Monday, April 09, 2012

Great Grey Shrike patch tick?





how close can you actually get and where do you draw the line? my patch is the Barton parish with the boundary line being the limit-- so this Great Grey flew and landed in this tree that is 100m outside the boundary but obviously clearly visible from the patch -- its a patch tickers dilema! a bird that is 2000 feet up is on the list and the middle of the Humber counts but??? anyway it is clearly a viking traveller

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I have only just seen the post on your website pewit.blogspot.co.uk “Great Grey Shrike patch tick?” from Monday, April 09, 2012 which highlighted a problem which I have encountered.
I agree that deciding on what counts as a patch tick can be a major problem! For me this primarily concerns birds flying over where it is often impossible to ascertain whether they are vertically within the patch. However if I include fly-overs then should I include perched birds which are just outside the area? An equal problem is with birds that are heard but not seen – how can one be sure that the bird is present within the chosen boundary of any patch?
Over the years I have kept many lists including a garden list in Manchester. For me it is obvious that a garden list has to include birds that I can see or hear from within the garden. Therefore I have included a Fulmar (which is a mega rarity here) which I am sure was no nearer than 50 metres. I have chosen to keep this definition for all of my local patch lists.
Others may not agree with me but if I am inside the boundaries of my patch and I can see or hear the bird then it counts.
My current patch is a 1 kilometre square of very unexceptional farmland which was initially chosen because the boundaries are easy to determine on the ground but also because it is under-watched by other birders. After two years I now know every bush but there are still surprises!
I am sure that you won’t remember me but I was in the UEA Bird Club from late 72 (or maybe it was early 73) until 1976. I went on the trips to the Camargue and the Pyrenees where I won several bottles of wine for being the first person to find a Wallcreeper! The porridge was like concrete when we finally returned to the van! I remember missing Friday morning lectures because the Student Union van was available for us until the Caving Club needed it in the afternoon for their weekends away .On a more sombre note I helped in the organisation of the 1975 Shetland expedition and was on the drive to Aberdeen to collect the expedition members after the accident.
Jeff Clarke
Mob: 07842 195 777
Email: Isobel.Clarke1@ntlworld.com