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
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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
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