Kev Rylands Dawlish Warren PWC review of 2013

Having spent the previous two years UK and then Devon yearlisting I had already decided I needed to spend more time on patch in 2013. The combination of Patchwork Challenge and a move three miles closer were additional encouragement.  A good decision as it turned out as the Warren had a record year with 201 species recorded and I managed to connect with 184 (+2) of these (worth 295 Patchwork points) beating my previous best (182) set way back in 2001. Not only that I managed six patch ticks along the way - I’ll take that return any year!

www.dawlishwarren.co.uk

January

The year started with a few welcome leftovers, Bearded Tit, Black-necked Grebe and Water Pipit, but you can’t get a better start than a patch tick on New Year’s Day (except perhaps two patch ticks…) so finding a male Serin with Greenfinch in Dead Dolphin Wood, the first at DW since 1991, was huge bonus. I managed 83 species on the 1^st and broke the Patchwork ton, but maybe I had peaked too early as I then went on to miss three very good Warren birds; Yellowhammer, Goosander and Woodcock before restoring the balance with a Long-tailed Duck right at the end of the month. Running total 98/121

February

A relatively quiet month although it is always a relief to get the potentially tricky Black-throated Diver on the year list. Late in the month, a quick twitch for Gadwall showed how desperate I was to keep the counter ticking over…

Running total 104/129

March

Migrants took a long time coming and the first addition wasn’t until the 16^th when a Red-necked Grebe pitched in offshore. The next day saw my first Wheatear and a record spring passage of Chaffinch that included a few Brambling. Another site record followed the next week with 70+ Chiffchaff seemingly everywhere but just single Blackcap and Sand Martin accompanied them. I had the last week of the month off but it was only the challenge that kept me in the field with Merlin,  Little Gull and an early Osprey standout birds until the equally cold, windy and unpromising morning of the 26^th. On this date the first DW Stone-curlew since 1987 flew past me and landed on the golf course, a patch mega that unfortunately didn’t linger and even worse was only worth a miserly TWO points – surely that beats a Whimbrel?!!!

Running total 116/147

April

Despite the conditions and lack of migrants April opened with a twitch – a Hoopoe on Warren Point and a tick for most locals gripping back my 1993 bird. The month continued with most regular migrants turning up albeit in low numbers and highlights including singing Firecrest, a Long-eared Owl one evening post-work and on the 25^th only my second ever patch Marsh Harrier pre- work. Both would likely have been missed without the Patchwork Challenge spurring me on. The next day saw my third patch tick of the year a Montagu’s Harrier – the 5^th record and first on site since 1979! Pleasingly all the regulars were on site and were able to connect with this excellent patch record, a great end to the month, roll on May…

Running total 135/178

May

The focus switched offshore in May with terns and skuas in the offing, several cracking spooned Pomarine Skua were noted but the month’s highlight were a lingering group of Roseate Tern, peaking at a Devon record 20 birds. Also offshore the year’s first national rarity, a returning Bonaparte’s Gull roosting on the sea on several dates. Wader passage also picked up during the month with a smart brick-red Curlew Sandpiper, a lone Ruff (scarce on site) and a twitch for a patch mega, Temminck’s Stint, only the third record and first for 21 years - and so another blocker bites the dust…the same evening saw two Turtle Dove, a species that is no longer annual on site.  The month ended with another self-found bonus with a Short-toed Lark flying along the Dune Ridge before running around Warren Point for an hour or so, only the fourth Warren record and first ever in spring.

Running total 150/208

June

Midsummer and as expected a quiet month, the main target species Storm Petrel showed up mid-month otherwise Tawny Owl and an early Yellow-legged Gull were the only additions. However wader passage did produce at least five ‘Sanderbling’ from Greenland, Iceland and Ghana and the Slavonian Grebe was present for its sixth summer.

Running total 153/213

July

Even worse than June because as the autumn passage started expectations were raised only to be continually dashed in the field.  Common Sandpiper was the only new addition until a Balearic Shearwater on the last day of the month. Ringing recoveries did however reveal some interesting facts about the passage terns on site.  I managed to miss what turned out to be the only Long-tailed Skua of the year and started my autumn long quest to dip every Coal Tit found on site…

Running total 155/216

August

A mixed start to the month, connecting with Little Ringed Plover, but same day missing the only Crossbill of the year. Things remained slow (Zebra Finch dip aside) but midmonth the first Garden Warbler of the year finally showed up and I dipped another Goosander and three different Green Sandpiper (less than annual). Things started to look up again following a thunderstorm on the 25^th which produced a Black Tern, two Wood Sandpiper and three Little Stint in a crazy ten minute period. The east coast fall just about filtered through the next day with a Pied Flycatcher on Warren Point and over the next two days a Whinchat and my only Tree Pipit of the year. These were eclipsed however by another quality find at the end of the month - my second ever patch Pectoral Sandpiper.

Running total 165/235

September

A quiet start to the month was broken by an early morning phone call on the 8^th ‘Get up, Get up, Red-backed Shrike by the Main Pond now’.  I somehow managed to get out of bed and on to the bird before others actually on site when it was found! The first at the Warren since 1998 and a welcome grip back for me for a change J. The bird, an immature, remained for several days but was actually the start of a bad run as next day the site rangers suppressed a Lesser Yellowlegs (2^nd record) and a group twitching the shrike had a flyover White Stork (3^rd record). Normal service was resumed the next weekend though with a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and the first Golden Plover of the year, I came back to twitch the latter! Another twitch was required soon after with the sixth Rose-coloured Starling for DW present around the car park where a site record 154 House Sparrow were also counted. The month ended for me with an Eider close in offshore - a rare bird this year. The Warren wasn’t however done, whilst I was on Scilly for a week I missed Wryneck, Black Guillemot, Garganey, a Black Brant and some more Coal Tit.

Running total 170/250

October

October couldn’t quite keep up the hectic pace but the Black Brant did make a welcome reappearance and the national influx yielded at least three Yellow-browed Warbler on site. A brief run mid-month did see Cirl Bunting, Lapland Bunting, three Whooper Swan and Yellowhammer added on consecutive days but then October fizzled out and I had to scrape the barrel to get another year tick before the month’s close – Red-legged Partridge.

Running total 177/267

November

November lived up to its billing as one of the best birding months on the Warren, indeed I had my second most valuable day of the year, points-wise, early in the month.  For the most part autumn seawatching had been very disappointing but that was to change. On the 2^nd, whilst hoping for a Leach’s Petrel, I had the (mis)fortune to find the site’s second ever November record of Storm Petrel. I compounded this mistake by dipping a real Leach’s Petrel (and the years only Snow Bunting) the next day. So with another front sweeping across the Atlantic I took the 5^th off and waited… there were no more petrels but the site’s third White-rumped Sandpiper (first since 1998 and another patch tick) and fourth Great White Egret (first since 2002) did fly past over the course of the morning, and whilst this was going on two Black Redstart hopping around on the seawall were an overdue addition to my year list. Three species and 14 more points just like that. A week later, from the same spot, seawatching produced another unexpected patch tick when the first Warren Red-crested Pochard since 1999 flew south. Other highlights in November included a couple of Siberian Chiffchaff, a twitch for a drake Scaup that eventually drifted into the recording area, a couple of Velvet Scoter and an obliging White-fronted Goose whilst the Bonaparte’s Gull reappeared and another Lapland Bunting flew over.
Running total 186/295

December

As it often does in any year list December drew a blank, despite there being plenty of possible new ticks none were forthcoming. My biggest omission was Coal Tit (could record them daily if I counted beyond the boundary) but I dipped another 16 species whilst some (half)expected species such as Sooty Shearwater, Spoonbill, Pochard, Kentish Plover, Grey Phalarope, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and even Grasshopper Warbler simply failed to show. With some more effort, decent seawatching weather and any sort of autumn vismig who knows what score could have been reached…
Final total 186/295

2014

Many of December’s rarities remained into 2014 with Bonaparte’s Gull, Siberian Chiffchaff, Velvet Scoter, Black Brant and Long-tailed Duck all still present (though I have yet to catch up with the latter two) however I don’t expect to hit the patch as hard this year so expect a 2014 score closer to previous averages of 170/240.

Thanks to all the regulars on site (one of whom actually beat my score) for sharing and finding many of these birds through the year and of course to the Patchwork Challenge team for all their work and for organising my year in the first place.

www.dawlishwarren.co.uk

2013 – THE PUGNEYS PWC YEAR - Jonny Holliday

First the bare statistics :

  Total Species = 149

  Total Points = 189

  Species Self-found = 143

All the above are personal records and right from the start of January it was clear that entering the Patchwork Challenge was  going to provide that extra bit of motivation to get out on the patch more often, for longer, and look harder. I was going to add up the amount of visits and hours spent on-patch for the year but realised that ...A: Thats a bit sad....and B: it was far to many and the missus might see this!

   So heres a quick review of the year from me and the mighty PUGNEYS!!

JAN

The leftovers from 2012 provided a great start to the year with Long-tailed Duck, Scaup, Smew and 'Mealy' Redpoll all available on the 1^st. A Glaucous Gull on the 2^nd was a much sort after patch-tick and Caspian and Y L Gulls were easily seen in the gull roost. Regulars such as Bittern, Jack Snipe and Whooper Swan made it a month to remember.

FEB

A quieter month but I managed to dig out several tricky patch birds with Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker and Brambling being the highlights along with another record of Glaucous Gull and the first tentative hint of spring in the shape of Ringed Plover, Curlew and Oystercatcher.

MAR

The month was slow to get going but a Stonechat on the 17^th was the 1^st rec for 2 years. The 18^th was a classic inland E'ly and 'clag' day, so typically I was at work!. I did manage a late visit and scored with Kittiwake and Black-tailed Godwit but I had already missed 2 Avocet (patch-tick) and 24 C Scoter! Waxwing was added and the 1^st Chiffchaff later in the month rounded things off.

APR

A week on Islay at the start of the month meant I was away for the 1^st patch record of Common Crane – a bitter pill indeed! The 11^th finally saw Sand Martin arrive – incredibly 5 weeks later than last year although a Grey Plover was welcome. The next 2 weeks saw migrants arriving in force and goodies included Black-necked Grebe, Greenshank, Whinchat and Grasshopper Warbler (a glaring omission in 2012!). Classic conditions on 25^th saw me ditching work and patch ticking Little Tern, a great sight over the main lake along with  Black and Arctic Tern, 2 Kittiwakes and hundreds of Hirundines! It was tricky having to leave and twitch the Spurn Rock Thrush....Next day  saw  Whimbrel and the 27^th had a site record count of c50 Black-tailed Godwits heading NW.

 Perhaps the highlight of my patch year occurred on the 30^th when I found a drake LESSER SCAUP in the evening - 1^st site record and 1^st BB rarity for a few years.

MAY

Main highlight was another patch tick in the form of a stunning 'ringtail' Hen Harrier that drifted SE on the 8^th. A rather quiet month otherwise with the only other notable (sadly...) addition being Cuckoo. 

JUNE

The month started well with a Spotted Fly on the 1^st, 4 Little Gulls on the 8^th and Common Scoter on the 9^th. Other additions included Hobby and  Crossbill but a thrown away distant Goshawk on the 30^th saw the month out in a bad mood!

JULY

As usual a generally quiet month with a Little Egret the only new bird for the year. A Bittern was unusual and the normal dearth of passage waders continued whilst other local sites heaved with scarce mud-lovers..... 

AUG

A Barn Owl early in the month was an overdue addition but the bird of the month was a confiding Purple Sandpiper on the wetlands on the 25th, only the 2^nd patch record and the last was in 1980! The same day also produced Tree Pipit and Greenshank, a real red letter day!! 

SEPT

Always a potentially good month this year was no disappointment. Marsh Harrier, Med Gull, Pintail, Red-crested Pochard and Ruddy Duck were all added during the month and there were good days of viz-migging and movements of Pink-footed Geese.

OCT

A Rock Pipit on the 4^th was the highlight for me as I spent most of the month on a rather poor trip to the Scilly Isles. To compound the gloom I missed a massive local movement of Gannets with birds recorded everywhere including Pugneys!!

NOV

9 Crossbill on the 2^nd was a record count but the undoubted highlight was a Siberian Chiffchaff first seen on the 11^th and intermittently until the 24^th at least – another 1^st for the site. Mandarin finally made the year list and was joined by Ring-necked Parakeet.

DEC

A poor month weather-wise and birding was limited in the short days leading to christmas. Duck numbers were modest and the only excitement was a Red-breasted Merganser on Boxing day and the returning Smew making sporadic appearances. 

So there we go! A great year I think any inland patcher will agree..?.....and yet.....

without sounding greedy I missed Green Sand, Red Kite, Turnstone, Sanderling and Ruff – all species I would expect to see. So 150 is on and I will be trying again this year! 

Entrants details.

We have created a new page showing an interactive spreadsheet with peoples entry details as it has come to our attention that there was no confirmation for people once they have entered the form. I have also worked up a masterlist and there are a few queries with various entries - usually that I cant find where their patch is located or if it is by the sea for minileagues sake. We are also not sure we have a complete list of Next Gen Birders for their minileague. In one case somebody has omitted their name and there are also a few other issues. If you could check your submission HERE and let us know of any issues with your entry by email that would be great. For clarification here are the minileagues as they stand:

Inland

Next Generation Birders

Coastal Scotland

Inland Scotland

Ireland

Wales

Coastal North

Inland North

Midlands

London

South West

South Coast

Coastal East Anglia

Inland East Anglia

These are subject to change with regard geography and accuracy isnt necessarily the main issue - somewhere like inland Gloucestershire would likely go down as midlands where as an estuarine site in the same county would perhaps be south-west at the moment. Inland home county sites tend to get lumped into London at present. You can be in up to three minileagues - Next Gen Birders for Under 25s (make sure you get involved in their Facebook Group) and Inland as well as your geographic location.

My 2013 PWC review from Hemsby

Looking back at 2013 and I firmly believe this was my best year patch birding, probably due to being offshore less and PWC encouraging me to get out a lot more. Windy, rainy and generally unpleasant?? Who cares, lets get out and see what I can find! On more than one occasion I added some species on days when I might have not bothering going out on patch due to the weather. I even enjoyed birding in the terrible weather, there are less dog walkers about for a start! So in the end I managed to creep up to 163 species/ 246 points (and a humpback whale some of you may have heard about). That should keep me busy for 2014 as I try to reach these heights again, as well as trying to find my first patch 12+ pointer!

As with Mark's and Rob's post I thought I would follow the trend of breaking down my year month by month:

January
January was a relatively quiet month with 69 species recorded. A flock of 19 Whooper Swans was probably the highlight for me, a patch tick. Other good patch birds were on offer, mainly from seawatching with Little Auk, Velvet Scoter and GN Diver the best of a decent bunch.

February
As expected the year slowed down a bit in February with only 11 new birds added. There was some tricky patch birds recorded though with Bar-tailed Godwit (patch tick), Goldeneye, Peregrine and Coal Tit welcome additions this early in the year.

March
Away for all but 1 day of the month but still manage to add Pintail.

April
What a month, a combination of no March birding and start of spring migration bagged me 41 new species, starting with a couple of patch ticks, Egyptian Goose and Short-eared Owl. Spring started on the 7th at Hemsby when a Tree Pipit landed in my garden briefly and over the next couple of weeks I added the commoner migrants including the first (reported) Spotted Flycatchers into the UK on the 18th. A couple of roosting Long-eared Owls were a particular highlight but bird of the month for me was a stunning male Pied Flycatcher that hung around for a day. Another highlight of the year which will live long in the memory happened on the evening of the 14th as I sat in my back garden and watch over 5000+ Blackbirds and at least 1500 Redwings fly high north over a two hour period many taking off out of my patch and joining the masses.

May
Away again for most of the month but still managed to see my first Cuckoo, Greenshank and Swift of the year, in fact one of the BTO tagged cuckoos was soon to be tracked using my patch quite often!

June
Just when I thought spring was over a female Red-backed Shrike appeared at the north end of my patch. My first 6 pointer of the year! Manxie and GS Woodpecker were the only other additions in June.

July
A very quiet month with no real surprises, a couple waders (Knot & Common Sandpiper) and Arctic SKua added. Mothing took off this month though, as I caught 4000 moths in 9 traps throughout the month!

August
The bank holiday weekend from the 23rd to the 26th was a pretty special time on the patch. The weather conditions were perfect and the patch was dripping with migs. It all started on the Friday evening when I found an Icterine Warbler and then the following days I foundd Wood Warbler, 2 Wrynecks as well as finding a Wryneck and Red-backed Shrike on my work patch in Great Yarmouth. The amount of migrants around during those few days was amazing with multiple records of Tree Pipit, Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, Whinchats and Redstarts etc. A great end to a month that added 9 species and 22 points!

September
Not as productive as I would have liked but then I did spend the peak period at the end of the month on Shetland, bad patch planning! Seawatching in absolutely horrendous conditions paid off with a Black Tern and Long-tailed Skua as well as hundreds of waders while in more serene conditions I managed to find my first patch Grasshopper Warbler.

October
My favourite month of the year and it didn't disappoint. Everything favoured me again as the second big fall of the autumn (after the late August one) fell on a weekend again. I added four 6 pointers from the 11th - 13th, starting with a Leach's Petrel on the Friday followed up by at least 3 Yellow-browed and a Pallas's Warbler the following day. Firecrest and Snow Bunting were also added on these days and the Sunday began with a Richards Pipit making a brief appearance before the rain. A Jack Snipe on a road side verge was a great way to end the weekend. By the end of the month I had added 15 species (51 points) including a few more patch ticks, Shore Lark, Treecreeper and the long awaited Green Woodpecker! The month took a rather bizarre twist on the 29th when I noticed a 'blow' from my sofa before work one day. I was soon watching Norfolks first Humpback Whale!

November
My last two additions were seen early on the month, a Merlin and Purple Sandpiper. It was a difficult month as conditions were never great for seawatching (at least when I was at home anyway) and I always thought that was my best chance of any good birds.

December
Much like November without the new birds. The highlight was a flock of 100+ Snow Bunting that ventured down from my neighbouring patch at Winterton for a day.

2014 - this is what I have to beat, it will be tough but I'm sure I'll have a grand time trying......

Meopta and Forest Optic Best Find Shortlist

Here’s our shortlist for the Meopta and Forest Optic best find competition. Great birds one and all and congratulations to all of the finders – whether your find wins anything or not, your bird will probably go down as a defining patch birding memory for you. It’s the sort of stuff that patching is all about...

• ·         Gyr - South Uist
• ·         Feas petrel  x3 - Cork
• ·         Bridled Tern - Isle of May
• ·         Blyth's reed warbler, Cheshire
• ·         Western Bonelli’s Warbler – Orkney
• ·         Semipalmated Plover - Hampshire
• ·         Mourning Dove - Rhum
• ·         Red-flanked Bluetail - Norfolk
• ·         Pied wheatear  - Notts

Keep in mind that in drawing up the shortlist we’ve already considered birds like Siberian stonechat and citrine wagtail. Our selections are largely based on rarity, but in the case of the Gyr for example, the glamour aspect has influenced us too. It is, after all, the ‘best’ find and not necessarily the rarest.

To vote for your winner of the Meopta and Forest Optic best find, please see the poll on the right hand side of the blog. Good luck if one of your finds has made it into our shortlist! If it hasn't, then we wish you the very best of luck in finding something that makes it onto the shortlist for 2014!

Happy voting folks - the deadline for voting is the 8th January!

Rob Fray's 2013 Review - Virkie/Toab/Exnaboe

January

Winter in Shetland can be pretty bleak. There’s not usually much to see, particularly as it doesn’t get light between November and February (OK, that’s a slight exaggeration, but a prolonged period of over-exuberance and over-sleeping can mean days, if not weeks, can pass by without seeing daylight). January 2013 brought 48 species, including a flock of four White-fronted Geese around Toab, not an annual visitor to the patch. Highlight, though, was the continuing presence of a wintering Blue Tit on my nuts – a proper rare bird in these parts, and still the only one I’ve seen in the patch. Should be worth much more than one measly point in my opinion.

Blue Tit

February

What can be said about February? Not a lot. Five species added, including Common Scoter and the first Skylark of the year.

March

For much of the country, mid to late March spells the beginning of spring, with pretty things like Sand Martins, Wheatears and Little Ringed Plovers brightening the days up. Not here though. Just seven species added, although that did include major bonuses in the form of a Mistle Thrush in Toab and a Goldfinch in my garden, neither of which are annual. As it happened, Goldfinch proved to be ‘common’ in the patch this spring, with another eight or so by the end of May.

Goldfinch

April

The list shot up from 60 to 88 during April, as spring finally lumbered into view. Most of the species added were to be expected, although Sandwich Tern, Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull and Rook (!) were notable. The big bird of the month (and possibly the year), however, was a Coal Tit at Hestingott – only the sixth record (seventh individual) for mainland Shetland, although sadly not a patch tick as one of the last records before the Hestingott bird was one I found in Toab a few years ago.

Coal Tit - Courtesy of Jim Nicolson

May

I always look forward to May. May can be brilliant in Shetland. But May can also be terribly frustrating if the weather isn’t favourable. May 2013, fortunately, was a stormer, with several periods of ‘good’ weather. The first three weeks brought a nice selection of commoner migrants, including Short-eared Owl, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Grasshopper Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Sandpiper and, best of all, a Grey-headed Wagtail at Exnaboe (my first ‘six-pointer of the year). A pair of Shoveler on May 22nd (only my second ever patch record) heralded the beginning of a slightly crazy week. A Buff-breasted Sandpiper along the coastal path near Exnaboe on the 24th was both a patch tick and a self-found tick, with a Common Rosefinch four days later, also at Exnaboe, bagging me another six points. The month ended with a flourish on the 30th, with a bonkers hour or so in my garden: whilst running around trying to relocate a male Red-backed Shrike which literally fell out of the sky in front of my eyes, I flushed a Thrush Nightingale, which remained faithful to the garden for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, the aforementioned shrike reappeared and started singing! A fabulous end to a great month had seen the list shoot up to 115 and my points total go through the roof to 177.

Common Rosefinch

June

Just the one addition this month, a singing Marsh Warbler in a neighbour’s garden. A singing Common Rosefinch took up temporary residence in the Virkie Willows on the 8th, whilst intriguingly a female Red-backed Shrike found the same willows to its liking for four days late in the month.

July

Usually a quiet month, July 2013 proved to be anything but. Common Crossbill, Swift and Ruff are three species I tend to add in July, but a group of four Red-necked Phalaropes on the Pool of Virkie for a few minutes on the 16th was highly unexpected. I was working on Unst at the end of the month, which coincided with the worst dip of the year – a Roseate Tern outside my house for one evening. However, I did catch up with a wandering Gull-billed Tern at Virkie that had originally been found at Scatness, along with a bonus drake Scaup.

Red-necked Phalaropes - Courtesy of Roger Riddington

August

A slow start, but an excellent finish, added nine new species. Along with many other patches on the east coast, late August brought a decent fall, with useful additions including Icterine Warbler, Barred Warbler and Wood Warbler (all on the 25th), Marsh Harrier on the 28th, and a self-found Citrine Wagtail that spent the best part of a week around the Virkie Willows from the 29th. Another couple of rosefinches appeared during this period too.

Citrine Wagtail

September

September in Shetland. Anything can happen. With the influx of visiting birders, it’s all very traumatic – will somebody roll up to the Pool of Virkie whilst I’m at work and clap eyes on a Willet? Fortunately for me, that didn’t happen, and I was lucky enough to find the best wader of the autumn at Virkie this year – a fine Lesser Yellowlegs on the 16th. Other waders around at this time included Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper, although probably the major event of the autumn from a local point of view was the huge avalanche of Black-tailed Godwits. My peak count was 208 – the largest flock recorded in Shetland before this was 47!

Lesser Yellowlegs

Obviously, Shetland in September is not really about waders, it’s passerines, and the period from 21st to 24th was especially productive. I’d had my eye on a tattie crop at Exnaboe all autumn, but until now it had produced nothing. Then over the space of two days, it held a Short-toed Lark, a Bluethroat and a Richard’s Pipit. Three year ticks, 18 points, one field. Get in. Other notable migrants during the month included a Wryneck in my garden, another six Common Rosefinches and the inevitable deluge of Yellow-browed Warblers (conservative estimate of 19 over the last week of September). The best passerine, however, was a Western Bonelli’s Warbler (I can be forgiven not finding this, as it was in the BB Editor’s garden!).

But September died a bit of a limp death, and from 24th onwards there was not a patch year tick to be had. I finished the month on 144 species, seven short of my record of 151 set in 2010. A decent October should see me there or thereabouts...

October

October began as September finished. It was hard work. There were a few Yellow-browed Warblers still hanging on, but nothing else. Things changed on the 8th, with another Richard’s Pipit (which kindly added itself to my house list), followed by a Turtle Dove in Toab on the 9th. The 10th was a nasty day, with a northerly gale blowing, so I foolishly gave myself a day off. Bad mistake. A Pechora Pipit was found 100 yards from my house! I did manage to see it the following day, as well as relocating a White-rumped Sandpiper at Virkie that had initially been flushed from a beach at Scatness. A nice run of new birds over the next few days included a Great Spotted Woodpecker in Toab (a long overdue patch tick), three Hawfinches at Exnaboe and a Lesser Redpoll, again at Toab. A Woodcock on the 21st equalled my record of 151. What would be the record-breaker (if indeed there was to be a record-breaker)? Rather pleasingly, the magic field at Exnaboe produced the goods on the 26th, with a patch-tick Shore Lark – a fitting way to set a new record. A Waxwing in Toab a few days later was the final addition to the year list.

Pechora Pipit - Courtesy of Roger Riddington

November and December

The autumn finished in late October. Nothing to report over the last two months of the year. No additions to the list, although I did have a nice holiday in Arizona.

So, I ended the year on 153 species, and 298 points. The points per species ratio finished at 1.947. If only I’d found that bloody Pechora Pipit, I’d have had 306 points and a nice round 2.0 points per species.

I rather suspect it will be challenging to beat 153 species in future, as 2013 was an excellent year in my patch. Six ‘BB’ rarities, plus four local rarities and a host of scarce migrants will be difficult to better, not to mention a grand total of eight patch ticks. That said, there were at least five species seen in my patch in 2013 that I missed (Roseate Tern, Reed Warbler, Slavonian Grebe, Hen Harrier and Cuckoo), along with another five fairly glaring omissions that I see most years (Long-eared Owl, Reed Bunting, Greenfinch, Brent Goose and Barnacle Goose). I was lucky this year to find a lot of the good birds – this isn’t always the case in a patch like mine, where there are several top-drawer rarity finders living close by (including two of the most prolific rarity finders in Britain!) and an influx of other birders during the best weeks of the autumn. Roll on 2014...

Rob Fray

2014 PWC Combined List on Bubo

This year thanks to Bresser and Forest Optics we will be supporting a worthy bird charity with a donation equivalent in pounds to the combined list of species that the competitors manage to accrue. Last year we managed 314 species which will mean a £314 donation to the BTO's Out of Africa appeal specifically helping to support our Cuckoo, Patch. We will be deciding on the charity or appeal soon but in the meantime we need your help to keep track of the number of species we have seen. We do this by keeping a list on Bubo and this has open access. The username for access is Patchwork Challenge and the password is Patching. To add a species first go to my lists, highlight the 2014 list and then go to add species or batch edit. If you find a bird new to the challenge please add to the all time list as well. You can do this by ticking the add to multiple lists option within the add species page and highlighting the life list option. Please fill in all the fields, especially when referring to rarer species including noting where you saw the bird and who the observer was in the notes. Now will anybody add something decent today?