Following on from Andrews note last year..... here's a little nudge to sign up for this years competition and to remind those that took part last year to sign up again.
Patchwork Challenge was set up encourage birders to look for birds rather than look at pagers. Each participant has a ‘patch’ of no more than 3sqK which they go bird on as often as they can. The emphasis is on recording and finding your own local birds and understanding your site better. Sightings are recorded on a score sheet with birds ranging from 1 -5 points depending on rarity value. Bonus points are allocated to scarce, rare and mega finds (those that score 3 points or above). At the end of each month results are submitted via the PWC website and collated into relevant leagues. The core numbers submitted are total birds, total score (which gives you a points per bird average), BirdTrack data (not essential) and a box for green listing (non-motorised). The initial year score is a benchmark and then each year after that you have a comparison percentage with the aim being to get to 100% or above. This is essentially the key to the ‘competition’ aspect. An inland woodland site can’t be compared to a coastal migration hot spot on species alone, but on consistently recording those numbers they can. Last entries are accepted at the end of February so still plenty of time to find a patch and work it.
Some more background can be found here - http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.u ... lenge.html http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3558
Here is the link to this years page with more information on how to take part - http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.u ... admin.html The registration form is on the right hand side of this page.
A mapping tool for your 3 square km patch can be found here - http://www.freemaptools.com/area-calculator.htm
To put a bit of local spin on this.... The RSPB's Lincolnshire Wash Reserves patch was the best in the country last year to get your 2015 list started with the highest points total and 2nd best species total in January http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4895
Things had changed a bit in February when we held top and second spot for both points and species seen http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4923 and continued into March where top spot was still ours for species and points once more.
A very unscientific way of saying that last year, Lincolnshire had the best patch in the country at the start of 2015
So whether you're going to take part or not, a visit to Frampton and Freiston should definitely be on the cards for those wanting to get a good start to their year list.
A Happy New Year to all and good patching, wherever that may be.
T