ZooChat Big Year 2018

Chlidonias said:
Did you manage any photos?
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Yep. There was a mother and youngster just before sunset sitting in an exposed tree. It was a bit dark so not the most amazing photos but decent enough.

Apparently the forest near the Gomantong Cave is the best place around the Kinabatangan area to see Maroon Langurs and they're a good bet there. In addition to the two I saw at sunset, while I was in the cave the guide who waited outside saw some more Maroon Langurs.
 
So very recently I found out about a forest nearby where nightjars could be reliably seen hunting, and I had time tonight so went to check it out. Definitely worth it, as I came back with what I can only describe as one of the most interesting bird observations I've had. They're such absurd animals! I had seen nightjars before in Java, but those were above a city so I didn't hear them, see them hunting, or see them sitting down... Which I can now say I have! Before it turned dark the forest also had a lot of other interesting animals, among which a pied flycatcher, which is one I've long been looking for as well.

BIRDS:
239) European pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
240) Eurasian nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus

INVERTEBRATES:
43) Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta
44) Emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator
45) Barred grass-veneer, Agriphila inquinatella
 
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Some more from today! :D

BIRDS:
241) Common quail, Coturnix coturnix

INVERTEBRATES:
46) Gold triangle, Hypsopygia costalis
47) Common bluetail, Ischnura elegans
48) Large skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus
49) Meadow brown, Maniola jurtina
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Seen another five invertebrates to add to my year list and earlier this evening on my first local walk in quite a while, I added a very pleasant mammal to my list as well:

7. European mole Talpa europaea

31. Blue-tailed damselfly Ischnura elegans
32. Small heath butterfly Coenonympha pamphilus
33. Swollen-thighed beetle Oedemera nobilis
34. Common malachite beetle Malachius bipustulatus
35. Cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae
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The past couple of days have allowed me to add another mammal, my first fish and eight new invertebrates to my year list:

8. Common shrew Sorex araneus

1. Common dace Leuciscus leuciscus
2. Northern pike Esox lucius
3. European perch Perca fluviatilis

36. Elephant hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor
37. Southern hawker dragonfly Aeshna cyanea
38. Red-eyed damselfly Erythromma najas
39. Large heath butterfly Coenonympha tullia
40. Small garden bumblebee Bombus hortorum
41. Common blue butterfly Polyommatus icarus
42. Nursery web spider Pisaura mirabilis
43. White-legged damselfly Platycnemis pennipes

The two lifer invertebrates are almost certainly just new identifications that I had previously simply passed off as emperor dragonfly and white-tailed bumblebee respectively.
 
Dannelboyz said:
187 - Crescent Honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus)
188 - Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)*
189 - Scaly-Breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus)
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MAMMALS:
21 - Black Rat (Rattus rattus)*
22 - Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus)
23 - Feral Goat (Capra hircus)*
24 - Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus)

BIRDS:
190 - Restless Flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta)
191 - Weebill (Smicrornis brevirostris)
192 - Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis)
193 - Black-Tailed Nativehen (Tribonyx ventralis)
194 - Rufous Fieldwren (Calamanthus campestris)
195 - Splendid Fairywren (Malurus splendens)
196 - Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius)
197 - Regent Parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus)
198 - Southern Whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis)
199 - Mulga Parrot (Psephotellus varius)
200 - Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera)
201 - Striped Honeyeater (Plectorhyncha lanceolata)
202 - Mallee Emuwren (Stipiturus mallee)
203 - Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans)
204 - Crested Bellbird (Oreoica gutturalis)
205 - Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea)
 
Zoo Tycooner FR said:
Aaaand while birding near the beach (I have some decent pictures of them, probably my first ones of the species):

65 - Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
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Went to Crocoparc Agadir today, and along with the nice Madagascar nile crocodiles and Central American green iguanas kept; I can add a few additions to my list including an unfortunately invasive fish.

BIRDS:
66 - Common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus

HERPS:
3 - Sahara frog, Pelophylax saharicus

FISH:
1 - Western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis

EDIT:

Forgot one species I saw last week that someone identified for me:

INVERTEBRATES:
11 - Stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans
 
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Birds
89. Zebra Dove, Geopelia striata
90. Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Treron vernans
91. Red Turtle Dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica
92. Cattle Egret, Bulbulcus ibis
93. Oriental Magpie-robin, Copsychus saularis
94. Asian Openbill, Anastomus oscitans
95. Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus goiavier
96. Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis
97. Spotted Dove, Spilopelia chinensis
98. Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea
99. Malaysian Pied Fantail, Rhipidura javanica
100. House swift, Apus nipalensis
101. Scaly-breasted munia, Lonchura punctulata
102. Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
103. Great Myna, Acridotheres grand is
104. Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus
105. Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
106. Javan Pond Heron, Ardeola speciosa
107. Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Hydrophasianus chirurgus

Reptiles
2. Common House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus
3. Tokay, Gekko gecko
4. Many-lined Sun Skink, Eutropis multifasciata

Amphibians
5. Asian Painted Bullfrog, Kaloula pulchra
 
animal_expert01 said:
Birds:
70. Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
71. Pied Heron (Ardea picata)
72. Pied Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus)
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Fish:
18. Raccoon Butterfly fish (Chaetodon lunula)
19. Estuary Glassfish (Ambassis marianus)
20. Estuary Ray (Dasyatis fluviorum)
21. Moses Perch (Lutjanus russelli)
22. Spangled Perch (Leiopotherapon unicolor)

Invertabrates:
9. Mud Crab (Scylla serrata)
 
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Catch-up post for the last couple of weeks - most of these are incidental wildlife sightings from a recent zoo trip to France (where we also saw stone curlews - my first not at Weeting Heath!). Exceptions are the dove and weasel at RSPB Otmoor, the ouzel at Stanage Edge, and the hedgehog seen on my way home from a friend's house last night - the first I've seen in five years (and thus my first record to make it into a Big Year thread..!). Went back and forth on listing esculentus separately given its hybridogenetic status but it has a separate entry under a simple species name on my taxonomy source (AmphibiaWeb) so I've gone with it (I'm keeping the 'kl.' in there though!).

Birds:
185. European Turtle Dove - Streptopelia turtur
186. Crested Lark - Galerida cristata
187. Black Redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros
188. Eurasian Hoopoe - Upupa epops
189. Ring Ouzel - Turdus torquatus

(UK: 184)

Mammals:
21. Least Weasel - Mustela nivalis
22. Coypu - Myocastor coypus
23. West European Hedgehog - Erinaceus europaeus

Reptiles:
4. Common Wall Lizard - Podarcis muralis

Amphibians:
5. Pool Frog - Pelophylax lessonae
6. Edible Frog - Pelophylax kl. esculentus

Invertebrates:
55. Compass Jellyfish - Chrysaora hysoscella
56. White Admiral - Limenitis camilla
57. Hummingbird Hawkmoth - Macroglossum stellatarum
58. Lesser Purple Emperor - Apatura ilia

:)
 
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LaughingDove said:
Birds:
Heard Only: Hooded Pitta
459) Jerdon’s Baza
460) Square-tailed Drongo-cuckoo
461) Violet Cuckoo
462) Bat Hawk
463) Peregrine
464) White-nest Swiftlet
465) Black-nest Swiftlet
466) Mossy-nest Swiftlet
467) Malaysian Blue Flycatcher
468) Buffy Fish Owl


Mammals:
78) Bornean Orangutan
79) Maroon Langur
80) Wrinkle-lipped Free-tailed Bat
81) Large-eared (Philippine) Horseshoe Bat
82) Dayak Roundleaf Bat
83) Fawn Leaf-nosed Bat
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From Five Nights at Danum Valley:

New birds:

(Note: I need to cross-check this list, as well as previous lists, with my notebooks for any species that I may have missed off as well as any that I have absent-mindedly double-listed. There are likely to be a few of each category so the total may adjust very slightly up or down)

469) Rufous-tailed Shama
470) Helmeted Hornbill
471) Whiskered Treeswift
472) Grested Goshawk
473) Spotted Fantail
474) Blue-rumped Parrot
475) Bornean Crested Fireback
476) Chestnut-bellied Malkoha
477) Bornean Wren-babbler
478) Great Slaty Woodpecker
479) Rufous Piculet
480) Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike
481) Rufous-fronted Babbler
482) White-necked Babbler
483) Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher
484) Chestnut-naped Forktail
485) Banded Broadbill
486) Dark-throated Oriole
488) Scarlet-rumped Trogon
489) Blue-crowned Pitta
490) Maroon-chested Philentoma
491) Moustached Hawk Cuckoo
492) Malaysian Honeyguide
493) Red Throated Barbet
494) Dusky Broadbill


Mammals:
84) Sambar
85) Thomas’ Giant Flying Squirrel
86) Bornean Yellow Muntjac
87) Bornean Gibbon
88) Hose’s Langur
89) Slender Treeshrew
90) Masked Palm Civet
91) Cantor’s Roundleaf Bat
92) Short-nosed Fruit-bat
93) Long-tongued Nectar-bat
94) Western Tarsier
 
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Update from the past month or so:

Birds
249. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
250. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
251. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
252. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
253. Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
254. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
255. Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
256. Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
257. Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
258. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
259. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
260. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
261. Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
262. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
263. Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
264. Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
265. American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Mammals
43. Woodchuck (Marmota monax)
44. Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
45. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
46. Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
 
lintworm said:
Some additions from Berlin and from cycling through the Netherlands (without binoculars...), nothing groundbreaking or special, though the Oriole was a nice surprise, I haven't seen those too often in the Netherlands...

312. European nightingale
313. Common redstart
314. Mandarin duck
315. House martin
316. Sand martin
317. European stonechat
318. Golden oriole
319. European cuckoo
320. Common tern
321. Lesser reed warbler
322. Tree sparrow
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A small update, though I have hardly been out at all recently. I saw the martins from the train the other day and it surprises me it took this long to see them this year...

323. Eurasian crag martin

Invertebrates
26. Gryllus terrestris
27. Painted lady
28. Meadow brown
29. Marbled white
30. Heath fritillary
31. Green hairstreak
32. Adonis blue
33. Icarus blue
34. Eurasian white admiral
35. Comma
36. Helicogona lapicida
37. Cornu aspersum
38. Black-tailed skimmer
39. Lesser stag beetle
 
Added my first new bird for my year list in close to a month and have been steaming away at identifying the local invertebrates. I have to say that invertebrate number 47 is one of my favourite species from this year - I spent nearly twenty minutes just sitting and watching them:

102. Eurasian blackcap Sylvia atricapilla

44. Common backswimmer Notonecta glauca
45. Small tortoiseshell butterfly Aglais urticae
46. Small skipper butterfly Thymelicus sylvestris
47. Semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
48. Ringlet butterfly Aphantopus hyperantus
49. Great diving beetle Dytiscus marginalis
50. Water hog louse Asellus aquaticus
 
Macaw16 said:
A few more from Sutton Bank (30/5/2018):

5. Brown Hare Lepus europaeus

73. Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella
74. European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur
75. Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa
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One from my garden (23/6/2018):

6. West European Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus


My first trip abroad, to three different countries, has provided me with only a single addition (although I wasn't expecting anymore), however there were a few unidentified birds from the edge of the Black Forest which may be new, but I only got a passing glimpse of. Seen from the train from Basel to Strasbourg, probably somewhere near Mulhouse, and then numerous locations afterwards (24/6/2018).

76. White Stork Ciconia ciconia
 
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