important changes to the rankings elsewhere in the Inland Scotland Comparative Minileague. Andy Cage added four species  to his Kilmany patch:  Kingfisher and Lesser Redpoll plus migrating Golden Plover and Pink-footed Geese. This puts him bang on 100 points, 100% comp score and straight into second place. Alastair Forsyth is knocked back into third place at Old Nisthouse but by less than 1%! Redstart was a #fullfatpatchtick for Alastair.  In the points league we see no change in the rankings except Chris Pendlebury's Kinneil patch which moves from ninth to seventh with a Wood Sandpiper a great bird for him there. Five patches now boast over 90 species and 100 points. Alastair Forsyth is still leading the charge in terms of BirdTrack submissions, with over 6,200 records and 220 lists added to date. Top marks for effort there!

A good month in inland Scotland sees Chris Pendlebury's sterling start to the year continue apace, adding Siskin in August to maintain top spot. It is the only patch scoring over 100%, but Alastair Forsyth is just a two pointer away from matching last years performance, while Andy Cage will be looking for a good autumn to take him over the line. Alastair Forsyth and David Douglas are vying for top spot in the points league. Alastair's racked up a few rarities earlier in the year, and is benefitting from an impressive 1.413 points per bird taking him top despite 23 fewer species than his nearest rival. The shores of Loch Leven proved attractive to waders in August with Little Stint and both Wood and Green Sandpiper added for David. Alastair retains his leading margin however with a couple of two pointers of his own, a calling Quail from nearby barley fields and a fishing Osprey was a garden tick! Pete Antrobus also got in on the act with an Osprey carrying fish at his ...

Chris P continues to make strides in Stirling and continues to add points despite cracking the 100% mark in June. This months addition was Stock Dove and a sliver of #patchbronze. Alastair Irvine jumps into second after adding 11% to his total at Whiteford. Alastair Forsyth slips to third despite adding Whimbrel after failing to nail the flyover Redpoll to species... David Douglas closes up to Alastair Forsyth at the top of the table after the latters seemingly unassailable lead is reduced to 8 points. Pete Antrobus managed to overtake Graeme Garner on his Lochmaben patch to move into third place. Sadly there were no highlights submitted to us this month from the minileague aside from those mentioned so fingers crossed this improves in the early autumn...

It's the halfway point in the year and time for a look back over the first six months  for  the Inland Mini-leagues. I'll not get bogged down with point scores etc as that is best left to the monthly reviews, this is more of a personal selection of the more interesting sightings submitted in the highlights box and rough tally of best find records. Before I start, let's just recap on the prime purpose of the Challenge, which is to record the species over time in a small area and make those records available for others to use the data. So anyone who isn't logging their sightings on Birdtrack needs to start now and with the mobile app it is even possible to log sightings in the field. 2015 had been fairly quiet year for most patch-workers with a lack of true megas until April when Tom Raven noticed an odd looking godwit late in the day at his Shapwick Heath/ Ham Wall (South) patch. After swotting up overnight he managed to re-find the bird the following day and pu...

The 100% barrier has finally fallen in the Inland Scotland league, with a two pointer Osprey pushing Chris Pendlebury's Stirling patch past the all important comparative marker. Alastair Forsyth nudges that little bit closer to the marker with a #patchgold flyover Crossbill, just a second patch record. Meanwhile Andy Cage in third added roding Woodcock and Tufted Duck, the latter not so easy at his Kilmany site. The flyover Crossbill helps Alastair to retain his lead at the top of the points league. David Douglas is keeping him on his toes, just 15 points adrift with plenty of time to go. David is the only competitor to top 100 species, but the American duck bonanza earlier in the year is paying dividends at Old Nisthouse with an impressive 1.412 points per bird.