I have signed up to the Patchwork Challenge http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/
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King's Fleet &
Felixstowe Ferry
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The first task was to define the borders of my patch, which must be no more than 3km2 in area.
It obviously had to include my garden, in Marsh Lane, and all the land in the Deben valley visible from the bedroom window. I also wanted to include the footpath which leads from Marsh Lane to Gulpher Road, as this is a nice walk when time is short.
King's Fleet made an obvious northern boundary , as did the River Deben to Felixstowe Ferry and the sea shore from the Ferry to the cliff top car park near the Golf Club. The SW boundary follows Ferry Road back to Marsh lane. On drawing this out using a mapping tool the area was calculated at 2.900km2- just right!
The rules state that 'The birds that contribute to your score must be within the boundaries of the patch (i.e. you don’t need to be), or, seen or heard while you are on your patch. So, heard only birds count, distant passing seabirds count, flyovers count, and birds flushed from the patch while you approach your site count.'
So this means that anything flying up the river, seen out at sea, or visible on the far side of the Fleet is still countable.
I am starting my patch list from today but also including the few interesting birds I had recorded earlier in January, which were basically Barn Owl and a flock of Linnets from a walk on 1st Jan and a Tawny Owl seen in Marsh Lane when I was driving home from work last week. So today I will be recording all the garden birds and perhaps venturing out this afternoon to check the geese and swans visible in the distance from the house - weather permitting of course!
