ZooChat Big Year 2019

As some people may have noticed I have been MIA for a month or so (that's "Missing In Asia"). I've been saving for quite a long time already for my next trip but because it will be a Mega Trip and not just a Big Trip - and because there have been a few unexpected things I have had to fork over lots of money for - I suspected I wouldn't have enough money by the time the intended departure date came around at the start of next year, so I've pushed it back another year. I haven't been overseas for TWO years though [exclamation mark] and that's not really acceptable. Therefore I planned out a quick trip where I would basically jump around a few different places, mostly targeting specific animals I hadn't seen yet but for which I'd found (supposedly)-reliable sites. You could legitimately say this trip was mostly just a mammal-twitching trip (and I got nine new mammals, so it worked out quite well). The lists for most of the countries aren't very long for this reason. Only a relatively few days here and there could be used for all-day birding; in particular, the birds listed for the first part of Thailand were literally all seen from bus windows or while walking along the road; and the Laos part was a complete dud. The Brisbane bit at the end seems very light too but it has to be said that a lot of the birds seen in Brisbane were ones also seen in Sydney at the very start of the trip. There may or may not be a new Chlidonias Goes To Asia thread at some point.



A quick outline of the trip before the species lists:

SYDNEY
I had one night and the following day in Sydney, so I spent them at Warriewood Wetlands and Centennial Park.

SINGAPORE
There were two main objectives for my two days in Singapore. Firstly to visit Jurong before it closed, and see the Spix's Macaws, Lear's Macaws, and Philippine Eagles (I saw the last two, but the Spix's refused to show). Secondly to look for a pangolin. There is a particular spot where more than a handful of mammalwatchers have seen a Sunda Pangolin. One of those people was @lintworm and it is totally unacceptable for another moderator to have seen a wild pangolin when I have not. I know almost all the moderators have seen captive pangolins (it is a requirement of becoming a moderator) but a wild pangolin is a different ball-game. I wasn't actually that hopeful of seeing one, but I had my fingers crossed.

MALAYSIA
After Singapore I crossed over the strait to Peninsular Malaysia and headed to the Panti Forest for general animal-watching (mainly to try and see the local subspecies of Banded Leaf Monkeys, which I did although not to such an extent that I could actually get photos of them), then went all the way up to Taiping to visit the Taiping Zoo (hoping their Marbled Cat was still on display, which it was). I also spent a day-ish at Maxwell Hill for Agile Gibbons, then a couple of days at Bukit Fraser, and then flew to Thailand.

THAILAND
A couple of years ago (right after my last trip, annoyingly) I had found out about a couple of temples in the north of Thailand which are visited by habituated Assamese Macaques and Indochinese Grey Langurs respectively, and I've been waiting for a chance to add them into a trip. I was in Thailand for less than three days, solely to visit these two spots, before popping up into Laos.

LAOS
The second of the aforementioned Thai temples is at Loei, which is not far from the main border-crossing with Laos, so it made sense to add that into the mix as well. This was the only "new" country of the trip. I went to a place called Ban Na Hin which has not fared well with poachers apparently and I saw very little, so I bailed and went back to Thailand.

THAILAND again
Another few days, basically travelling down from Laos to Bangkok before my flight homewards; I had a bit longer here than originally intended (due to abandoning Laos) and managed to get in some birding at some of the local bird spots in Bangkok with wavering success.

BRISBANE
When sorting out the travel plans for this trip I discovered that there are now direct flights between Bangkok and Brisbane with Thai Air Asia, which only started in June this year. I'd only been to Brisbane once before, in 2008, and it rained every day I was there, so I was hoping to add at least a few new species to my life lists on this visit. I did get a few lifers - both birds and mammals - but the number of bird species overall was slimmer than I'd been expecting (I only saw about a hundred species total there, of which about half were year-birds; on one of the days in Brisbane I saw 72 species, which makes the 100-species total seem even smaller!). I also spent half a day in the Gold Coast because that's where the flight back to New Zealand left from.



I'd count the trip as successful. Of my twelve "target mammals" I saw eight of them which, given that I generally only had one or two chances for each one, was a better-than-expected total.

I only had one "target bird", which was Powerful Owl, but the "always reliable" birds at Centennial Park in Sydney hadn't been seen in a few weeks so I missed out on those. I saw ten other life-birds though - three in Asia and the other seven in Queensland.

Just out of interest, I counted up how many of the birds in my southeast Asia field guide I have seen. The book is the 2005 edition (I never got round to updating it) so the number will be different now due to splitting, but it contains about 1290 species including all the vagrants and stragglers. Of those I have seen 860 species - two-thirds - hence why there are so few lifers on the bird lists. There are still a handful of common birds which somehow I haven't managed to see yet, but mostly the ones I'm missing are species with very restricted distributions, are reclusive rainforest-dwellers, or are just vagrants which I'm unlikely to see anyway.

New mammals:
Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps
Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii (not one of the "target mammals")
Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica
Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis
Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis
Indochinese Grey Langur Trachypithecus crepusculus
Little Red Flying Fox Pteropus scapulatus
Australian Humpback Dolphin Sousa sahulensis
Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis

New birds:
Monk (Quaker) Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus
Purple-backed (Daurian) Starling Agropsar (Sturnus) sturninus
Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodei
Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus
Tawny Grassbird Megalurus (Cincloramphus) timoriensis
Pallid Cuckoo Cacomantis pallidus
Double-barred (Owl) Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii
Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
Australian Cicadabird Coracina (Edolisoma) tenuirostris



I'll list the mammals first given that the trip was mostly to find a few specific mammals.


MAMMALS
Already seen this year:
1) House Mouse Mus musculus
2) Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus
3) New Zealand Fur Seal Arctocephalus forsteri
4) Leopard Seal Hydrurga leptonyx
5) European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

SYDNEY
6) Grey-headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus
7) Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps
8) Swamp Wallaby Wallabia bicolor
9) Common Brush-tailed Possum Trichosurus vulpecula
10) Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii

SINGAPORE
11) Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata
12) Plantain squirrel Callosciurus notatus
13) Wild Pig Sus scrofa (vittatus)
14) Colugo Cynocephalus variegatus
15) Common Tree Shrew Tupaia glis
16) Slender Squirrel Sundasciurus tenuis
17) Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica

MALAYSIA
18) Crab-eating Macaque Macaca fascicularis
19) Banded Leaf Monkey Presbytis femoralis
20) White-handed (Lar) Gibbon Hylobates lar
21) Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel Ratufa affinis
22) Dusky Langur Trachypithecus obscurus
23) Malaysian Upland Squirrel Sundasciurus tahan
24) Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis
25) Grey-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus caniceps
26) Himalayan Striped Squirrel Tamiops macclellandi
27) Red-bellied (Pallas') Squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus
28) White-thighed Langur Presbytis siamensis
29) Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista elegans
30) Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis

THAILAND
31) Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis
32) Indochinese Grey Langur Trachypithecus crepusculus

33) Variable (Finlayson's) Squirrel Callosciurus finlaysonii

LAOS
Um, nothing...

THAILAND again
34) Northern Tree Shrew Tupaia belangeri
35) Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sphinx
36) Berdmore's (Indochinese) Ground Squirrel Menetes berdmorei
37) Lyle's Flying Fox Pteropus lylei

BRISBANE and GOLD COAST
38) Black Flying Fox Pteropus alecto
39) Little Red Flying Fox Pteropus scapulatus
40) Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus
41) Koala Phascolarctos cinereus
42) Australian Humpback Dolphin Sousa sahulensis
43) Red-necked Wallaby Macropus rufogriseus
44) Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis
45) Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus



BIRDS
Already seen this year:
1) Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
2) House Sparrow Passer domesticus
3) European Blackbird Turdus merula
4) Feral Pigeon Columba livia
5) Southern Black-backed (Kelp) Gull Larus dominicanus
6) Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
7) Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
8) Pied Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa
9) Kaka Nestor meridionalis
10) New Zealand Pigeon Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
11) Pied Shag Phalacrocorax varius
12) New Zealand Scaup Aythya novaeseelandiae
13) Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
14) Little Pied Shag Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
15) Black Shag (Great Cormorant) Phalacrocorax carbo
16) Saddleback Philesturnus carunculatus
17) New Zealand Robin Petroica australis
18) Waxeye Zosterops lateralis
19) Californian Quail Callipepla californica
20) Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
21) Hedge Sparrow (Dunnock) Prunella modularis
22) Whitehead Mohoua albicilla
33) Stitchbird Notiomystis cincta
24) New Zealand Bellbird Anthornis melanura
25) Brown Teal Anas chlorotis
26) Red-billed Gull Larus novaehollandiae
27) Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
28) Variable Oystercatcher Haematopus unicolor
29) Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus
30) Canada Goose Branta canadensis
31) Paradise Duck Tadorna variegata
32) Grey Warbler Gerygone igata
33) Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella
34) Black Swan Cygnus atrata
35) Spur-winged Plover Vanellus novaehollandiae
36) White-headed (Pied) Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus
37) Grey Teal Anas gracilis
38) Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia
39) Pukeko (Purple Swamphen) Porphyrio porphyrio (I don't split these on my lists)
40) European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
41) Eastern Reef Heron Egretta sacra
42) Spotted Shag Stictocarbo punctatus
43) Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius
44) Tomtit Petroica macrocephala
45) Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
46) Red-crowned Kakariki Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae
47) Australasian Coot Fulica atra
48) European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
49) European Skylark Alauda arvensis
50) Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
51) White-fronted Tern Sterna striata
52) Caspian Tern Sterna caspia
53) Australasian Harrier Circus approximans
54) Banded dotterel Charadrius bicinctus
55) Little Black Shag Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
56) Australasian Gannet Morus serrator
57) New Zealand White-capped Albatross Thalassarche steadi
58) New Zealand Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
59) White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae
60) Australasian Shoveller Anas rhynchotis
61) New Zealand Dabchick Poliocephalus rufopectus
62) Black-fronted Dotterel Elseyornis melanops

SYDNEY
63) Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca
64) Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
65) Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
66) Common Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
67) Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa
68) Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
69) Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis
70) Galah Cacatua roseicapilla
71) Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
72) Little Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera
73) Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis
74) Brown Falcon Falco berigora
75) Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus
76) Superb Blue Wren Malurus cyaneus
77) Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
78) Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
79) Willy Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
80) Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis
81) Australian Little Grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
82) White-cheeked Honeyeater Phylidonyris nigra
83) Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
84) Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys
85) Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii
86) Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
87) Australian Brush Turkey Alectura lathami
88) Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
89) White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis
90) Brown Gerygone Gerygone mouki
91) Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis
92) Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus
93) Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata
94) Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes
95) Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
96) Australian Darter Anhinga novaehollandiae
97) Australian Raven Corvus coronoides
98) Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
99) White-eyed Duck Aythya australis
100) Magpie-Lark Grallina cyanoleuca

SINGAPORE
101) Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
102) Striated Heron Butorides striatus
103) Germain's Swiftlet Collocalia germani
104) Monk (Quaker) Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus
105) Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans
106) Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris
107) Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
108) Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea
109) Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosa
110) Sunda Pigmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos moluccensis
111) White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
112) Olive-backed Sunbird Nectarinia jugularis
113) Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier
114) Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis
115) Javan Mynah Acridotheres javanicus
116) House Crow Corvus splendens
117) Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
118) Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea
119) Moustached Parakeet Psittacula alexandri
120) Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
121) Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
122) Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis
123) Indian Ringneck Parakeet Psittacula krameri
124) Little Egret Egretta garzetta
125) Stork-billed Kingfisher Halcyon capensis
126) Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
127) Zebra Dove Geopelia striata
128) Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
129) Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala
130) Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
131) Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica
132) Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

MALAYSIA
133) White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
134) Asian Glossy Starling Aplonis panayensis
135) Greater Green leafbird Chloropsis sonnerati
136) Orange-bellied Flowerpecker Dicaeum trigonostigma
137) Cream-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus simplex
138) Hairy-backed Bulbul Tricholestes criniger
139) Greater Hill Mynah Gracula religiosa
140) Orange-backed Woodpecker Reinwardtipicus validus
141) Purple-naped Sunbird Hypogramma hypogrammicum
142) Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis moluccensis
143) Striped Tit-Babbler Macronous gularis
144) Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phoenicophaeus curvirostris
145) Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
146) Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus
147) Tiger Shrike Lanius tigrinus
148) Buff-vented Bulbul Iole olivacea
149) Raffles' Malkoha Phoenicophaeus chlorophaeus
150) Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
151) Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
152) Asian House Swift Apus nipalensis
153) White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus
154) Olive-winged Bulbul Pycnonotus plumosus
155) Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus
156) Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra
157) Grey-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias umbratilis
158) Yellow-bellied Bulbul Alophoixus phaeocephalus
159) Checquer-throated Woodpecker Picus mentalis
160) Spectacled Bulbul Pycnonotus erythrophthalmus
161) White-vented Mynah Acridotheres grandis
162) White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
163) Lineated Barbet Megalaima lineata
164) Long-tailed Parakeet Psittacula longicauda
165) Nutmeg Finch (Scaly-breasted Munia) Lonchura punctulata
166) Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia
167) Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
168) Black-thighed Falconet Microhierax fringillarius
169) Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus
170) White-bellied Yuhina Erpornis zantholeuca
171) Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus
172) Dark-necked Tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis
173) Red-billed Malkoha Phoenicophaeus javanicus
174) Asian Fairy Bluebird Irena puella
175) Plain Flowerpecker Dicaeum concolor
176) Mountain Fulvetta Alcippe peracensis
177) Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis
178) White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis
179) Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna
180) Glossy (White-bellied) Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta
181) Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
182) Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus flaviventris
183) Everett's White-eye Zosterops everetti
184) Eastern Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus
185) Mountain Tailorbird Phyllergates cucullatus
186) Golden Babbler Stachyridopsis chrysaea
187) Orange-breasted Trogon Harpactes oreskios
188) Black and Yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus
189) Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia
190) Dark-sided Flycatcher Muscicapa sibirica
191) Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
192) Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus
193) Long-tailed Sibia Heterophasia picaoides
194) Black and Crimson Oriole Oriolus cruentus
195) Black-browed Barbet Megalaima oorti
196) Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrush Garrulax mitratus
197) Black-bellied Malkoha Phaenicophaeus diardi
198) Fire-tufted Barbet Psilopogon pyrolophus
199) Grey-chinned Minivet Pericrocotus solaris
200) Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata
201) Rufous-browed Flycatcher Ficedula solitaris
202) Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo Dicrurus remifer
203) Red-headed Trogon Harpactes erythrocephalus
204) Grey-throated Babbler Stachyris nigriceps
205) Slender-billed Crow Corvus enca
206) Sultan Tit Melanochlora sultanea
207) Mountain Bulbul Hypsipetes macclellandii
208) Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus
209) Rufescent Prinia Prinia rufescens
210) Little Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia ruficeps
211) Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni
212) Greater Yellownape Woodpecker Picus flavinucha
213) Silver-eared Mesia Leiothrix argentauris
214) Chestnut-crowned Warbler Seicercus castaniceps
215) Blue-winged Minla Siva cyanouroptera
216) Large Niltava Niltava grandis
217) Blue Nuthatch Sitta azurea
218) Ochraceous Bulbul Alophoixus ochraceus
219) Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus
220) Mountain Imperial Pigeon Ducula badia
221) Purple-backed (Daurian) Starling Agropsar (Sturnus) sturninus

THAILAND
[number 222 removed as duplicate]
223) Sooty-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus aurigaster
224) Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus
225) Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus
226) Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
227) Crested Tree-Swift Hemiprocne coronata
228) Asian Openbill Stork Anastomus oscitans
229) Asian Pied Fantail Rhipidura javanica
230) Streak-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus blanfordi
231) Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum
232) Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis
233) Himalayan Swiftlet Collocalia brevirostris

LAOS
234) Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius
235) Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodei
236) Puff-throated Bulbul Alophoixus pallidus
237) Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus

THAILAND again
238) Great Egret Egretta alba
239) Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
240) Asian Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger
241) Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectens
242) Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
243) Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
244) Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos (I don't split up the Large-billed Crow complex because the taxonomy is still too messy)
245) Asian Pied Starling Sturnus (Gracupica) contra
246) Black-collared Starling Sturnus (Gracupica) nigricollis
247) Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla
248) Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
249) Black-winged Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina melaschistos
250) Javan Pond Heron Ardeola speciosa
251) Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
252) Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
253) White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus
254) Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus
255) Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus
256) Common Redshank Tringa totanus
257) Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
258) Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
259) Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata
260) Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
261) Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
262) Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas
263) Golden-bellied Gerygone Gerygone sulphurea
264) Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea
265) Hainan Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hainanus
266) Large Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina macei
267) Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
268) Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus
269) Eurasian Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
270) Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis
271) Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
272) Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis
273) Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
274) Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri
275) Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi
276) Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii

BRISBANE and GOLD COAST
277) Australian Figbird Sphecotheres vieilloti
278) Torresian Crow Corvus orru
279) Grey Butcherbird Craciticus torquatus
280) Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis
281) Banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis
282) Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis
283) Grey Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica
284) Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus
285) Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis
286) Red-backed Fairy-Wren Malurus melanocephalus
287) Pale-headed Rosella Platycercus adscitus
288) Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris
289) Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata
290) Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina novaehollandiae
291) Bush Stone-Curlew Burhinus grallarius
292) Scarlet Honeyeater Myzomela sanguinolenta
293) Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis (I'm genuinely bewildered how this can be a lifer!)
294) Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
295) Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus
296) Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus
297) Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii
298) Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea
299) White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
300) Osprey Pandion haliaetus (I don't split Ospreys)
301) Leaden Flycatcher Myiagra rubecula
302) Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis
303) Australian Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris
304) Black Kite Milvus migrans
305) Tawny Grassbird Megalurus (Cincloramphus) timoriensis
306) Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta
307) Pallid Cuckoo Cacomantis pallidus
308) Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
309) Fairy Martin Hirundo ariel
310) Double-barred (Owl) Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii
311) Brown Quail Coturnix ypsilophora
312) Red-browed Firetail Neochmia temporalis
313) Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides
314) Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis
315) Olive-backed Oriole Oriolus sagittatus
316) Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis
317) Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
318) White-winged Triller Lalage tricolor
319) Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis (I don't split the Golden Whistler complex because it is just too complex!)
320) Comb-crested Jacana Jacana gallinacea
321) Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla
322) Large-billed Scrubwren Sericornis magnirostris
323) White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaeus
324) Pacific (Australian) Koel Eudynamys orientalis
325) Shining Cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus
326) Australian Cicadabird Coracina (Edolisoma) tenuirostris
327) Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus


(Edit note: the bird total is actually 326 because I had a mistaken ID in the list which meant that one of the species ended up being duplicated)
 
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Mammals:
12. Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)

I have also seen recently another lace monitor, several more black fronted dotterels and, quite surprisingly, a Wedge tailed eagle far from its normally accepted range.
 
Mammals were seen over the last couple of days but needed to confirm ID. Also saw Rock Ringtails and multiple Sandstone False-antechinuses.

Edith Falls, Great Arnhem Road

Mammals
66. Hoary Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus nigrogriseus)
67. Antilopine Wallaroo (Macropus antilopinus)

Birds
69. Northern Crested Shrike-tit (Falcunculus (frontatus) whitei)

Reptiles
76. Mertens’ Water Monitor (Varanus mertensi)

Chainman Creek, Darwin

Birds
70. Chestnut-backed Buttonquail (Turnix castanotus)

Reptiles

77. Frill-necked Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
78. Swanson's Snake-eyed Skink (Cryptoblepharus cygnatus)
79. Richardson's Mangrove Snake (Myron richardsonii)
80. White-bellied Mangrove Snake (Fordonia leucobalia)
81. Australian Bockadam (Cerberus australis)
 
As some people may have noticed I have been MIA for a month or so (that's "Missing In Asia"). I've been saving for quite a long time already for my next trip but because it will be a Mega Trip and not just a Big Trip - and because there have been a few unexpected things I have had to fork over lots of money for - I suspected I wouldn't have enough money by the time the intended departure date came around at the start of next year, so I've pushed it back another year. I haven't been overseas for TWO years though [exclamation mark] and that's not really acceptable. Therefore I planned out a quick trip where I would basically jump around a few different places, mostly targeting specific animals I hadn't seen yet but for which I'd found (supposedly)-reliable sites. You could legitimately say this trip was mostly just a mammal-twitching trip (and I got nine new mammals, so it worked out quite well). The lists for most of the countries aren't very long for this reason. Only a relatively few days here and there could be used for all-day birding; in particular, the birds listed for the first part of Thailand were literally all seen from bus windows or while walking along the road; and the Laos part was a complete dud. The Brisbane bit at the end seems very light too but it has to be said that a lot of the birds seen in Brisbane were ones also seen in Sydney at the very start of the trip. There may or may not be a new Chlidonias Goes To Asia thread at some point.



A quick outline of the trip before the species lists:

SYDNEY
I had one night and the following day in Sydney, so I spent them at Warriewood Wetlands and Centennial Park.

SINGAPORE
There were two main objectives for my two days in Singapore. Firstly to visit Jurong before it closed, and see the Spix's Macaws, Lear's Macaws, and Philippine Eagles (I saw the last two, but the Spix's refused to show). Secondly to look for a pangolin. There is a particular spot where more than a handful of mammalwatchers have seen a Sunda Pangolin. One of those people was @lintworm and it is totally unacceptable for another moderator to have seen a wild pangolin when I have not. I know almost all the moderators have seen captive pangolins (it is a requirement of becoming a moderator) but a wild pangolin is a different ball-game. I wasn't actually that hopeful of seeing one, but I had my fingers crossed.

MALAYSIA
After Singapore I crossed over the strait to Peninsular Malaysia and headed to the Panti Forest for general animal-watching (mainly to try and see the local subspecies of Banded Leaf Monkeys, which I did although not to such an extent that I could actually get photos of them), then went all the way up to Taiping to visit the Taiping Zoo (hoping their Marbled Cat was still on display, which it was). I also spent a day-ish at Maxwell Hill for Agile Gibbons, then a couple of days at Bukit Fraser, and then flew to Thailand.

THAILAND
A couple of years ago (right after my last trip, annoyingly) I had found out about a couple of temples in the north of Thailand which are visited by habituated Assamese Macaques and Indochinese Grey Langurs respectively, and I've been waiting for a chance to add them into a trip. I was in Thailand for less than three days, solely to visit these two spots, before popping up into Laos.

LAOS
The second of the aforementioned Thai temples is at Loei, which is not far from the main border-crossing with Laos, so it made sense to add that into the mix as well. This was the only "new" country of the trip. I went to a place called Ban Na Hin which has not fared well with poachers apparently and I saw very little, so I bailed and went back to Thailand.

THAILAND again
Another few days, basically travelling down from Laos to Bangkok before my flight homewards; I had a bit longer here than originally intended (due to abandoning Laos) and managed to get in some birding at some of the local bird spots in Bangkok with wavering success.

BRISBANE
When sorting out the travel plans for this trip I discovered that there are now direct flights between Bangkok and Brisbane with Thai Air Asia, which only started in June this year. I'd only been to Brisbane once before, in 2008, and it rained every day I was there, so I was hoping to add at least a few new species to my life lists on this visit. I did get a few lifers - both birds and mammals - but the number of bird species overall was slimmer than I'd been expecting (I only saw about a hundred species total there, of which about half were year-birds; on one of the days in Brisbane I saw 72 species, which makes the 100-species total seem even smaller!). I also spent half a day in the Gold Coast because that's where the flight back to New Zealand left from.



I'd count the trip as successful. Of my twelve "target mammals" I saw eight of them which, given that I generally only had one or two chances for each one, was a better-than-expected total.

I only had one "target bird", which was Powerful Owl, but the "always reliable" birds at Centennial Park in Sydney hadn't been seen in a few weeks so I missed out on those. I saw ten other life-birds though - three in Asia and the other seven in Queensland.

Just out of interest, I counted up how many of the birds in my southeast Asia field guide I have seen. The book is the 2005 edition (I never got round to updating it) so the number will be different now due to splitting, but it contains about 1290 species including all the vagrants and stragglers. Of those I have seen 860 species - two-thirds - hence why there are so few lifers on the bird lists. There are still a handful of common birds which somehow I haven't managed to see yet, but mostly the ones I'm missing are species with very restricted distributions, are reclusive rainforest-dwellers, or are just vagrants which I'm unlikely to see anyway.

New mammals:
Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps
Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii (not one of the "target mammals")
Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica
Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis
Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis
Indochinese Grey Langur Trachypithecus crepusculus
Little Red Flying Fox Pteropus scapulatus
Australian Humpback Dolphin Sousa sahulensis
Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis

New birds:
Monk (Quaker) Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus
Purple-backed (Daurian) Starling Agropsar (Sturnus) sturninus
Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodei
Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus
Tawny Grassbird Megalurus (Cincloramphus) timoriensis
Pallid Cuckoo Cacomantis pallidus
Double-barred (Owl) Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii
Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
Australian Cicadabird Coracina (Edolisoma) tenuirostris



I'll list the mammals first given that the trip was mostly to find a few specific mammals.


MAMMALS
Already seen this year:
1) House Mouse Mus musculus
2) Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus
3) New Zealand Fur Seal Arctocephalus forsteri
4) Leopard Seal Hydrurga leptonyx
5) European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

SYDNEY
6) Grey-headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus
7) Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps
8) Swamp Wallaby Wallabia bicolor
9) Common Brush-tailed Possum Trichosurus vulpecula
10) Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii

SINGAPORE
11) Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata
12) Plantain squirrel Callosciurus notatus
13) Wild Pig Sus scrofa (vittatus)
14) Colugo Cynocephalus variegatus
15) Common Tree Shrew Tupaia glis
16) Slender Squirrel Sundasciurus tenuis
17) Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica

MALAYSIA
18) Crab-eating Macaque Macaca fascicularis
19) Banded Leaf Monkey Presbytis femoralis
20) White-handed (Lar) Gibbon Hylobates lar
21) Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel Ratufa affinis
22) Dusky Langur Trachypithecus obscurus
23) Malaysian Upland Squirrel Sundasciurus tahan
24) Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis
25) Grey-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus caniceps
26) Himalayan Striped Squirrel Tamiops macclellandi
27) Red-bellied (Pallas') Squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus
28) White-thighed Langur Presbytis siamensis
29) Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista elegans
30) Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis

THAILAND
31) Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis
32) Indochinese Grey Langur Trachypithecus crepusculus

33) Variable (Finlayson's) Squirrel Callosciurus finlaysonii

LAOS
Um, nothing...

THAILAND again
34) Northern Tree Shrew Tupaia belangeri
35) Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sphinx
36) Berdmore's (Indochinese) Ground Squirrel Menetes berdmorei
37) Lyle's Flying Fox Pteropus lylei

BRISBANE and GOLD COAST
38) Black Flying Fox Pteropus alecto
39) Little Red Flying Fox Pteropus scapulatus
40) Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus
41) Koala Phascolarctos cinereus
42) Australian Humpback Dolphin Sousa sahulensis
43) Red-necked Wallaby Macropus rufogriseus
44) Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis
45) Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus



BIRDS
Already seen this year:
1) Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
2) House Sparrow Passer domesticus
3) European Blackbird Turdus merula
4) Feral Pigeon Columba livia
5) Southern Black-backed (Kelp) Gull Larus dominicanus
6) Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
7) Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
8) Pied Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa
9) Kaka Nestor meridionalis
10) New Zealand Pigeon Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
11) Pied Shag Phalacrocorax varius
12) New Zealand Scaup Aythya novaeseelandiae
13) Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
14) Little Pied Shag Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
15) Black Shag (Great Cormorant) Phalacrocorax carbo
16) Saddleback Philesturnus carunculatus
17) New Zealand Robin Petroica australis
18) Waxeye Zosterops lateralis
19) Californian Quail Callipepla californica
20) Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
21) Hedge Sparrow (Dunnock) Prunella modularis
22) Whitehead Mohoua albicilla
33) Stitchbird Notiomystis cincta
24) New Zealand Bellbird Anthornis melanura
25) Brown Teal Anas chlorotis
26) Red-billed Gull Larus novaehollandiae
27) Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
28) Variable Oystercatcher Haematopus unicolor
29) Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus
30) Canada Goose Branta canadensis
31) Paradise Duck Tadorna variegata
32) Grey Warbler Gerygone igata
33) Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella
34) Black Swan Cygnus atrata
35) Spur-winged Plover Vanellus novaehollandiae
36) White-headed (Pied) Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus
37) Grey Teal Anas gracilis
38) Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia
39) Pukeko (Purple Swamphen) Porphyrio porphyrio (I don't split these on my lists)
40) European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
41) Eastern Reef Heron Egretta sacra
42) Spotted Shag Stictocarbo punctatus
43) Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius
44) Tomtit Petroica macrocephala
45) Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
46) Red-crowned Kakariki Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae
47) Australasian Coot Fulica atra
48) European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
49) European Skylark Alauda arvensis
50) Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
51) White-fronted Tern Sterna striata
52) Caspian Tern Sterna caspia
53) Australasian Harrier Circus approximans
54) Banded dotterel Charadrius bicinctus
55) Little Black Shag Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
56) Australasian Gannet Morus serrator
57) New Zealand White-capped Albatross Thalassarche steadi
58) New Zealand Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
59) White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae
60) Australasian Shoveller Anas rhynchotis
61) New Zealand Dabchick Poliocephalus rufopectus
62) Black-fronted Dotterel Elseyornis melanops

SYDNEY
63) Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca
64) Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
65) Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
66) Common Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
67) Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa
68) Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
69) Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis
70) Galah Cacatua roseicapilla
71) Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
72) Little Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera
73) Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis
74) Brown Falcon Falco berigora
75) Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus
76) Superb Blue Wren Malurus cyaneus
77) Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
78) Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
79) Willy Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
80) Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis
81) Australian Little Grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
82) White-cheeked Honeyeater Phylidonyris nigra
83) Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
84) Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys
85) Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii
86) Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
87) Australian Brush Turkey Alectura lathami
88) Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
89) White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis
90) Brown Gerygone Gerygone mouki
91) Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis
92) Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus
93) Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata
94) Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes
95) Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
96) Australian Darter Anhinga novaehollandiae
97) Australian Raven Corvus coronoides
98) Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
99) White-eyed Duck Aythya australis
100) Magpie-Lark Grallina cyanoleuca

SINGAPORE
101) Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
102) Striated Heron Butorides striatus
103) Germain's Swiftlet Collocalia germani
104) Monk (Quaker) Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus
105) Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans
106) Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris
107) Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
108) Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea
109) Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosa
110) Sunda Pigmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos moluccensis
111) White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
112) Olive-backed Sunbird Nectarinia jugularis
113) Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier
114) Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis
115) Javan Mynah Acridotheres javanicus
116) House Crow Corvus splendens
117) Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
118) Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea
119) Moustached Parakeet Psittacula alexandri
120) Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
121) Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
122) Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis
123) Indian Ringneck Parakeet Psittacula krameri
124) Little Egret Egretta garzetta
125) Stork-billed Kingfisher Halcyon capensis
126) Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
127) Zebra Dove Geopelia striata
128) Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
129) Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala
130) Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
131) Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica
132) Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

MALAYSIA
133) White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
134) Asian Glossy Starling Aplonis panayensis
135) Greater Green leafbird Chloropsis sonnerati
136) Orange-bellied Flowerpecker Dicaeum trigonostigma
137) Cream-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus simplex
138) Hairy-backed Bulbul Tricholestes criniger
139) Greater Hill Mynah Gracula religiosa
140) Orange-backed Woodpecker Reinwardtipicus validus
141) Purple-naped Sunbird Hypogramma hypogrammicum
142) Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis moluccensis
143) Striped Tit-Babbler Macronous gularis
144) Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phoenicophaeus curvirostris
145) Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
146) Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus
147) Tiger Shrike Lanius tigrinus
148) Buff-vented Bulbul Iole olivacea
149) Raffles' Malkoha Phoenicophaeus chlorophaeus
150) Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
151) Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
152) Asian House Swift Apus nipalensis
153) White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus
154) Olive-winged Bulbul Pycnonotus plumosus
155) Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus
156) Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra
157) Grey-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias umbratilis
158) Yellow-bellied Bulbul Alophoixus phaeocephalus
159) Checquer-throated Woodpecker Picus mentalis
160) Spectacled Bulbul Pycnonotus erythrophthalmus
161) Crested Mynah Acridotheres cristatellus
162) White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
163) Lineated Barbet Megalaima lineata
164) Long-tailed Parakeet Psittacula longicauda
165) Nutmeg Finch (Scaly-breasted Munia) Lonchura punctulata
166) Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia
167) Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
168) Black-thighed Falconet Microhierax fringillarius
169) Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus
170) White-bellied Yuhina Erpornis zantholeuca
171) Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus
172) Dark-necked Tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis
173) Red-billed Malkoha Phoenicophaeus javanicus
174) Asian Fairy Bluebird Irena puella
175) Plain Flowerpecker Dicaeum concolor
176) Mountain Fulvetta Alcippe peracensis
177) Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis
178) White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis
179) Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna
180) Glossy (White-bellied) Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta
181) Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
182) Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus flaviventris
183) Everett's White-eye Zosterops everetti
184) Eastern Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus
185) Mountain Tailorbird Phyllergates cucullatus
186) Golden Babbler Stachyridopsis chrysaea
187) Orange-breasted Trogon Harpactes oreskios
188) Black and Yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus
189) Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia
190) Dark-sided Flycatcher Muscicapa sibirica
191) Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
192) Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus
193) Long-tailed Sibia Heterophasia picaoides
194) Black and Crimson Oriole Oriolus cruentus
195) Black-browed Barbet Megalaima oorti
196) Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrush Garrulax mitratus
197) Black-bellied Malkoha Phaenicophaeus diardi
198) Fire-tufted Barbet Psilopogon pyrolophus
199) Grey-chinned Minivet Pericrocotus solaris
200) Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata
201) Rufous-browed Flycatcher Ficedula solitaris
202) Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo Dicrurus remifer
203) Red-headed Trogon Harpactes erythrocephalus
204) Grey-throated Babbler Stachyris nigriceps
205) Slender-billed Crow Corvus enca
206) Sultan Tit Melanochlora sultanea
207) Mountain Bulbul Hypsipetes macclellandii
208) Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus
209) Rufescent Prinia Prinia rufescens
210) Little Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia ruficeps
211) Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni
212) Greater Yellownape Woodpecker Picus flavinucha
213) Silver-eared Mesia Leiothrix argentauris
214) Chestnut-crowned Warbler Seicercus castaniceps
215) Blue-winged Minla Siva cyanouroptera
216) Large Niltava Niltava grandis
217) Blue Nuthatch Sitta azurea
218) Ochraceous Bulbul Alophoixus ochraceus
219) Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus
220) Mountain Imperial Pigeon Ducula badia
221) Purple-backed (Daurian) Starling Agropsar (Sturnus) sturninus

THAILAND
222) White-vented Mynah Acridotheres grandis
223) Sooty-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus aurigaster
224) Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus
225) Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus
226) Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
227) Crested Tree-Swift Hemiprocne coronata
228) Asian Openbill Stork Anastomus oscitans
229) Asian Pied Fantail Rhipidura javanica
230) Streak-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus blanfordi
231) Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum
232) Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis
233) Himalayan Swiftlet Collocalia brevirostris

LAOS
234) Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius
235) Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodei
236) Puff-throated Bulbul Alophoixus pallidus
237) Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus

THAILAND again
238) Great Egret Egretta alba
239) Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
240) Asian Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger
241) Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectens
242) Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
243) Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
244) Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos (I don't split up the Large-billed Crow complex because the taxonomy is still too messy)
245) Asian Pied Starling Sturnus (Gracupica) contra
246) Black-collared Starling Sturnus (Gracupica) nigricollis
247) Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla
248) Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
249) Black-winged Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina melaschistos
250) Javan Pond Heron Ardeola speciosa
251) Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
252) Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
253) White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus
254) Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus
255) Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus
256) Common Redshank Tringa totanus
257) Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
258) Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
259) Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata
260) Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
261) Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
262) Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas
263) Golden-bellied Gerygone Gerygone sulphurea
264) Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea
265) Hainan Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hainanus
266) Large Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina macei
267) Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
268) Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus
269) Eurasian Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
270) Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis
271) Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
272) Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis
273) Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
274) Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri
275) Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi
276) Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii

BRISBANE and GOLD COAST
277) Australian Figbird Sphecotheres vieilloti
278) Torresian Crow Corvus orru
279) Grey Butcherbird Craciticus torquatus
280) Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis
281) Banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis
282) Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis
283) Grey Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica
284) Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus
285) Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis
286) Red-backed Fairy-Wren Malurus melanocephalus
287) Pale-headed Rosella Platycercus adscitus
288) Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris
289) Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata
290) Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina novaehollandiae
291) Bush Stone-Curlew Burhinus grallarius
292) Scarlet Honeyeater Myzomela sanguinolenta
293) Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis (I'm genuinely bewildered how this can be a lifer!)
294) Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
295) Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus
296) Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus
297) Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii
298) Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea
299) White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
300) Osprey Pandion haliaetus (I don't split Ospreys)
301) Leaden Flycatcher Myiagra rubecula
302) Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis
303) Australian Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris
304) Black Kite Milvus migrans
305) Tawny Grassbird Megalurus (Cincloramphus) timoriensis
306) Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta
307) Pallid Cuckoo Cacomantis pallidus
308) Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
309) Fairy Martin Hirundo ariel
310) Double-barred (Owl) Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii
311) Brown Quail Coturnix ypsilophora
312) Red-browed Firetail Neochmia temporalis
313) Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides
314) Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis
315) Olive-backed Oriole Oriolus sagittatus
316) Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis
317) Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
318) White-winged Triller Lalage tricolor
319) Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis (I don't split the Golden Whistler complex because it is just too complex!)
320) Comb-crested Jacana Jacana gallinacea
321) Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla
322) Large-billed Scrubwren Sericornis magnirostris
323) White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaeus
324) Pacific (Australian) Koel Eudynamys orientalis
325) Shining Cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus
326) Australian Cicadabird Coracina (Edolisoma) tenuirostris
327) Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus
An impressive list however it does look as if you might have to look towards new hunting grounds if you want to add substantially to your life list.
 
An impressive list however it does look as if you might have to look towards new hunting grounds if you want to add substantially to your life list.
I know! There are still a lot of mammals in southeast Asia for me, but for birds I never really expect to see anything new so I end up not putting as much effort in as I used to.

I have decided to branch out to somewhere more neotropically for my next proper trip though.
 
Mammals:
12. Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)

I have also seen recently another lace monitor, several more black fronted dotterels and, quite surprisingly, a Wedge tailed eagle far from its normally accepted range.
Birds:
138. Rose Crowned Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus regina)

Another very unexpected lifer, which was seen twice flying low over the rainforest canopy. This is a species I have wanted to see for a very long time.
 
Chainman Creek, Darwin

Birds
70. Chestnut-backed Buttonquail (Turnix castanotus)

Reptiles

77. Frill-necked Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
78. Swanson's Snake-eyed Skink (Cryptoblepharus cygnatus)
79. Richardson's Mangrove Snake (Myron richardsonii)
80. White-bellied Mangrove Snake (Fordonia leucobalia)
81. Australian Bockadam (Cerberus australis)

Buffalo Creek, Litchfield NP

Birds
71. Beach Stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris)

Reptiles
82. Swamplands Lashtail (Amphibolurus temporalis)
83. Desert Rainbow-skink (Carlia triacantha)

84. Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii)
85. Claw-snouted Blindsnake (Anilios unguirostris)
86. Orange-sided Bar-lipped Skink (Eremiascincus douglasi)
87. Northern Ridge-tailed Monitor (Varanus primordius)

Amphibians

13. Ornate Burrowing Frog (Platyplectrum ornatum)
14. Giant Frog (Cyclorana australis)
15. Black-shinned Rocket Frog (Litoria tornieri)

16. Northern Laughing Tree Frog (Litoria rothii)
17. Northern Territory Whistling-frog (Austrochaperina adelphe)
18. Marbled Frog (Limnodynastes convexiusculus)
19. Striped Rocket Frog (Litoria nasuta)
 
Buffalo Creek, Litchfield NP

Birds
71. Beach Stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris)

Reptiles
82. Swamplands Lashtail (Amphibolurus temporalis)
83. Desert Rainbow-skink (Carlia triacantha)

84. Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii)
85. Claw-snouted Blindsnake (Anilios unguirostris)
86. Orange-sided Bar-lipped Skink (Eremiascincus douglasi)
87. Northern Ridge-tailed Monitor (Varanus primordius)

Amphibians

13. Ornate Burrowing Frog (Platyplectrum ornatum)
14. Giant Frog (Cyclorana australis)
15. Black-shinned Rocket Frog (Litoria tornieri)
16. Northern Laughing Tree Frog (Litoria rothii)
17. Northern Territory Whistling-frog (Austrochaperina adelphe)
18. Marbled Frog (Limnodynastes convexiusculus)
19. Striped Rocket Frog (Litoria nasuta)

George Brown Botanic Gardens, East Point, Howard Springs, Fogg Dam, off-airport

Mammals
68. Northern Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus arnhemensis)
69. Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster)
70. Black-footed Tree-rat (Mesembriomys gouldii)

Birds
72. Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)

Reptiles
88. Arafura File Snake (Acrochordus arafurae)

89. Barkly Tableland Death Adder (Acanthophis hawkei)
 
Another good weekend at the coast got me possibly the best Belgian bird of the year, even though it wasn't an addition. Belgium's first ever brown shrike was found on Friday! A nerve-racking twitch where a few friends and I arrived 15 minutes after it was seen flying away, and spent the rest of the afternoon looking with many others to try and find it back. No immediate result, until right before sunset we got a message of it being refound - a lot of hectic running around later (of course we were just right at the other side of the park, and when we got there they lost the shrike again) and everyone finally managed to see it! It stuck around in a slightly different area for the three days after that, so because we were at the coast again on saturday we went again and saw it in a lot more natural setting in better light.

The bird was extraordinary, not only because it was Belgium's first but also because it was an adult male! Normally the ones found are first calendar year individuals, which look fairly drab and hard to separate from other juvenile shrikes (like the 'expected' red-backed shrikes). Whenever an adult male does get found in Europe though, nine times out of ten it ends up being an animal of the cristatus subspecies, so still a fairly brown bird (and likely the subspecies I saw as passage migrants in Vietnam). This one was probably the East Asian ssp lucionensis however, which breeds in Eastern China, Korea and Japan and winters in Taiwan and the Philippines... The European records of adult male lucionensis brown shrikes can probably be counted on no more than two hands, so for Belgium's first ever brown shrike to be one like this is extraordinarily rare! Apparently there have been talks of a potential split, but I don't think it's a likely one and IOC doesn't split them so I won't be counting it as such.

On saturday a friend of mine also found a very rare planthopper species while we were checking an interesting flock of birds, which was cool!

BIRDS:
xxx) Philippine brown shrike, Lanius cristatus lucionensis

(Benelux: 222) - additions are red-eyed vireo, red crossbill, short-eared owl, isabelline shrike, Lapland longspur, barred warbler and brown shrike, all mentioned in previous posts where I forgot to update the Benelux total.

INVERTS:
102) Green small-eyed planthopper, Tettigometra virescens

 
This weekend (precisely from the 25th of October to the 27th of October), I got on a trip to the Oualidia region, renowned for its waterbirds but also for being the last place where seeing an Andalusian buttonquail is possible in the Western Palearctic, that was on the back of my head since months now but had to unfortunately be cancelled the first time I tried undertaking it because of a car breakdown.

It was my first real birding trip in Morocco outside of the Souss-Massa region (where I live) and it had three main goals:

- Trying to FINALLY see wild Marbled teals
- Twitch 2 vagrant species (Long-billed dowitcher and Blue-winged teal) that were reported at the two hotspots I planned to visit
- Get as many lifers and additions for the lifelist as possible and maybe finally reach the 150 wild species seen margin in year

Even though I failed at accomplishing the first two, I found this trip to be very successful, firstly because Marbled teals don't seem to actually exist based on how much luck I've had with them, that the vagrants have both been reported for more than 10 days in areas where it's very hard to find them and finally because the third goal was more than achieved:

25/10/2019
BIRDS:

(A7 Highway Toll, Amskroud)
145 - Blue rock thrush, Monticola solitarius

(Salines de Oualidia, Oualidia)
146 - Little stint, Calidris minuta
147 - Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago

148 - Northern shoveler, Anas clypeata
149 - Spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata

(Jardin de la Lagune, Oualidia)
150 - Common barn owl, Tyto alba

26/10/2019
BIRDS:

(Marais d'El Hotba, Ouled Salem)
151 - Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica

(Daya Dar Bouazza, Dar Bouazza)
152 - Western swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio

All lifers were ones I had long been waiting for and some I was hopeful to see because I knew they were common in the places I was going to (Little stint, Common snipe, Spotted flycatcher for ex.). A Blue rock thrush on a highway toll out of all places was great as was my second ever owl species and the unexpected and unplanned 30min visit to Dar Bouazza that gave me my first views of Western swamphen! A lot of those species are harder to see in Souss than they are up north so I am happy to have gotten all of them.

Other highlights include a whooping 42 (!) Barbary partridges seen on the long travel to Oualidia, beating my record of species seen at a single spot; namely 50 species at Les Salines de Oualidia and in general some very fun birding that made this trip extremely enjoyable.

And with that, the 150 bird species mark I had set at the beginning of the year is reached!
 
George Brown Botanic Gardens, East Point, Howard Springs, Fogg Dam, off-airport

Mammals
68. Northern Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus arnhemensis)
69. Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster)
70. Black-footed Tree-rat (Mesembriomys gouldii)

Birds
72. Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)

Reptiles
88. Arafura File Snake (Acrochordus arafurae)

89. Barkly Tableland Death Adder (Acanthophis hawkei)

Howard Springs, Litchfield NP

Reptiles
90. Northern Yellow-faced Turtle (Emydura tanybaraga)
91. Black-palmed Rock Monitor (Varanus glebopalma)
92. Ornate Soil-crevice Skink (Notoscincus ornatus)
93. Zigzag Velvet Gecko (Amalosia rhombifer)

94. Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus)
95. Macleay's Water Snake (Pseudoferania polylepis)
96. Northern Small-eyed Snake (Cryptophis pallidiceps)
 
Howard Springs, Litchfield NP

Reptiles
90. Northern Yellow-faced Turtle (Emydura tanybaraga)
91. Black-palmed Rock Monitor (Varanus glebopalma)
92. Ornate Soil-crevice Skink (Notoscincus ornatus)
93. Zigzag Velvet Gecko (Amalosia rhombifer)

94. Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus)
95. Macleay's Water Snake (Pseudoferania polylepis)
96. Northern Small-eyed Snake (Cryptophis pallidiceps)

East Point

Mammals
71. Grassland Melomys (Melomys burtoni)
 
East Point

Mammals
71. Grassland Melomys (Melomys burtoni)

Daly River, Douglas Daly caravan park

Reptiles
97. Pig-nosed Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)

98. Slaty-grey Snake (Stegonotus cucullatus)

Amphibians
20. Bilingual Frog (Crinia bilingua)
 
Daly River, Douglas Daly caravan park

Reptiles
97. Pig-nosed Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)

98. Slaty-grey Snake (Stegonotus cucullatus)

Amphibians
20. Bilingual Frog (Crinia bilingua)

species from Lost City a couple days ago

Reptiles
99. King's Dtella (Gehyra koira)
*
100. Litchfield Spotted Gecko (Gehyra paranana)

Amphibians
21. Floodplain Toadlet (Uperoleia inundata)

*soon to be changed to lapistola
 
It has been a long time since I updated my list here. First of all, the Iberian chiffchaff I twitched (#155) was not accepted by the Dutch rarities committee due to possible hybridization, which is why I decided to take it off my list. The last bird I twitched was the pied crow that has been hanging around in the Netherlands for a few months now after hanging around in the UK. Since the origins of this bird are still debatable, I'm not counting it yet.

BIRDS

171. European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus)
172. European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)
173. Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
174. Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
175. Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
176. Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
177. Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix)
178. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)
179. Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
180. Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla)
181. Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin)
182. Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida)
183. European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)
xxx. Pied Crow (Corvus albus)

MAMMALS
14. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
 
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