ZooChat Big Year 2018

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

Moderator
Staff member
15+ year member
Tomorrow is the first of January (for me - others may have to wait a little longer). So time for opening the sixth annual Zoochat Big Year.


Here are the links for the previous years:

ZooChat 2013 Big Year
2014 ZooChat Big Year
2015 Big Year
2016 Big Year
2017 Big Year



The basic rules as always:

1. Make sure to number your lists.
2. Keep separate numbered lists for whichever animals you are listing (birds, mammals, herptiles, fish, invertebrates)
3. Species must be part of an established wild population or be a natural migrant/vagrant/straggler. Exotics don't count unless they are part of an established breeding population in the country.
4. Animals must be wild.
5. Subspecies do not count towards your total, only full species.
6. Have fun.

*It is helpful if you include scientific names (especially for the mammals because I keep track of them to post a full list at the end of the year).
 
Just as something potentially interesting, here are my first birds of each year since 2006 (all but two of the years have started in New Zealand):

2006: House Sparrow Passer domesticus
2007: Southern Black-backed (Kelp) Gull Larus dominicanus
2008: Southern Black-backed (Kelp) Gull Larus dominicanus
2009: Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
2010: Little Pied Shag Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
2011: Red-billed Gull Larus novaehollandiae
2012: European Blackbird Turdus merula
2013: Red-billed Gull Larus novaehollandiae
2014: Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus (in Burma)
2015: Waxeye Zosterops lateralis
2016: European Blackbird Turdus merula
2017: House Crow Corvus splendens (in India)


And since my first mammal year-list in 2009 (there's not much variety here!):

2009: European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
2010: European Hare Lepus europaeus
2011: European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
2012: New Zealand Fur Seal Arctocephalus forsteri
2013: European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
2014: Eld's Deer Cervus eldii
2015: European Hare Lepus europaeus
2016: European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
2017: Five-striped Palm Squirrel Funambulus pennantii

I suspect my first mammal of 2018 will be a European Rabbit again.
 
Since this will be my first new year on Zoochat, I will participate this year. Today is Saturday in my part of the world, (a few more days to the New Year!), and got my lifer Rough-Legged Hawk today!

Here is a little bit about the classification systems I will be using:

Mammals - I don't know of any good mammal checklists, so I will be counting mammals the way I learned their taxonomy (except for some splits and lumps that I think make sents.)

Birds - I will be using Clemont's Checklist of Birds of the World (common names may vary a bit.)

Herptiles - Same as mammals.

Fish - Again same as mammals and herpitiles, but one question, Do species cough on hook and line count for the total?

Inverts - I can't ID them very well, but the few I can I will be counting.
 
birdsandbats said:
Fish - Again same as mammals and herpitiles, but one question, Do species cough on hook and line count for the total?
Click to expand...
That isn't a question which has come up before. I would say no.

Generally speaking, if you're not sure if an animal is countable (e.g. with splitting or lumping, or subspecies or morphs or whatever) then just ask in thread and there will be an answer from someone.
 
I guess I'll start with an animal I saw in the first minute of 2018.

Mammals:
1. Grey-Headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus)
 
I spent the morning at the Waikanae Estuary:


1) Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
2) Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
3) House Sparrow Passer domesticus
4) Southern Black-backed (Kelp) Gull Larus dominicanus
5) Pied Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa
6) European Blackbird Turdus merula
7) Red-billed Gull Larus novaehollandiae
8) White-headed (Pied) Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus
9) Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
10) Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
11) Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
12) White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae
13) Feral Pigeon Columba livia
14) Australasian Harrier Circus approximans
15) Little Pied Shag Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
16) Black Swan Cygnus atrata
17) Pukeko (Purple Gallinule) Porphyrio porphyrio
18) New Zealand Dabchick Poliocephalus rufopectus
19) White-fronted Tern Sterna striata
20) Waxeye Zosterops lateralis
21) European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
22) Variable Oystercatcher Haematopus unicolor
23) South Island Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus finschi
24) Spur-winged Plover Vanellus novaehollandiae
25) Pied Shag Phalacrocorax varius
26) Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella
27) Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia
28) Paradise Duck Tadorna variegata
29) European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
30) New Zealand Dotterel Charadrius obscurus
31) Spotted Shag Stictocarbo punctatus
32) European Skylark Alauda arvensis
33) Canada Goose Branta canadensis
 
Birds:
1. Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala)
2. Indian Mynah (Acridotheres tristis)
3. Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis)

Reptiles:
1. Delicate Garden Skink (Lampropholis delicata)
2. Eastern Blue-Toungued Skink (Cracticus nigrogularis)

Invertebrates:
1. Golden Orb Spider (Nephila sp)
 
Last edited:
2018. I predict I will finish with approx. 175 birds. No plans to travel to far this year.
.
1/1/2018.
1. Tawny frogmouth
2. Australian magpie
3. Fairy martin
4. Yellow-rumped thornbill
5. Willie wagtail
6. Yellow-throated miner
7. Black-faced cuckoo-shrike
8. Common starling
9. Spotted bowerbird
10. Little crow
11. Magpie-lark
.
With my job I'm always rostered to work night shift on New year's eve. In April 2017 I transfered from the Illawarra area of New South Wales to Nyngan in the centre of New South Wales. When I was working in the Illawarra on New year's eve my first year bird would always be a silver gull at one of the McDonald's carparks. It was good to start the year off with a Tawny Frogmouth. It will be interesting to read everyone's first bird.
.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
 
1/1/2018
12. red rump parrot
13. black kite
14. house sparrow
 
My first additions... Probably the only time this year I'll be in first place :P

BIRDS:
1) Western jackdaw, Coloeus monedula
2) Carrion crow, Corvus corone
3) Common wood pigeon, Columba palumbus
4) Eurasian collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto
5) European herring gull, Larus argentatus
6) Eurasian magpie, Pica pica
7) Mew gull, Larus canus
8) Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9) Common blackbird, Turdus merula
10) Common chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
11) Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiaca
12) Greylag goose, Anser anser
13) Eurasian jay, Garrulus glandarius
14) Common buzzard, Buteo buteo
15) Eurasian blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
16) Mute swan, Cygnus olor
17) Bewick's swan, Cygnus bewickii
18) Grey heron, Ardea cinerea
19) Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
20) Common shelduck, Tadorna tadorna
21) Northern shoveler, Anas clypeata
22) Eurasian coot, Fulica atra
23) Northern pintail, Anas acuta
24) Tufted duck, Aythya fuligula
25) Common pochard, Aythya ferina
26) Eurasian wigeon, Anas penelope
27) Great tit, Parus major
28) Gadwall, Anas strepera
29) Eurasian teal, Anas crecca
30) Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
31) Northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
32) Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes
33) Great spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopos major
34) European robin, Erithacus rubecula
35) Lesser redpoll, Acanthis cabaret
36) Cetti's warbler, Cettia cetti
37) Common merganser, Mergus merganser
38) Stock dove, Columba oenas
39) Common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
40) White wagtail, Motacilla alba
41) Dunnock, Prunella modularis
42) Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris
 
Birds:
1. Common blackbird, Turdus merula
2. European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
3. European Robin, Erithacus rubecula
4. Eurasian Magpie, Pica pica
5. Coal Tit, Periparus ater
6. Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus
7. Feral Pigeon, Columba livia
8. Common Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus
9. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
10. Eurasian Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
 
Very busy at the moment so just some additions from my garden and a quick visit to a local park:

1) Great Tit
2) Blue Tit
3) Eurasian Tree Sparrow
4) Eurasian Magpie
5) Eurasian Collared Dove
6) Feral Pigeon
7) Eurasian Jackdaw
8) Rook
9) Black-headed Gull
10) Caspian Gull
11) Hooded Crow
12) Mallard Duck
13) Mandarin Duck
14) European Jay
15) Eurasian Coot
16) Goosander
17) Mute Swan
18) House Sparrow
19) Eurasian Wren

1) Red Squirrel
2) Striped Field Mouse (Apodemus agrarius)

I should be able to go birding properly in a couple of weeks, but this year's really interesting additions should start around May ;).
 
As I expected, this guy came back to the feeders in the garden today as well! I think that'll be it for today, unless I get lucky :p

BIRDS:
43) Coal tit, Periparus ater.
 
Swampy said:
Birds:
1. Common blackbird, Turdus merula
2. European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
3. European Robin, Erithacus rubecula
4. Eurasian Magpie, Pica pica
5. Coal Tit, Periparus ater
6. Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus
7. Feral Pigeon, Columba livia
8. Common Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus
9. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
10. Eurasian Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
Click to expand...
11. Carrion Crow, Corvus corone
12. Dunnock, Prunella modularis
 
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