Patchwork Challenge

Nick Tonge takes advantage of a blank month for Keith Dickinson and James Common and takes the lead after adding 7 new species in June while Steven Ward joins the 100% club in 5th place. With less than 30% separating the top 15 it looks like a good autumn could well see anyone make a push for a podium place! Darren Starkey maintains his healthy lead at the top of the points table with Andy Bunting still his closest challenger. Garry Taylor has finally made his move into the top 3 adding 17 points from his 'inland' patch at Hornsea. 4th place is jointly held by Mark Reeder, Tom Lowe and Jonny Holliday so its all to play for while their PWC2014 nemesis Bill Aspin slips out of the top 10 and surely out of contention! Highlights were thin on the ground this month but Long-eared Owls featured in a few patches while Tome Lowe added a Quail to his Goole Fields score, Andy Bunting caught up with a Red-necked Phalarope and Paul Massey found the same species at his patch at Grindo...

Nothing new for Tom Raven this month (thats because he has seen everything already!). Tom Stevenson's battle with himself sees Battle Farm leading the way and busting through the 100% barrier at the same time thanks to three additional points. His Ewelme patch remains in third. Neil Burt added 8% in June to climb into 4th and putting pressure on the leaders. Again Tom Raven is out front but his lead has been cut by Graham White at Rye Meads who added a brace with Ruff and Tawny Owl. Adam Bassett holds onto third place as he added two as well thanks to a pair of Garganey and some Black-tailed Godwits.      This Knot was a nice inland find for Tim Farr at Sutton Bingham There were a pair of very decent finds in June for our Inland South patchers. Nick Croft got a handy 6 points with a Black Kite over his Wanstead patch. Not perhaps as big-hitting as the Blyth's Reed Warbler of last year I bet this was a tad more impressive! At Sutton Bingham Reservoir Tim Farr m...

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...

A wader double act for Ian Pitts was the highlight of an otherwise quiet month in the Coastal South league. Not satisfied with a superb Hudsonian Whimbrel, a fine Terek Sandpiper also paid a visit. Both were enjoyed by many observers, and for Ian they represent a couple of superb patch ticks and a load of points which lift Ian to 8th in the points table. Meanwhile the long staying Greater Yellowlegs at Titchfield Haven continued to draw admirers, but for Amy Robjohns whose local patch it has chosen to take up residence, it is that little bit more special.  Greater Yellowlegs : Titchfield Haven c/o Amy Robjohns Despite no additions in the month, Paul Freestone at Gwithian retains the lead in the comparative league. Peter Hazlewood has taken advantage of the opportunity to close the gap, with Nuthatch and Coal Tit being tough patch ticks at Oldbury Power Station. In the points league, Paul Bowerman bags points for a Storm Petrel and Crossb...

An american gull left Mick Turton laughing at his Easington patch in June. West continues to dominate east in the comparative league, with Ash Baines retaining top spot despite no additions in June and Seumus Eaves sharing second with Stewart Sexton. As is the trend for coastal sites, the autumn is a high point scoring period, so 89% is a very respectable score at the half year point.   In the points league, a superb May sent Mick Turton at Easington into top spot, and a couple of superb additions in June extend his lead. It will be quite a turnaround for the chasing pack to close the gap now. Perhaps they will be hoping that Mick has a two month holiday booked in September and October!   The highlight of the month was a cracking Laughing Gull, located by the aforementioned Mick Turton at Beacon Ponds. A first for the Spurn area, he also found a Bee-Eater as he stepped out onto his doorstep and enjoyed Spurn's first American Wigeon in addition to a ...

Craig Fulcher's fantastic year continues at Southwold with Manx Shearwater and Wood Sandpiper helping to extend his lead at the top. 91% at the half year is a superb score and with the autumn just around the corner the 100% marker must surely fall soon. A Red-footed Falcon for Ryan Irvine helped him leap frog Tommy Corcoran who saw what was undoubtedly the Coastal East Anglia bird of the month - a gleaming Pacific Golden Plover at the east end of Breydon which arrived on the 27th June. No locusts required in Hemsby! Nige Lound leads the point table at Gibraltar Point NNR, his location on the Lincolnshire side of the wash pushing the Norfolk and Suffolk sites down the table! He added a further six year ticks in the month, including a Montagu's Harrier. Robert Smith at Holme Dunes NNR keeps second despite no additions in the month but his gap to third is closing due to a Hen Harrier for James Brown. Gary White at North Walsham scored bonus points with a self...

A patch find Crane at Brantham keeps Ed Keeble in top spot for the month. Meanwhile Gordon Hodgson edges the battle for second with Shaun Robson just 0.7% behind. No-one has hit the 100% mark yet - but with an autumn of potential wader highlights on the horizon there should be some game-changing points scoring to come! The heavily watched Frampton / Freiston reserves dominate the top places with Dave Craven and Howard Vaughan breaking the whitewash. With so many watching the same site, the points table is extremely tight. So finding a rare bird on patch is going to make all the difference, and so it proved as a self-found Broad-Billed Sandpiper sends Paul Sullivan into top spot. Frampton also got in on this spring's Red-Necked Phalarope influx. Dave Craven is in an excellent fourth spot, with three patchlifers in the month in the form of a Sandwich Tern, Hawfinch and Pied Flycatcher.  #Patchgold - Pied Flycatcher at Hale & Pickerings Pasture c/o Dave Craven Howard ...

On the Scottish coast, Stephen Welch at Gosford Bay retains his lead in the comparative league. There is still some work to do to hit the 100% mark, but Stephen is only 12 points form the marker with the autumn months still to come. Chris Hill and Jim Dickson make up the top three with the remaining pack having plenty of work to do in the second half of the year to match the scoring of previous years. In the points league, it is a very close battle with Jim Dickson leading Mike Hodgkin by just one species and one point! There are also plenty of other patchers within striking distance, so the points competition should be an exciting one to watch over the coming months. Bird of the month in the Coastal Scotland league was an unseasonal Velvet Scoter for Jonathan Clarke at Whiteness Head who also added Razorbill to his year list.

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.

A very quiet month in the NGB league thanks to a mixture of people forgetting to submit their scores and many patchers being away from patches at their universities. There's no change in the top 3 in the comparative league with the top 2 both being away from patch for the entire month. The main change in the points league sees Jonathan Farooqui move up into second place on his Druridge Bay patch, a Cuckoo being a highlight there. Cathal Forkan had the best month in the league at Galway Bay where he managed to rack up 16 points and move up into the top 10 with seabirds dominating including Balearic Shearwater, Storm Petrel, Little Tern and Little Gull. July sees migration starting up again so expect a few higher scores coming in this league in the next couple of months.