ZooChat Big Year 2020

[Yoshistar888]

I don’t know how I forgot these as they were probably the highlight of the day. Stingaree’s! I’ve now seen all four species of Stingaree found in Port Phillip and Western Port Bay!

32. Eastern Shovelnose Stingaree (Trygonoptera imitata)
33. Spotted Stingaree (Urolophus gigas)

The latter species in particular is noted as an astounding find, both really cool and quite uncommon.

EDIT: the leatherjacket has been identified

34. Blue Lined Leatherjacket (Meuschenia galii)

Some inverts seen over the last few days.

Invertebrates

186. Green Grocer (cyclochila australasiae)
187. Australian Sheep Blow Fly (lucilia cuprina)
188. Common Brown Crane Fly (Leptotarsus costalis)
189. Black Spotted Thwatesia (Thwaitesia nigronodosa)
190. Orange Caterpillar Wasp (Netelia producta)
191. Orange Fruit Borer (Isotenes miserana)
192. Brown Blowfly (calliphora stygia)
193. Grey Wall Jumping Spider (Menemerus bivittatus)
194. White Winged Orbweaver (araneus albotriangulus)

 

[MRJ]

With restrictions finally lifted, I decided to get away for a couple of days, and try an area I have never really birded in, the Mallee. So we headed to Ouyen yesterday, Sunday, will stay tonight and head back tomorrow. I'll therefore have two mornings in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park plus a bit extra. The following is this mornings, plus some stuff we saw on the way up. A lot of it is new as the mallee has always been "drive through" in the past.

Mammals

42. Red kangaroo Osphranter rufus
43. Red fox Vulpes vulpes

Birds

320. Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae
321. Square-tailed kite Lophoictinia isura
322. Rainbow bee-eater Merops ornatus
323. Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus
324. Red-rumped parrot Psephotus haematonotus
325. Splendid fairywren Malurus splendens
326. Yellow-plumed honeyeater Ptilotula ornata
327. Chestnut-rumped thornbill Acanthiza uropygialis
328. Southern whiteface Aphelocephala leucopsis
329. Rufous fieldwren Calamanthus campestris
330. Red-lored whistler Pachycephala rufogularis
331. White-breasted woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
332. Masked woodswallow Atamus personatus
333. White-browed woodswallow Artamus superciliosus
334. Australian raven Corvus coronoides
335. Apostlebird Struthidea cinerea
336. Red-capped robin Petroica goodenovii

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

Unexpectedly I came across a new bird species for the year list in my local patch! Redpolls (outside invasion years) are very scarce here, so it was definitely a nice surprise to find a flock of them hanging out in a stand of birches.

Birds
231. Lesser Redpoll, Acanthis cabaret

 

[Dannelboyz]

With restrictions finally lifted, I decided to get away for a couple of days, and try an area I have never really birded in, the Mallee. So we headed to Ouyen yesterday, Sunday, will stay tonight and head back tomorrow. I'll therefore have two mornings in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park plus a bit extra. The following is this mornings, plus some stuff we saw on the way up. A lot of it is new as the mallee has always been "drive through" in the past.

Mammals

42. Red kangaroo Osphranter rufus
43. Red fox Vulpes vulpes

Birds

320. Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae
321. Square-tailed kite Lophoictinia isura
322. Rainbow bee-eater Merops ornatus
323. Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus
324. Red-rumped parrot Psephotus haematonotus
325. Splendid fairywren Malurus splendens
326. Yellow-plumed honeyeater Ptilotula ornata
327. Chestnut-rumped thornbill Acanthiza uropygialis
328. Southern whiteface Aphelocephala leucopsis
329. Rufous fieldwren Calamanthus campestris
330. Red-lored whistler Pachycephala rufogularis
331. White-breasted woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
332. Masked woodswallow Atamus personatus
333. White-browed woodswallow Artamus superciliosus
334. Australian raven Corvus coronoides
335. Apostlebird Struthidea cinerea
336. Red-capped robin Petroica goodenovii

Nice one! Budgies and ST Kite are great gets Did you head into north Wyperfeld or did you get into Murray-Sunset for the RL Whistler?

 

[Yoshistar888]

Some inverts seen over the last few days.

Invertebrates

186. Green Grocer (cyclochila australasiae)
187. Australian Sheep Blow Fly (lucilia cuprina)
188. Common Brown Crane Fly (Leptotarsus costalis)
189. Black Spotted Thwatesia (Thwaitesia nigronodosa)
190. Orange Caterpillar Wasp (Netelia producta)
191. Orange Fruit Borer (Isotenes miserana)
192. Brown Blowfly (calliphora stygia)
193. Grey Wall Jumping Spider (Menemerus bivittatus)
194. White Winged Orbweaver (araneus albotriangulus)

More inverts from in and around school also a couple identifications of inverts seen earlier in the week, today was an especially productive day.


195. Golden Tailed Sugar Ant (camponotus aeneopilosus)
196. Minute Two Spotted Ladybug (Diomus notescens)
197. Red and Blue Beetle (Dicranolaius bellulus)
198. Red Scratcher (Popplepsalta rubristrigata)
199. Small Bassian Ambertail (Yoyetta landsboroughi)
200. Torpedo Bug (siphanta acuta)
201. Spotted Gum Lerp Psyllid (Eucalyptolyma maideni)
202. Marbled Bird Dropping Spider (Celaenia calotoides)

 

[MRJ]

Nice one! Budgies and ST Kite are great gets Did you head into north Wyperfeld or did you get into Murray-Sunset for the RL Whistler?

I know what you are getting at. RL Whistlers "aren't found" in Hattah-Kalkyne.

So here is the lowdown. The bird was observed on the Konardin Track. We were obviously on the lookout for Gilbert's whistlers, and thought this was one, however it did not quite look right. Myself, I probably would have thought it a slightly strange Gilberts and recorded it as such. However my friend who is much better at diagnostics than me (a former museum curator, amongst other things) is convinced it is a red-lored. There is also a record on E-bird near where we saw this bird, albeit quite old. So for the moment I am accepting it, but may change given additional information and consideration.

However it hardly matters, in that I don't share my observations except here. Whatever it is, Gilberts or red-lored, it is a new species for me so does not really affect my list or this thread.

Yes both yesterday and today were great, it is a fantastic place for birds.

 

[MRJ]

More observations from Hattah-Kalkyne. A great morning for parrots. Counting species we saw on the drive there and back we saw a total of 12 parrot species during the trip. We also spent a little time at Bronzewing Reserve, including spotlighting. It did not add anything to the total except for feral cats, 4 in one hour. The local small mammal and reptile population would not stand a chance.

Mammals

44. Western grey kangaroo Macropus fuliginosus
45. Cat (feral) Felis catus

Birds

337. Black-tailed native-hen Tribonyx ventralis
338. Brown falcon Falco berigora
339. Nankeen kestrel Falco cenchroides (Seen at Bronzewing)
340. Major Mitchell's cockatoo Lophochroa leadbeateri
341. Australian ringneck Barnardius zonarius
342. Regent parrot Polytelis anthopeplus
343. Mulga parrot Psephotus varius
344. Inland thornbill Acanthiza apicalis
345. Chestnut-crowned babbler Pomatostomus ruficeps

There are a couple of lizards to identify which I will add later. A great place, sad it is a 7 hour drive away.

 

[Najade]

Left East Gippsland to head up to the mallee for a week now that restrictions have eased (Cicadabird was in Gippsland but the rest are mallee species). Travelling in a loop from Little Desert up to Murray-Sunset and finishing up in the Terricks, I got some excellent birds for the trip including four lifer birds and several rare Vic birds I've only seen once or twice before. I was targeting the family of Ground Cuckooshrikes that had been reported in Wyperfeld NP throughout the lockdown and was stoked to get excellent views of both adults and all three fledglings. Striated Grasswren was another highlight - this bird is highly sought after and I had previously only seen the back end of a bird running rodent-like along the ground from me. After searching through the Triodia-dominated mallee in Hattah for over five hours on Thursday with no luck, I spotted one from the car on the way back. We all hopped out and managed views of a grasswren carrying a spider in its bill running towards us!!! We were all within metres of the bird watching it out in the open. One of the most prominent birdwatchers in Australia was with us at at the time and he described it as best grasswren encounter he had ever experienced.

With 310 birds in Victoria for the year including two heard-onlies, I have passed last year's Victorian total of 303! I have also reached a total life list of 359 Victorian birds, all seen.

BIRDS
294 - Common Cicadabird (Edolisoma tenuirostre)
295 - Bush Stone-Curlew (Burhinus grallarius)
296 - Slender-billed Thornbill (Acanthiza iredalei)
-- Little Buttonquail (Turnix velox) [heard only]
297 - Masked Woodswallow (Artamus personatus)
298 - Regent Parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus)
299 - Ground Cuckooshrike (Coracina maxima)
300 - Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus)
301 - Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis)
302 - Chestnut-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps)
303 - Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)
304 - Striated Grasswren (Amytornis striatus)
305 - White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus)
-- Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) [heard only]
306 - Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis)
307 - Stubble Quail (Coturnix pectoralis)
308 - Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)

MAMMALS
39 - Feral Goat (Capra aegagrus)*

REPTILES
22 - Painted Dragon (Ctenophorus pictus)
23 - Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa)
24 - Southern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus intermedius)
25 - Eastern Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata)
25 - Mallee Dragon (Ctenophorus fordi)
26 - Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii)
27 - Tree Dtella (Gehyra variegata)
28 - Regal Striped Skink (Ctenotus regius)

Grey-crowned only after Chestnut-crowned and a lifer?
Doing it backwards^^

 

[Najade]

I know what you are getting at. RL Whistlers "aren't found" in Hattah-Kalkyne.

So here is the lowdown. The bird was observed on the Konardin Track. We were obviously on the lookout for Gilbert's whistlers, and thought this was one, however it did not quite look right. Myself, I probably would have thought it a slightly strange Gilberts and recorded it as such. However my friend who is much better at diagnostics than me (a former museum curator, amongst other things) is convinced it is a red-lored. There is also a record on E-bird near where we saw this bird, albeit quite old. So for the moment I am accepting it, but may change given additional information and consideration.

However it hardly matters, in that I don't share my observations except here. Whatever it is, Gilberts or red-lored, it is a new species for me so does not really affect my list or this thread.

Yes both yesterday and today were great, it is a fantastic place for birds.

Any pictures?

 

[MRJ]

Any pictures?

No such luck

 

[MRJ]

Hattah-Kalkyne reptiles

The two sand monitors were "doing it in the road". Wonder if they were Beatles fans?

20. Sand monitor Varanus gouldii
21. Lace monitor Varanus varius
22. Mallee dragon Ctenophorus fordi

 

[MRJ]

I’m a little disappointed that I’m in the lead with 31 fish, I expected a little more of a challenge.

This thread is about people making use of their opportunities to see wildlife. That is why it can't be a competition - everybody has different opportunities. You have made excellent use of your opportunities with fish and invertebrates. Congratulations.

 

[BerdNerd]

I know I'm starting pretty late in the year, but I still wanted to play anyway!

I only saw one animal today, but its almost winter where I live, so a lot of the animals around where I live migrated, or simply didn't want to come out today since it was cold.

Birds:

1. Black-Capped Chickadee

 

[Yoshistar888]

This thread is about people making use of their opportunities to see wildlife. That is why it can't be a competition - everybody has different opportunities. You have made excellent use of your opportunities with fish and invertebrates. Congratulations.

I know it's not a competition and more of a self achieving challenge, but I am still shocked that my total is the highest. Especially considering how many Zoochatters live in coastal areas.

 

[boof]

18/11/2020
201. striped honeyeater

 

[Vision]

First of all, seeing an exotic species today (cackling goose) made me look into the occurence of them and some other species, which led me to count the following waterfowl I've seen earlier this year:

BIRDS:
280) Bar-headed goose, Anser indicus (11/02)
281) Mandarin duck, Aix galericulata (26/03, 12/11)
282) Cackling goose, Branta hutchinsii (19/11)

But other than that plastic tick, today was also really good for actually exciting birds! Twite used to be a common winterer throughout most of the Belgian coastline, but in the last few years has gone on a serious decline and is now only "gettable" about every other year. I finally went to get my twite, succesfully, and also got great views of other fun birds like lapland longspurs, horned larks, a short-eared owl, a male hen harrier...

After that, I went seawatching again with the main goal of finally getting some alcids on my Belgian list, and that went well! Seawatching is very much an acquired taste, but I'm definitely acquiring a taste for it!

BIRDS:
283) Lapland longspur, Calcarius lapponicus
284) Twite, Linaria flavirostris
285) Horned lark, Eremophila alpestris
286) Razorbill, Alca torda
287) Common guillemot, Uria aalge
288) Velvet scoter, Melanitta fusca

 

[Hix]

Birds
256. Grey Goshawk
257. Yellow-billed Spoonbill
258. Australian Owlet-Nightjar
259. Little Lorikeet

Mammals
17. Rusa Deer

Reptiles
8. Lace Monitor



Hix

Drove out to Lake Cargelligo and Round Hill last weekend, and managed a couple of lifers.

Birds
260. Rufous Songlark
261. Little Grassbird
262. Little Raven
263. White-fronted Chat
264. Singing Honeyeater
265. Yellow-throated Miner
266. Purple-backed Fairy Wren
267. Budgerigar
268. Cockatiel
269. Whiskered Tern
270. Red-kneed Dotterel
271. Red-capped Plover
272. Red-necked Avocet
273. Pink-eared Duck
274. White-browed Woodswallow
275. Masked Woodswallow
276. Striped Honeyeater
277. Black Honeyeater
278. Crimson Chat
279. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater
280. White-fronted Honeyeater
281. Pallid Cuckoo
282. Apostlebird
283. Little Friarbird
284. Black-tailed Native Hen
285. Pied Honeyeater

Mammal
18. European Hare



Hix

 

[BerdNerd]

I was leaving my house to eat out today, and I saw these animals along the way:

Mammals:

1. White-Tailed Deer
2. Eastern Gray Squirrel

Birds:

2. Canada Goose

 

[WhistlingKite24]

I went to the Araucaria Track (Enoggera Reservoir) today and found a very pleasant surprise – a female Koala with her joey! They were snoozing only a few metres off the ground in full view. I would have walked straight past them if it wasn’t for a delightful little treecreeper that was ‘treecreeping’ up their tree. Since I started my life list only in 2018 and don’t have any memories of seeing wild koalas when I was younger, it’s a lifer for me. I also saw four bird lifers today; the kingfisher was a nice surprise but my favourite bird would have to be the Varied Triller – loved the bold black and white colouration with the touch of rufous under the tail.

Mammals
9. Koala Phascolarctos cinereus
10. Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus

Birds
115. Forest Kingfisher Todiramphus macleayii
116. Fork-tailed Swift Apus pacificus
117. Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides
118. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus
119. Varied Triller Lalage leucomela
120. White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaea
121. Barred Cuckoo-shrike Coracina lineata

Herptiles
11. Dark Bar-sided Skink Concinnia martini

Koala with Joey (Phascolarctos cinereus)

• WhistlingKite24
• 13 Nov 2020

Birds
122. Azure Kingfisher Alcedo azurea

 

[Dannelboyz]

Grey-crowned only after Chestnut-crowned and a lifer?
Doing it backwards^^

Indeed the disadvantage of being largely restricted to Victoria since I've been birding In the state, GC Babbler is only really common in northern central areas where I've done barely any birding, and is less common in the mallee where I've birded a lot. Still was frustrating because I'd missed them like 3 or 4 times in their 'reliable' mallee spots previously.

I know what you are getting at. RL Whistlers "aren't found" in Hattah-Kalkyne.

So here is the lowdown. The bird was observed on the Konardin Track. We were obviously on the lookout for Gilbert's whistlers, and thought this was one, however it did not quite look right. Myself, I probably would have thought it a slightly strange Gilberts and recorded it as such. However my friend who is much better at diagnostics than me (a former museum curator, amongst other things) is convinced it is a red-lored. There is also a record on E-bird near where we saw this bird, albeit quite old. So for the moment I am accepting it, but may change given additional information and consideration.

However it hardly matters, in that I don't share my observations except here. Whatever it is, Gilberts or red-lored, it is a new species for me so does not really affect my list or this thread.

Yes both yesterday and today were great, it is a fantastic place for birds.

No worries! We heard a few Gilbert's whistlers on the Nowingi and Konardin Tracks - one of which initially sounded quite like a Red-lored but turned out to be Gilbert's. Would be curious to see the bird in question though, as the species really is a range-restricted habitat specialist and the area around Hattah is quite intensively birded with very few, if any, verified records.