The rules are pretty simple, record how many species of bird you see on/from your patch over the calendar year, and a patch can be no larger than 3 square kilometres. My patch area is well within the 3 square kilometre limit, with the boundaries I am using shown in the picture below (click the image to see a larger version).
Just out of interest, my 2013 scores had I been doing the Patchwork Challenge would have been as follows:
| Number of Species Seen | 102 |
| Species Points | 117 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 3 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 120 |
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After a pretty good year I finished 2014 with the following scores:
| Number of Species Seen | 108 |
| Species Points | 121 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 3 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 124 |
Despite seeing six more species than in 2013, I had fewer "2-pointers" than last year, so the scores ended up being much closer than one would expect. There were also a number of species seen in 2013 that I missed in 2014 and vice versa.
Full PWC report for 2014 can be read here.
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2015 was another good year on the patch, where despite seeing less species than in 2014 I scored more patchwork Challenge points due to the fact I found some scarcer birds.
| Number of Species Seen | 105 |
| Species Points | 121 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 9 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 130 |
Full PWC report for 2015 can be read here.
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Well 2016 turned out to be an amazing year, smashing previous year totals and adding four new patch ticks in the process. It'll be hard to get near this total in 2017!
| Number of Species Seen | 123 |
| Species Points | 146 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 7 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 8 |
| SCORE | 161 |
Full PWC report for 2016 can be read here.
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With 2016 being such a cracker it was always going to be hard to get anywhere near the totals in 2017, and I did fall short. Despite recording my second highest annual total of species, I was well down on points as I failed to find any scarce or rare birds on the patch over the course of the year.
| Number of Species Seen | 110 |
| Species Points | 119 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 0 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 119 |
Full PWC report for 2017 can be read here.
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Well the adverse weather at the start of the year meant 2018 was off to a flyer, but alas as the year progressed things tailed off and what was looking at being a record year spluttered to a finish. That being said it was my second best total for the patch.
| Number of Species Seen | 117 |
| Species Points | 131 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 3 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 134 |
Full PWC report for 2018 can be read here.
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It was a mixed bag in 2019, I managed a respectable total for the year, totalling the score I achieved last year. However, I missed a total of eight species, of which four would have been patch ticks, so ironically there was a bit of disappointment.
| Number of Species Seen | 116 |
| Species Points | 131 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 3 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 134 |
Full PWC report for 2019 can be read here.
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Well what a year 2020 turned out to be, with the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic much birding was lost, especially in the Spring. However, I somehow managed to add four species to my Sutton Bingham life list and record my second highest annual total.
| Number of Species Seen | 116 |
| Species Points | 133 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 6 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 139 |
Full PWC report for 2020 can be found here.
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A record number of species, at least for recent years, were seen this year, but unfortunately I missed fifteen of them. A good return though with my second highest points total, albeit by just a single point, and a new species for my Sutton Bingham list list.
| Number of Species Seen | 118 |
| Species Points | 137 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 3 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 140 |
Full PWC report for 2021 can be found here.
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Well 2022 turned out to be a record breaking year, with my highest ever annual total of species, and I missed a fair few too! That being said, it wasn't my highest points scoring year mainly due to the lack of self-found rarities. I did manage to get an addition to the patch life list though.
| Number of Species Seen | 125 |
| Species Points | 146 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 3 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 149 |
Full PWC report for 2022 can be found here.
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The first half of the year was excellent and I looked on target for another high total, but then a wet Summer and dismal Autumn put pay to that and 2023 ended up with far fewer species that last year. Another new bird for the patch was the highlight.
| Number of Species Seen | 116 |
| Species Points | 138 |
| Scarce Bonus Points | 9 |
| Rare/Mega Bonus Points | 0 |
| SCORE | 147 |
Full PWC report for 2023 can be found here.
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