Wednesday 28 December 2016

Islands Minileague - November 2016

After a hectic October, relative calm returned to the Islands Minileague during November, but not without a few good birds being seen here and there.

Despite not adding anything new, Steve Minton still leads the charge in first place on the comparative table with 140% at Scatness. His title looks secure between now and the end of the year.

Steve Stansfield left Bardsey on the 8th November and with that comes to an end his amazing year of #PWC2016 there where he finsihed on 186 species, 368 points and 119.48%!!! Top stuff. We look forward to updates from this magic spot again during #PWC2017.

David Wood and Mark Newell both increased their comp scores sufficiently to cause a stir in the top five rankings. Red Kite and Long-tailed Duck were new for David at RSPB The Oa, taking him from sixth to third place on 116% there, while a serious Isle of May #patchgold double whammy of Coal Tit and Long-tailed Tit took Mark from ninth to fourth on 113%.


One of the top finds during November on the Islands Minileague... a Little Bunting on Barra (c) Bruce Taylor


In the points minileague, Steve's hefty score on Bardsey might just do well enough to keep him in the lead there until the years end, that is unless John Bowler can pull something out of the bag during December. John's second place score from Tiree is now up to 341 points thanks to Pomarine Skua, Jackdaw and bonus points from a Ring-necked Duck find. White-tailed Eagle and Green-winged Teal also showed up at Balephuil but were not new for the year. 

Species which get several mentions as new additions for the month across many island patches included Iceland Gull, Waxwing, Common Scoter, Woodcock and Water Rail. Additional White-tailed Eagles were seen at Askernish by Yvonne B and Barra by Bruce Taylor (who also connected with Siberian Chiffchaff plus the Little Bunting pictured above).

Glaucous Gull and Little Auk brought a wintry feel to Alastair Forsyth's patch at Palace, Birsay but it was a Grey Plover which was the most welcome addition there. Not the easiest species to see around those parts. 


The unmistakable looming shape of a perched White-tailed Eagle (c) John Bowler



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