ZooChat Big Year 2020

So, yesterday I went to the woods for the deer rut, unfortunately no cool behaviour but I did get two much needed lifers!

Mammals:
5 - Boar (Sus scrofa)
6 - Red deer (Cervus elaphus)


Invertebrates:
Other than the dope mammal lifers I also got 2 awesome invertebrates at my school.
I spent a good time digging through a compost heap but then I finally got one of my favourite invertebrate species!
62 - Rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis)

Besides the awesome beetle that day I also got to see brown hairstreak eggs! This species of butterfly is listed as rare for the country, so glad I got it!
63 - Brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae)
 
September has come, so it's time to spend way too much time and effort at the coast to try and find rare stuff and twitch the occasional rarity! After 4 hard days of intensive birding we unfortunately didn't find anything rare except for a short-eared owl and a 'rasping' yellow wagtail (likely very rare and our best find yet, but our recordings are likely not good enough for 100% identification so we probably have nothing). Unlike what these lists look like we spent most of the days birding and only short 30-minute sessions mothing, but it's just easier to get a lot of good moths at once than it is to get a lot of good birds at once! :p

BIRDS:
248) Merlin, Falco columbarius
249) Little stint, Calidris minuta
250) Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
251) Sanderling, Calidris alba
252) Western osprey, Pandion haliaetus
253) Western cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis

INVERTS:
116) Orange swift, Triodia sylvina
117) Yellow belle, Aspitates ochrearia
118) Buff-tip, Phalera bucephala
119) Setaceous hebrew-character, Xestia c-nigrum
120) Sallow, Xanthia icteritia
121) Frosted orange moth, Gortyna flavago
122) Vine's rustic, Hoplodrina ambigua
123) Gold spot, Plusia festucae
124) Brown-spot flat-body, Agonopterix alstromeriana
125) Common mompha, Mompha epilobiella
126) Elbow-striped grass-veneer, Agriphila geniculea
127) Sea slater, Lekanesphaera rugicauda
128) Canary-shouldered thorn, Ennomos alniaria
129) Black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon
130) Star-wort, Cucullia asteris
131) Large wainscot, Rhizedra lutosa
132) Ox-tongue conch, Cochylis molliculana
133) Wasp spider, Argiope bruennichi
134) Garden carpet, Xanthorhoe fluctuata
135) Wormwood pug, Eupithecia absinthiata
136) Ruby tiger, Phragmatobia fuliginosa
137) Chamomile conch, Cochylidia implicitana
138) Pale-streak grass-veneer, Agriphila selasella
139) Small china-mark, Cataclysta lemnata
140) Mallow skipper, Carcharodus alceae
141) Migrant hawker, Aeshna mixta
142) Double-striped pug, Gymnoscelis rufifasciata
143) Dusky thorn, Ennomos fuscantaria
144) L-album wainscot, Mythimna l-album
145) Yarrow case-bearer, Coleophora argentula
146) Mediterranean harvestman, Dicranopalpus ramosus
 
birdsandbats said:
Birds
237. Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
238. Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
239. Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
Click to expand...
I've basically spent the entire fall so far looking for these two species, just coming across other cool birds in the process. I finally saw both of them for the first time today:

Birds
240. Sanderling Calidris alba
241. Philadelphia Vireo Vireo philadelphicus

I could watch Sanderlings for hours.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Birds
55. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

:cool:
Click to expand...

Long overdue update:

Birds
56. Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
57. Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
58. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
59. Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
60. Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
61. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
62. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
63. Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
64. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
65. Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)
66. MacGillivray’s Warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei)
67. Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)
68. Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
69. Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
70. Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus)
71. Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus)
72. Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)
73. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
74. Hammond’s Flycatcher (Empidonax hammondii)
75. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
76. California Gull (Larus californicus)
77. Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)
78. American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
79. Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
80. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
81. Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)
82. Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
83. American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
84. Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
85. White-headed Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus albolarvatus)
86. Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
87. Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
88. California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
89. Western Bluebird (Sialis mexicana)
90. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
91. Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)
92. White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
93. Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)
94. American Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
95. Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea)
96. Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
97. Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber)
98. Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens)
99. Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
100. Spotted Sandpiper (Actitus macularius)
101. Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus)
102. Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
103. Clark’s Nutcracker (Lucifraga columbiana)
104. Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus)
105. White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)
106. California Quail (Callipepla californica)
107. Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
108. Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Mammals
10. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
11. Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)
12. White-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys leucurus)
13. Least Chipmunk (Tamias minimus)
14. American Bison (Bison bison)
15. Coyote (Canis latrans)
16. Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
17. California Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi)
18. Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
19. Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii)
20. Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis)
21. Lodgepole Chipmunk (Neotamias speciosus)
 
First, some more retroactively identified inverts from last time:

INVERTS:
147) Dog's tooth, Lacanobia suasa
148) Sieve-winged snailkiller, Coremacera marginata

And the main highlight: yesterday the Netherlands' third rufous-tailed scrub-robin was caught, ringed, and released. I couldn't go yesterday (and for the official counting rules the bird wouldn't have counted yet yesterday anyways, not that that bothers me much) but when the bird seemed to still be present this morning, my plans for the day were set! Definitely one of the most interesting and most beautiful birds I've ever seen, crazy to think that this species that was formerly completely unheard of in Northwestern Europe has now shown up 3 times in the last 7 years!
After that I went to a group of flamingoes that has been there for a few months. I saw the entire group of 10 birds, of which two are very special - they carry rings from Fuente de Piedra in Spain. One of the ringed birds has also been seen in Ravenna, Italy since then, proving that these birds are more than capable of flying throughout all of Europe and that these birds (perhaps not all flamingoes but at least these two individuals) are not "just" escapes, or exotics from the Zwillbrocker Venn population in Germany. A flyover white-tailed eagle and a calling lesser spotted woodpecker put the icing on the cake, and made this incredible day even more fun!

BIRDS:
254) Rufous-tailed scrub-robin, Cercotrichas galactotes
255) Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus
 
Vision said:
First, some more retroactively identified inverts from last time:

INVERTS:
147) Dog's tooth, Lacanobia suasa
148) Sieve-winged snailkiller, Coremacera marginata

And the main highlight: yesterday the Netherlands' third rufous-tailed scrub-robin was caught, ringed, and released. I couldn't go yesterday (and for the official counting rules the bird wouldn't have counted yet yesterday anyways, not that that bothers me much) but when the bird seemed to still be present this morning, my plans for the day were set! Definitely one of the most interesting and most beautiful birds I've ever seen, crazy to think that this species that was formerly completely unheard of in Northwestern Europe has now shown up 3 times in the last 7 years!
After that I went to a group of flamingoes that has been there for a few months. I saw the entire group of 10 birds, of which two are very special - they carry rings from Fuente de Piedra in Spain. One of the ringed birds has also been seen in Ravenna, Italy since then, proving that these birds are more than capable of flying throughout all of Europe and that these birds (perhaps not all flamingoes but at least these two individuals) are not "just" escapes, or exotics from the Zwillbrocker Venn population in Germany. A flyover white-tailed eagle and a calling lesser spotted woodpecker put the icing on the cake, and made this incredible day even more fun!

BIRDS:
254) Rufous-tailed scrub-robin, Cercotrichas galactotes
255) Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus
Click to expand...
I had never heard of the Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin before, they are perhaps the most beautiful all-brown bird ever!
 
The below are mostly from August - I've had rather a fascinating last month, with a short trip away, then coming home to unexpected quarantine (joy!) forcing me to work from home again just as a busy spell hit at work - and then after quarantine ended two Saturday mornings ago I had most of Saturday and then Sunday as normal (even managed a zoo day) and two days at work as normal to allow me to just about catch up from working at home before developing extreme pain from, apparently, an infected wisdom tooth. Flashforward to now and after a course of antibiotics I'm finally no longer sleep deprived or drowsy from meds and pretty much pain free and hoping for some sort of persistent normality (or the 2020 closest equivalent!) for a couple of weeks at least!

Anywho, as part of that, I need to catch up this thread in a small, but interesting, way.

As I said, this whole bizarre spell started with me trying to get a weekend overseas somewhere, but finding somewhere meant balancing competing needs: the boring ones being: reasonably Covid-safe, apparently (but not, as it turned out, actually) quarantine-requirement-free on return, reasonably priced flights available, suitable for a short break of about 2-3 days, and if at all possible not somewhere I'd been in the last two years. The fun ones: at least one decent zoo, a chance to get an overseas wild bird and mammal on the list, and ideally a reptile, of which my 2020 list still had a grand total of 0.

The winner was Vienna, where I had last been in 2013, and before that twice (for Reasons) in 2003) so it was suitably 'due'. And it played a blinder on everything (until it was predictably let down by the British end sticking a quarantine in place!).

I've seen many strange things in my time, but a Viennese graveyard awash with darting hamsters must rank pretty highly. And I can recommend to anyone interested a particular field on the very edge of the Viennese transport network that has an excellent colony of sousliks.

As well as those, I went birding with minor success (and enjoyed a paddock of Mouflon and Fallow Deer) in Lainzer Tiergarten, and took in Haus des Meeres, the small zoo at Blumengarten Hirschstetten, and of course Tiergarten Schoenbrunn and its associated Desert House. And after a bit of research, found that while the advice on most wild reptiles in Vienna was "yeah, they're around", the advice for one species was "go to the south-east corner of Wertheimsteinpark", which is much more helpful to the incompetent herpetologist on a short trip. And of course wandered around thinking how pretty it all was. Lovely time.

Mammals:
23. European Souslik - Spermophilus citellus
24. European Hamster - Cricetus cricetus

Birds:
190. Short-toed Treecreeper - Certhia brachydactyla
191. Black Redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros

Reptiles (finally):
1. Common Wall Lizard - Podarcis muralis

Amphibians:
4. Edible Frog - Pelophylax kl. esculentus

There are inverts to add from this trip as well, including Silver-washed Fritillary and Hummingbird Hawkmoth, but I'll save listing them properly until I've been through some photo IDs.


Since returning I've had just one vertebrate addition - an evening stop at Morecambe after visiting Wild Discovery and Blackpool Zoo on what I now dub Sane Sunday was just too tempting given the regularity there of:

Birds:
192. Common Eider - Somateria mollissima

(UK: 190)

:)
 
Yoshistar888 said:
34. Common House Spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum)*

I've seen two in two days, one in the garage yesterday and one outside my study window however the one outside my study window was alive when I saw it, a few hours later I checked on it and there was a massive exo parasite on it :(. What a horrible way to die.
Click to expand...

Finally identification is pulling through.

35. Red House Spider (Nesticodes rufipes)*
36. Tracholena sulfurosa (moth species)
37. Rose Aphid (Macrosiphum rosae)
38. European Fire Bug (Pyrrhocoris apterus)*
39. White Kneed Mosquito (Aedes alboannulatus)
40. Discobola australis (Crane fly)
41. Blue Blowfly (Calliphora vicina)
42. Immigrant Fruit Fly (Drosophila immigrans)
43. Common Greenbottle Fly (Lucilia sericata)
44. Black Slug (Arion ater)*

I literally just found out about the black slug, I saw it a few days ago (id was unsure then) and now on news articles they are invading Victoria. Now time to hunt it down and kill it. Fun......................
 
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Yoshistar888 said:
Finally identification is pulling through.

35. Red House Spider (Nesticodes rufipes)*
36. Tracholena sulfurosa (moth species)
37. Rose Aphid (Macrosiphum rosae)
38. European Fire Bug (Pyrrhocoris apterus)*
39. White Kneed Mosquito (Aedes alboannulatus)
40. Discobola australis (Crane fly)
41. Blue Blowfly (Calliphora vicina)
42. Immigrant Fruit Fly (Drosophila immigrans)
43. Common Greenbottle Fly (Lucilia sericata)
44. Black Slug (Arion ater)*

I literally just found out about the black slug, I saw it a few days ago (id was unsure then) and now on news articles they are invading Victoria. Now time to hunt it down and kill it. Fun......................
Click to expand...

More identifications of inverts seen earlier in the year, recently or literally are outside my window.

45. Vongole (Katelysia rhytiphora) (I made the common name up, it is Italian for 'clam' this is a common pipi species in PPB, also deliscious in pasta although it has to be collected outside the ITZ)
46. Common Pipi (Plebidonax deltoides)
47. Common Southern Cockle (Fulvia tenuicostata)
48. Common Waraneer (Lunella undulata)
49. Zebra Top Sea Snail (Austrocochlea porcata)
50. Small Pointed Land Snail (Cochlicella barbara)*

I will do another post for non molluscs.
 
51. North Pacific Sea Star (Asterias amurensis)*
52. Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)*
53. Cunjovei (Pyura stolonifera)
54. Two Spined Spider (Poecilopachys australasia)
55. Australian Dewdrop Spider (Argyrodes antipodianus)
56. Grey House Spider (Badumna longinqua)
57. Stern Jumping Spider (Clynotis severus)
58. White Banded House Jumping Spider (Hypoblemum griseum)
59. Air Breathing Limpet (yes this is a mollusc) (Siphonaria diemenensis)
60. Diamond Comb Footed Spider (Cryptachaea veruculata)

inatrualist is my best friend now
 
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Yoshistar888 said:
51. North Pacific Sea Star (Asterias amurensis)*
52. Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)*
53. Cunjovei (Pyura stolonifera)
54. Two Spined Spider (Poecilopachys australasia)
55. Australian Dewdrop Spider (Argyrodes antipodianus)
56. Grey House Spider (Badumna longinqua)
57. Stern Jumping Spider (Clynotis severus)
58. White Banded House Jumping Spider (Hypoblemum griseum)
59. Air Breathing Limpet (yes this is a mollusc) (Siphonaria diemenensis)
60. Diamond Comb Footed Spider (Cryptachaea veruculata)

inatrualist is my best friend now
Click to expand...

A little search in the backyard yielded a few more species

61. Austrotephritis poenia (fly species)
62. Melbourne Trapdoor Spider (Stanwellia grisea)
 
Yoshistar888 said:
A little search in the backyard yielded a few more species

61. Austrotephritis poenia (fly species)
62. Melbourne Trapdoor Spider (Stanwellia grisea)
Click to expand...

Finally my first bronze jumper!

63. Bronze Jumping Spider (Helips minitabunda)
64. European Earwig
 
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Yoshistar888 said:
Finally my first bronze jumper!

63. Bronze Jumping Spider (Helips minitabunda)
64. European Earwig
Click to expand...

A couple of identifications from yesterday

65. Sooty Orb Weaver (Cyclosa fuliginata)
66. White Banded House Jumping Spider (the other species) (Hypoblemum scutulatum)
 
Yoshistar888 said:
A little ant traveled up my window.

68. Meat Ant (Iridomyrmex purpureus)
Click to expand...

Spring has sprung and best of all, the first wild lizard I've seen in Six Months showed up and best of all it was a very large and healthy delicate skink with a bright almost gold tail. I had already seen some Guchenoiti (common garden skinks) at Yarra Bend Park earlier in the year so this was an amazing suprise.

Herptiles

5. Delicate Garden Skink (Lampropholis delicata)

Inverts

69. Theridion pyramidale (spider)
 
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Yoshistar888 said:
Spring has sprung and best of all, the first wild lizard I've seen in Six Months showed up and best of all it was a very large and healthy delicate skink with a bright almost gold tail. I had already seen some Guchenoiti (common garden skinks) at Yarra Bend Park earlier in the year so this was an amazing suprise.

Herptiles

5. Delicate Garden Skink (Lampropholis delicata)

Inverts

69. Theridion pyramidale (spider)
Click to expand...

Seen earlier in the year at Banuyle Flats Reserve

Inverts

70. Blue Ant (Diamma bicolor)

It's actually a flightless wasp not an ant.
Also a huntsman from earlier in the year. I had to guard it from some of the other students trying to murder the poor thing:(.

71. Victorian Hunstman Spider (Isopedella victorialis)
 
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Vision said:
First, some more retroactively identified inverts from last time:

INVERTS:
147) Dog's tooth, Lacanobia suasa
148) Sieve-winged snailkiller, Coremacera marginata

And the main highlight: yesterday the Netherlands' third rufous-tailed scrub-robin was caught, ringed, and released. I couldn't go yesterday (and for the official counting rules the bird wouldn't have counted yet yesterday anyways, not that that bothers me much) but when the bird seemed to still be present this morning, my plans for the day were set! Definitely one of the most interesting and most beautiful birds I've ever seen, crazy to think that this species that was formerly completely unheard of in Northwestern Europe has now shown up 3 times in the last 7 years!
After that I went to a group of flamingoes that has been there for a few months. I saw the entire group of 10 birds, of which two are very special - they carry rings from Fuente de Piedra in Spain. One of the ringed birds has also been seen in Ravenna, Italy since then, proving that these birds are more than capable of flying throughout all of Europe and that these birds (perhaps not all flamingoes but at least these two individuals) are not "just" escapes, or exotics from the Zwillbrocker Venn population in Germany. A flyover white-tailed eagle and a calling lesser spotted woodpecker put the icing on the cake, and made this incredible day even more fun!

BIRDS:
254) Rufous-tailed scrub-robin, Cercotrichas galactotes
255) Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus
Click to expand...
you cant count a bird if it was ringed that day? that werid it just as wild as that day then the day afther that
 
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