ZooChat Big Year 2019
- Thread starter TeaLovingDave
- Start date
Been awhile, but been getting some species! Birds are slow, migration has been delayed by an unusually wet and cold winter. That said, will have a big jump this coming week as a trip to the coast is always productive.
Mammals:
10. California Myotis (Myotis californicus)
Birds:
116. Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Reptiles/Amphibians
5. Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
Invertebrates:
11. Common Yellowjacket (Vespula vulgaris)
12. Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
13. Painted Lady (Vanessa cardeui)
Big update from the coast! And first lifer species of the year! Bird 129, Surfbird!
Mammals:
11. Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)
12. Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
13. California Sealion (Zalophus californianus)
Birds:
117. Surf Scoter (Somateria perspicillata)
118. Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
119. Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisigena)
120. Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica)
121. Brandt’s Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus)
122. Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)
123. White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
124. Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)
125. Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americana)
126. Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
127. Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
128. Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
129. Surfbird (Calidris virgata)
130. Sanderling (Calidris alba)
131. Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
132. Heermann’s Gull (Larus heermanni)
133. Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
134. Common Murre (Uria aalge)
135. Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
136. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Invertebrates:
14. Striped Shore Crab (Pachygrapsus crassipes)
15. Purple Shore Crab (Hemigraspus nudus)
16. Blue-handed Hermit Crab (Pagurus samuelis)
17. Ochre Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus)
18. Giant Green Anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica)
19. Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis)
20. Volcano Barnacle (Tetraclita rubescens)
21. Leaf Barnacle (Pollicipes pollicipes)
22. Black Tegula (Tegula funebralis)
23. Mossy Chiton (Mopalia muscosa)
From birding yesterday:
Birds
62. Northern Harrier Circus hudsonius
63. Gadwall Mareca strepera
64. Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
65. Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata
66. Blue-Winged Teal Spatula discors
67. Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
68. Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
69. Wood Duck Aix sponsa
70. Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus
71. American Coot Fulica americana
72. Ring-Necked Duck Aythya collaris
73. Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
74. Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
75. Northern Pintail Anas acuta
Mammals
6. Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
Herpitiles
1. Northern Leopard Frog Lithobates pipiens
And one more randomly seen today:
Birds
76. American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
i am geting new birds evrey other day now
83 euasian oystercatcher
83 euasian oystercatcher
Couple of spring arrivals:
Birds:
137. Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
138. Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)
Catch-up for the last week or so - the first two birds are from Blacktoft Sands on Saturday and the last two from Bleaklow on Sunday (as was the mammal):
Birds:
157. Sand Martin - Riparia riparia
158. Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti
159. Red Grouse - Lagopus lagopus
160. Northern Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe
(UK: 138)
Mammals:
18. Mountain Hare - Lepus timidus
Invertebrates:
11. Brown-lipped Banded Snail - Cepaea nemoralis
12. Seven-spot Ladybird - Coccinella septempunctatum
13. Common Shiny Woodlouse - Onsicus asellus
14. Harlequin Ladybird - Harmonia axyridis
15. White-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus lucorum
16. Red-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus lapidarius
17. Comma - Polygonia c-album
18. Green Tiger Beetle - Cicindela campestris
Birds:
157. Sand Martin - Riparia riparia
158. Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti
159. Red Grouse - Lagopus lagopus
160. Northern Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe
(UK: 138)
Mammals:
18. Mountain Hare - Lepus timidus
Invertebrates:
11. Brown-lipped Banded Snail - Cepaea nemoralis
12. Seven-spot Ladybird - Coccinella septempunctatum
13. Common Shiny Woodlouse - Onsicus asellus
14. Harlequin Ladybird - Harmonia axyridis
15. White-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus lucorum
16. Red-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus lapidarius
17. Comma - Polygonia c-album
18. Green Tiger Beetle - Cicindela campestris
Drove through the California desert and camped in the rain shadow of Mount Whitney, blanketed in snow. Didn't see any new birds, but twice saw one of my target mammal species for the year.
Mammals
18. Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
Also need to take Craveri's Murrelet off my list, as it turns out they were misidentified Scripps's Murrelets. That puts my bird total at 152 species.
Dannelboyz
Well-Known Member
Here is an update from my last few weeks on Norfolk Island! I'm now back in Melbourne, so sadly no more seabirds for a little while
The fish and invertebrates list are only those I have identified thus far.BIRDS
197 - Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)
198 - Masked Woodswallow (Artamus personatus)
199 - White-browed Woodswallow (Artamus superciliosus)
200 - Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri)
-- Greylag Goose (Anser anser)*
201 – Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus)
FISH
-- Flying Fish sp.
6 - Australian Anchovy (Engraulis australis)
7 - Pteira Batfish (Platax teira)
8 - Vagabond Butterflyfish (Chaetodon vagabundus)
9 - Coral Beauty (Centropygne bispinosa)
10 - Christmas Wrasse (Thalassoma trilobatum)
11 - Surge Wrasse (Thalassoma purpureum)
12 - Galapagos Shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis)
13 - Live Sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates)
INVERTEBRATES
39 - Phillip Island Cricket (Nestitathra philipense)
40 - Phillip Island Millipede (Spirobolellus philiporum)
43 - Little Nipper Land Crab (Geograpsus grayi)
What doesn't count about the goose?Here is an update from my last few weeks on Norfolk Island! I'm now back in Melbourne, so sadly no more seabirds for a little while
BIRDS
197 - Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)
198 - Masked Woodswallow (Artamus personatus)
199 - White-browed Woodswallow (Artamus superciliosus)
200 - Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri)
-- Greylag Goose (Anser anser)*
201 – Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus)
FISH
-- Flying Fish sp.
6 - Australian Anchovy (Engraulis australis)
7 - Pteira Batfish (Platax teira)
8 - Vagabond Butterflyfish (Chaetodon vagabundus)
9 - Coral Beauty (Centropygne bispinosa)
10 - Christmas Wrasse (Thalassoma trilobatum)
11 - Surge Wrasse (Thalassoma purpureum)
12 - Galapagos Shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis)
13 - Live Sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates)
INVERTEBRATES
39 - Phillip Island Cricket (Nestitathra philipense)
40 - Phillip Island Millipede (Spirobolellus philiporum)
43 - Little Nipper Land Crab (Geograpsus grayi)
Dannelboyz
Well-Known Member
The Greylag Goose is not officially listed in national checklists for Australia and all populations here are entirely feral, generally animals dumped in local ponds. However on Norfolk Island, the goose situation is a bit weird. There is a reasonably large number of them and at least half of them are even wild-type plumage. I can't find a good enough source to state whether the population is 'tickable' but I have read birding reports where people counted them. So I'm on the fence, which is why I felt I should list them without counting them.
Here is an update from my last few weeks on Norfolk Island! I'm now back in Melbourne, so sadly no more seabirds for a little while
I'm interested that you went onto Phillip Island. Was that as a private individual, or a work/research thing? If private how difficult was it to get there?
I don't know about Australia, but here in North America the ABA basically won't let you count introduced species at all (there are a few they allow, but not many) and there a huge argument about it among birders here. About half ONLY count tickable species, so they have seen many birds that don't count, despite them being well established species. The other half (like me) thinks that as long as the species is established it should be countable.
Does anything like this occur in Australia?