ZooChat Big Year 2021

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

Moderator
Staff member
15+ year member
The basic rules as always:

1. Make sure to number your lists.
2. Keep separate numbered lists for whichever animals you are listing (birds, mammals, herptiles, fish, invertebrates)
3. Species must be part of an established wild population or be a natural migrant/vagrant/straggler. Exotics don't count unless they are part of an established breeding population in the country.
4. Animals must be wild.
5. Subspecies do not count towards your total, only full species.
6. Don't bother counting Human on your mammal list - everyone is going to see at least one.
7. Have fun and go out looking for animals.

*It is helpful if you include scientific names (especially for the mammals because I keep track of them to post a full list at the end of the year).


Links to the previous years can be found here: ZooChat Big Year - Index
 
This year will hopefully be much better for wildlife-watching (at least for me). Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to Africa as I hoped, but there are still some places in Europe (and maybe America) I'd like to visit where I could do some interesting sightings.
In particular, I want to achieve 50 species of birds, 10 of mammals and herptiles and 50 of fishes (a difficult one!).
 
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And the thread is open, this will be my first year participating in the challenge and I am looking forward to it. May the best ZooChatter win ;)
 
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And a Happy New Year to everyone.

Birds
1. Pacific Black Duck
2. Australian Wood Duck
3. Feral Pigeon
4. Crested Pigeon
5. Dusky Moorhen
6. Eurasian Coot
7. Galah
8. Red-rumped Parrot
9. Rainbow Lorikeet
10. Australian King Parrot
11. Noisy Miner
12. Grey Butcherbird
13. Australian Magpie
14. Magpie-lark
15. Indian (or Common) Mynah
16. European Blackbird


:p

Hix
 
Happy New Year everyone! On my brief stop to Nudgee Beach Wetlands Boardwalk this morning I actually saw a proper Mangrove Honeyeater which is a nice lifer to start 2021 with! Inverts have been a bit slow today but I am sure they will pick up in numbers soon.

Birds
1. Torresian Crow Corvus orru
2. Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus
3. Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae
4. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
5. Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus
6. Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
7. Feral Pigeon Columba livia
8. Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca
9. Australasian Figbird Sphecotheres vieilloti
10. Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
11. White-throated Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus
12. Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis
13. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Coracina novaehollandiae
14. Magpie Lark Grallina cyanoleuca
15. Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
16. Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
17. Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes
18. Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis
19. Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
20. Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus
21. Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles
22. Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis
23. Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
24. Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea
25. Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa
26. Australian Brush-turkey Alectura lathami
27. Little Egret Egretta garzetta
28. Torresian Kingfisher Todiramphus sordidus
29. Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta
30. Eastern Osprey Pandion cristatus
31. Eastern Great Egret Ardea (alba) modesta
32. Chestnut Teal Anas castanea
33. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
34. Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
35. Mangrove Gerygone Gerygone levigaster
36. Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
37. Mangrove Honeyeater Lichenostomus fasciogularis
38. White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae
39. Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa

Herptiles
1. Asian House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus

Invertebrates
1. Celtis Leaf Beetle Menippus cynicus
2. European Honeybee Apis mellifera
3. Housefly Musca domestica
4. Humped Golden Orb-weaving Spider Nephila plumipes

Torresian Kingfisher in Flight

Torresian Kingfisher in Flight

 
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Looked out of the window and saw a pair of Carrion crows at 00:10, so that’s my first species of 2021. A shame, some foxes skulked around until 11 then decided to leave so can’t count them as my first.

Setting a rather modest but realistic target: 70 bird species. I probably won’t even get there but we’ll see :)

Birds:

1. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
 
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A Happy New Year to all. A quick walk around the Sanctuary this morning produced some of the usual suspects. Lots of butterflies but will have to get back to them.

Birds

1. Chestnut teal Anas castanea
2. Grey teal Anas gracilis
3. Pacific black duck Anas superciliosa
4. Cape Barren goose Cereopsis novaehollandiae
5. Maned duck Chenonetta jubata
6. Australasian grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
7. Crested pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes
8. Spotted turtle-dove Spilopelia chinensis
9. Eurasian coot Fulica atra
10. Dusky moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa
11. Australasian swamphen Porphyrio melanotus
12. Yellow-billed spoonbill Platalea flavipes
13. Eastern rosella Platycercus eximius
14. Noisy miner Manorina melanocephala
15. Striated thornbill Acanthiza lineata
16. Grey fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
17. Common mynah Acridotheres tristis
18. European starling Sturnus vulgaris
 
A walk along Eastern Beach provided what will probably be the majority of my list for the rest of this year.

Setting a low target of 20 bird species but I doubt I'll even reach it unless I go overseas or something.

Birds

1. Australasian Swamphen Porphyrio melanotus
2. Australian Magpie Cracticus tibicen
3. Mallard Anas platyrynchos
4. Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus
5. Blackbird Turdus merula
6. Rock Dove Columba livia
7. Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles
8. Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis
9. House Sparrow Passer domesticus
10. Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
11. Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
12. Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
13. Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae


Invertebrates
1. German Cockroach Blattella germanica
2. Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus
 
the racoon has spoken said:
A walk along Eastern Beach provided what will probably be the majority of my list for the rest of this year.

Setting a low target of 20 bird species but I doubt I'll even reach it unless I go overseas or something.

Birds

1. Australasian Swamphen Porphyrio melanotus
2. Australian Magpie Cracticus tibicen
3. Mallard Anas platyrynchos
4. Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus
5. Blackbird Turdus merula
6. Rock Dove Columba livia
7. Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles
8. Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis
9. House Sparrow Passer domesticus
10. Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
11. Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
12. Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
13. Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae


Invertebrates
1. German Cockroach Blattella germanica
2. Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus
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Come on, cheer up, you can do better than 20. Even @Chlidonias can get to 60! I know there are not a lot of species in New Zealand but 20...
 
the racoon has spoken said:
A walk along Eastern Beach provided what will probably be the majority of my list for the rest of this year. Setting a low target of 20 bird species but I doubt I'll even reach it unless I go overseas or something.
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MRJ said:
Come on, cheer up, you can do better than 20. Even @Chlidonias can get to 60! I know there are not a lot of species in New Zealand but 20...
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Yes, Auckland is one of the best cities to live in if you want to look for birds. Just going to Tiritiri Matangi and the old waterworks at Mangere will get you much more your target of 20 birds.
 
the racoon has spoken said:
As a question where is that?
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By Ambury Park. If you have a car there is a parking area at Creamery Road, or otherwise there are buses that go past quite close to Creamery Road (you'd need to check the Auckland bus site - I can't remember the routes now, but I know one of the airport buses does).

From Creamery Road, you've got the Lagoon just above it (there's a track around it but it's not very interesting) and also a track which runs along the shoreline past the shellbanks (which is where you're likely to see Wrybills, NZ Dotterels, etc) and then Ambury Park has open-field birds. In the other direction is the canal which has NZ Dabchicks etc.

It's easier if you find Creamery Road on Google Maps and see the layout.

You need to get the tides right as well - at low tide all the shorebirds will be far away, whereas at high tide they will be roosting up near the tracks.
 
Chlidonias said:
I know where I'm going next time I pass through Brisbane!
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It's a nice little spot with well-established mangroves and a good amount of birdlife. The 306 bus from Brisbane city apparently stops in that area and it's a short walk to the boardwalk so it seems pretty accessible via public transport as well.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
It's a nice little spot with well-established mangroves and a good amount of birdlife. The 306 bus from Brisbane city apparently stops in that area and it's a short walk to the boardwalk so it seems pretty accessible via public transport as well.
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I know I can get to Boondall Wetlands by bus (I went there on my first time in Brisbane whenever that was - 2008 or something - but not last time) and I gather it is connected to that. Boondall is also a good spotlighting site for gliders apparently.

You should go to Oxley Creek Common one early morning. I was extremely impressed with the number of bird species there. I went two mornings in a row, and saw 45 species on the first visit and 60 species on the second.
 
Can I put animals on my list for this year that were also on my list last year? For example, I saw a European Starling last year, so if I see another one today, can I put it on my list?
 
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EternalPigeon said:
Can I put animals on my list for this year that were also on my list last year? For example, I saw a European Starling last year, so if I see another one today, can I put it on my list?
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Yes you can. You start with a clean slate. Many people highlight animals they have not seen before with bold type.
 
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