Yours was a bit more exciting than a badger though, Pallas cat if memory serves me correctly...
ZooChat Big Year 2018
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
Yours was a bit more exciting than a badger though, Pallas cat if memory serves me correctly...
Reptiles:
16. Red Belly Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus)
Birds:
108. Buff Banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis)
Fish:
26. Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)
27. Estuary Stingray (Hemitrygon fluviorum)*
*not sure if I’ve already included this species on my list, I can’t quite remember. Does anybody know if I have or haven’t?
Dannelboyz
Well-Known Member
A nice couple species from Bunyip State Park... 
BIRDS
345 - White-Throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus)
346 - White-Throated Nightjar (Eurostopodus mystacalis)
FISH
22 - Congolli (Pseudaphritis urvillii)
BIRDS
345 - White-Throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus)
346 - White-Throated Nightjar (Eurostopodus mystacalis)
FISH
22 - Congolli (Pseudaphritis urvillii)
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I've birded three more times since I went to Tamri, and got quite some additions mainly at Issen. Took me a while to identify everything and got quite some help especially for the pipits (thanks to @Vision ), the lizard and the butterfly (thanks to @Kakapo ) but I've finally put a name on everything that was identifiable so here I am!
07/11/2018 (Oued Souss):
BIRDS:
*117 - European shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelis
118 - Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica
08/11/2018 (Issen):
BIRDS:
119 - Zitting cisticola, Cisticola juncidis
120 - Cirl bunting, Emberiza cirlus
121 - Tree pipit, Anthus trivialis
122 - Black-crowned tchagra, Tchagra senegalus
INVERTEBRATES:
20 - Greenish black-tip, Euchloe charlonia
11/11/2018 (Oued Souss):
BIRDS:
123 - Sand martin, Riparia riparia
REPTILES:
4 - Spiny-footed lizard, Acanthodactylus erythrurus
*European shags are native to Morocco but a rare and declining species. They are one of the few natives which must be reported to the Moroccan Bird Committee (which is the local committee that decides whether a vagrant or a rare species sighting is accepted or not) and I did send them a report of my find.
However, they can take as long as months to reply (which is understandable seeing how many reports they must complete) so for now I'm anticipating in advance and putting it on my list. If they deem it as a correct identification and accept the sighting, I'll let it on the list, if they do not I'll take it from it.
One of the regional moderators on observation.org noted that Acanthodactylus erythrurus wasn't found that far south and that it was actually the recently split and similar-looking Acanthodactylus margaritae that I saw that day. No change of number nor do I lose the lifer (since I've never seen those before) but important to note.
*4- Acanthodactylus margaritae
I have had strong suspicions for a while - as, I believe, have a fair number of the birding community - that Black Redstart is somewhat more commonplace within the UK than generally believed, and is merely underreported.... which would make sense given they aren't the flashiest-looking of species, and hence easy to overlook if seen by someone who doesn't know birds all that well.
Certainly I have seen the species in the UK a few times this year, and not always in places/times where it can be easily dismissed as a passage vagrant.
I don't know the situation in the UK, but in the Netherlands they are also found mostly in urban or industrial areas, which are not exactly places where birders tend to go often. I'm not that lucky with this species myself, as I have only seen it twice in the Netherlands this year (though they were umbiquitous in the Pyrenees).
Yeah, it's the same here
so unless someone happens to a) see one and b) know what they are looking at, they are liable to be overlooked as a generalised small brown job.The best - and most impressive - view of this species which I had this year was in Germany, however - a pair were present immediately in front of the Neues Palais in Park Sansoucci, Potsdam.
I saw one on a mountain top in Andorra. Also quite impressive, but a completely different setting!
Mammals
119. Brown Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii)
Birds (non-passerines)
502. Gang-gang Cockatoo
Birds (passerines)
503. Chestnut-rumped Heathwren
504. Little Wattlebird
Reptiles
155. Common Scalyfoot (Pygopus lepidopodus)
156. Marsh Snake (Hemiaspis signata)
157. Bandy-bandy (Vermicella annulata)
(I double-checked and it's actually eight more species from now to get to the Aussie 500.)
119. Brown Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii)
Birds (non-passerines)
502. Gang-gang Cockatoo
Birds (passerines)
503. Chestnut-rumped Heathwren
504. Little Wattlebird
Reptiles
155. Common Scalyfoot (Pygopus lepidopodus)
156. Marsh Snake (Hemiaspis signata)
157. Bandy-bandy (Vermicella annulata)
(I double-checked and it's actually eight more species from now to get to the Aussie 500.)
While walking my dog today along the creek near my home I spotted an American Dipper standing on the ice near an open patch of water. I watched as the bird dove into the ripples and resurfaced a couple times. It then noticed us and flew a bit further downstream. This is the first American Dipper I’ve seen. It will probably be my last new bird for the year. I will post my complete 2018 Bird and Mammal lists soon. Here is my complete Amphibian list:
1) Wood Frog
1) Wood Frog
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Birds
153. Ring-Necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
What's the status of mongooses and cats on Oahu?
How do you mean? Both are established in the wild there.
A visit to Cologne yielded
424. Alexandrine parakeet
Mammals
64. Eurasian red squirrel
Probably the final update of the year.
Just realised I had forgotten to update my mammal list - added another species last week, seen next to the main path through my university campus. Probably my best view of the species outside of a trap situation - it repeatedly returned into (fairly) open view, illuminated by a nearby streetlight:
15. Wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus
Unless something new suddenly pops up in the garden over the next few days, I expect this will be my last update for the year.
Established and countable.
I'm done travelling for now so finally got around to checking pictures. There's still quite a few things to ID but this is the first batch:
Mammals
120. Buff-footed Antechinus (Antechinus mysticus)
121. Eastern Long-eared Bat (Nyctophilus bifax)
122. Eastern Tube-nosed Bat (Nyctimene robinsoni)
123. Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros diadema)
124. Narrow-toed Feathertail Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus)
Reptiles
158. Six-toothed Rainbow-skink (Carlia sexdentata)
159. Bamboo Range Rock Skink (Liburnascincus artemis)
160. Prickly Forest Skink (Concinnia queenslandiae)
161. Cream-striped Shining Skink (Cryptoblepharus virgatus)
162. Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris)
163. Macquarie Turtle (Emydura macquarii)
164. Mountain Dragon (Rankinia diemensis)
165. White's Skink (Liopholis whitii)
166. Copper-tailed Skink (Ctenotus taeniolatus)
Amphibians
42. Striped Marsh Frog (Lymnodynastes peronii)
Today I stumbled upon a lifer in my local patch. I've suspected the flocks of redpolls were mixed flocks for some time, but because of the minor differences between the species and the difficulty in obtaining good views I never got a satisfying ID. Today however, a group of about a dozen redpolls was foraging right in the open, thus giving me a chance to actually get a reliable ID. I've now completed my set of redpolls!
Birds
259. Lesser redpoll [Acanthis cabaret]
I would like to get to 260, and I've got a single wildlife day planned this year, so there's still hope!
Birds
259. Lesser redpoll [Acanthis cabaret]
I would like to get to 260, and I've got a single wildlife day planned this year, so there's still hope!