ZooChat Big Year 2021

Tyto alba
d1am0ndback said:
Boselaphus tragocamelus

A Yellow-faced Grassquit was found in South Texas and thus I made a quick day trip down to go look for it. Unfortunately the bird was missing in action but I did get to see a Dusky-capped Flycatcher which is quite a rare bird for Texas nonetheless. I also got to enjoy yet another Crimson-collared Grosbeak and Blue Bunting but I already got those for my year list. Every other animal that was new to me was seen directly off of the highway which was shockingly productive with Bobcat, Collared Peccary, Nilgai, Reddish Egret, Dunlin, Sandhill Crane, and Black Skimmer being quite good spots from the highway.

Birds

227. Dusky-capped Flycatcher - Myiarchus tuberculifer
228. Black Skimmer - Rynchops niger
229. Reddish Egret - Egretta rufescens
230. Dunlin - Calidris alpina
231. Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis

Mammals

13. Bobcat- Lynx rufus
14. Collared Peccary- Pecari tajacu
15. Nilgai- Boselaphus tragocamelus
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Special note, I messed my numbering up somehow last time so the inconsistency between my last post and this one with the birds is due to me correcting this. I have done a number of miscellaneous things that have gotten me new year birds, especially as spring migration has begun to pick up in intensity. The highlights are a vagrant Eurasian Wigeon in Waco, Texas, my lifer Black Rail (heard only) in Galveston, Texas, my lifer McCall's subspecies of Eastern Screech Owl from South Texas, a variety of early migrants found locally including my lifer Eastern Whip-poor-will, Whooping Cranes, a Barn Owl, and my lifer Lesser Prairie Chickens for a weekend trip out to Lubbock, Texas.

Birds:

230. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
231. Eurasian Wigeon - Mareca penelope
232. Wood Duck - Aix sponsa
233. Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius
234. Northern Parula - Setophaga americana
235. Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
236. Yellow-throated Warbler - Setophaga dominica
237. American Golden-Plover - Pluvialis dominica
238. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Tyrannus forficatus
239. Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia
240. Fish Crow - Corvus ossifragus
241. Boat-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus major
242. Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus
243. Purple Gallinule - Porphyrio martinica
244. Egyptian Goose - Alopochen aegyptiaca
245. Pyrrhuloxia - Cardinalis sinuatus
246. Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Stelgidopteryx serripennis
247. Wild Turkey - Meleagris gallopavo
248. Nashville Warbler - Leiothlypis ruficapilla
249. Louisiana Waterthrush - Parkesia motacilla
250. Hooded Oriole - Icterus cucullatus
251. Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor
252. Verdin - Auriparus flaviceps
253. Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
254. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris
255. (McCall's) Eastern Screech-Owl - Megascops asio
256. Whooping Crane - Grus americana
257. Hooded Warbler - Setophaga citrina
258. Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri
259. Baird's Sandpiper - Calidris bairdii
260. Swainson's Hawk - Buteo swainsoni
261. Barn Owl- Tyto alba
262. Chihuahuan Raven - Corvus cryptoleucus
263. Lesser Prairie Chicken- Tympanuchus pallidicinctus
264. Broad-winged Hawk - Buteo platypterus
265. Greater Roadrunner - Geococcyx californianus
266. Eastern Whip-poor-will - Antrostomus vociferus
267. Chimney Swift - Chaetura pelagica
268. Chuck-will's-widow - Antrostomus carolinensis
269. Upland Sandpiper - Bartramia longicauda

Heard only:
- Red-breasted Nuthatch- Sitta canadensis
- Brown-headed Nuthatch- Sitta pusilla
- Black Rail - Laterallus jamaicensis
- Audubon's Oriole - Icterus graduacauda
- Green Kingfisher - Chloroceryle americana

I have also spent some time searching for reptiles and amphibians and have found a number of new species for the year. Highlights include Small-mouthed Salamander, American Alligator, Ruthven's Whipsnake, Slowinski's Cornsnake, and Eastern Hognose.

Herptiles:

6. American Bullfrog- Lithobates catesbeianus
7. Southern Leopard Frog- Lithobates sphenocephalus
8. Small-mouthed Salamander- Ambystoma texanum
9. Blanchard’s Cricket Frog- Acris blanchardi
10. American Alligator- Alligator mississippiensis
11. Texas Spiny Lizard- Sceloporus olivaceus
12. Texas Spotted Whiptail- Cnemidophorus gularis
13. Ruthven’s Whipsnake- Masticophis schotti ruthveni
14. Western Ribbonsnake- Thamnophis proximus
15. Slowinski’s Cornsnake- Pantherophis slowinskii
16. Texas Ratsnake- Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri
17. Little Brown Skink- Scincella lateralis
18. Eastern Hognose- Heterodon platirhinos
19. Mississippi Map Turtle- Graptemys pseudogeographica kohni
20. Common Snapping Turtle- Chelydra serpentina
21. Anaxyrus Toad sp. (Either Fowler’s or Woodhouse’s, waiting on identification, will update when identified or will be replaced by any more definitive finds of either species in future)

Heard Only:
- Cajun Chorus Frog- Pseudacris fouquettei
- Gulf Coast Toad- Incilius valliceps
- Rio Grande Chorus Frog- Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides

Almost all of my mammals have been very incidental, and thus most of these have been encountered randomly on the side of the road or incidentally while birding. I got very lucky with a few of these, such as the American Badger, Gray Fox, and Attwater's Pocket Gopher.

Mammals:
16. Eastern Gray Squirrel- Sciurus carolinensis
17. Deer Mouse- Peromyscus maniculatus
18. Attwater’s Pocket Gopher- Geomys attwateri
19. Desert Cottontail- Sylvilagus audubonii
20. Black-tailed Jackrabbit- Lepus californicus
21. Mule Deer- Odocoileus hemionus
22. American Badger- Taxidea taxus
23. Black-tailed Prairie Dog- Cynomys ludovicianus
24. Gray Fox- Urocyon cinereoargenteus
25. Nine-banded Armadillo- Dasypus novemcinctus
26. Mexican Free-tailed Bat- Tadarida brasiliensis





 
First day out birding since the loosening of lockdown allowed a bit more travel. Spent the day in the adjoining county of Nottinghamshire, mainly at my old favourite Idle Valley Nature Reserve. Very productive, particularly given how wetland-starved I've been this year. :D

Birds:
82. Northern Shoveler - Spatula clypeata
83. Sand Martin - Riparia riparia
84. Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus
85. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
86. Common Redshank - Tringa totanus
87. Egyptian Goose - Alopochen aegypticus
88. Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti
89. Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
90. Common Shelduck - Tadorna tadorna
91. Pied Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta
92. Little Ringed Plover - Charadrius dubius
93. Great White Egret - Ardea alba
94. Smew - Mergellus albellus
95. Marsh Tit - Poecile palustris

Mammals:
8. Western Roe Deer - Capreolus capreolus
9. European Rabbit - Oryctolagus cuniculus

Invertebrates:
11. Pill Woodlouse - Armadillidium vulgare
12. Peacock - Aglais io

:)
 
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
I'll add in some new observations and IDs. Yes, it was a leucistic chipmunk, research grade on iNaturalist :D

Mammals:
5. Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) (Leucistic!)

Bird:
25. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

Insect/Invertebrate:
13. Eastern comma butterfly (Polygonia comma)
14. Black slug (Arion ater)
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Some more arthropod IDs. Woodlice and pillbug IDs are easier than I previously thought.

Insect/Invertebrate:
15. Common pill woodlouse/ Roly-poly (Armadillidium vulgare)
16. Riparian woodlouse (Hyloniscus riparius)
17. Nosy pill woodlouse (Armadillidium nasatum)
18. Globose dome snail (Ventridens ligera)
19. Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)
20. Chestnut carpenter ant (Camponotus castaneus)
21. Cherry ant (Crematogaster cerasi)
 
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31. Common grackle
32. Ring-necked duck

0. Genus Agabus

Funny story, when I was on my walk this one Photographer said he was Looking at Hooded merganser, and then he pointed and I saw a bufflehead, and I told him, "that's a Bufflehead" but he did insist, "no, it's a Hooded merganser", and I eventually walked away not saying anything, the guy clearly did not know his waterfowl because I was 99 percent sure it was a Bufflehead, and sure enough, when I got home and looked at the Photograph, it was a Bufflehead.

Also, I think songbirds are disappearing quickly in my area.........
 
Great Argus said:
What makes you say this?
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Just a hunch, by my ''area'' I mean like our neighborhood, because so far I've counted, we have three houses who all have very fat cats who eat birds, (unfortunately) and the Robins I saw at the beginning of march have now completely disappeared, probably just a coincidence, but hasn't escaped my mind yet.
 
CheeseChameleon2007 said:
Just a hunch, by my ''area'' I mean like our neighborhood, because so far I've counted, we have three houses who all have very fat cats who eat birds, (unfortunately) and the Robins I saw at the beginning of march have now completely disappeared, probably just a coincidence, but hasn't escaped my mind yet.
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Bird-hunting domestic cats are never a good thing, unfortunate you have those. Your robins are probably moving around now, heading North or spreading out as weather conditions allow.
 
Great Argus said:
Bird-hunting domestic cats are never a good thing, unfortunate you have those. Your robins are probably moving around now, heading North or spreading out as weather conditions allow.
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Thats probably very good, Hopefully I'll see one this Easter, as I'm heading 45 minutes away from here to a state Park (hopefully).
 
Moonlit Sanctuary

Mammals
34. House mouse

Woodman Estate, Moorooduc

Birds
174. Pied cormorant Phalacrocorax varius
175. Australian darter Anhinga novaehollandiae
176. Hoary-headed grebe Poliocephalus poliocephalu
 
01/04/2021 (Flevoland & Gelderland)
BIRDS:
148) Lesser scaup, Aythya affinis
149) Greater scaup, Aythya marila
150) Gargany, Anas querquedula
151) Black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus
152) Spotted redshank, Tringa erythropus
153) Black-tailed godwit, Limosa limosa
154) Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
155) Sand martin, Riparia riparia
156) Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
157) Cetti's warbler, Cettia cetti
158) Western yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava
159) Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia
 
During the time between my last update the only time I could go to my local woodland was in the winter, not the best time obviously. However, there still are a couple of new species. And since the spring is coming, there must be a lot more birds there so hopefully I can add more to my list. Also going to try some other reserves that I didn't go to during the lockdown.

24. European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
25. Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)
26. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Mammals:

2. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
 
Mehdi said:
Today I returned to the Massa area with no particular goal in mind except to find some spring migrants and well I think that goal was well-fullfilled:

28/03/2021 (Champs d'Ifentar, Morocco)
BIRDS:
125 - Willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus
126 - Western olivaceous warbler, Iduna opaca
127 - European turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur
128 - European pied-flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
129 - Iberian chiffchaff, Phylloscopus ibericus
130 - Common nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
131 - Common redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus

INVERTS:
8 - Emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator
9 - Small tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

Although it was a barely over an hour session, because of sudden heavy rain, what a great one it was! It definitely felt like true spring birding with great numbers of nearly every species observed and especially with all those additions that all announce spring is here.

The nightingale is a one of the more common species I was missing for Morocco so it was great to finally see a pair of them although they disappeared quickly. Bird n°198 for me in Morocco!

Other highlights apart from the additions include ubiquitous and lovely Western Bonelli's warbler all around the fields, an unexpected pair of Marbled teal that gave great views, seeing Subalpine and Spectacled warblers once again (I definitely see them more this year than usual) as well as my southernmost record of Alpine swift, on the road to the spot. Apart from birds, numerous Spanish pond turtles were found on the banks of the Massa river, which is always a delight.
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And I got a neat Tenebrosidae identified from that place, as well as two butterflies I've been seeing for a while now but just forgot to post:

INVERTS:
10 - Cabbage white, Pieris rapae
11 - Large white, Pieris brassicae
12 - Darkling beetle sp., Pimelia rugosa
 
9. Six-spotted fishing spider
full
 
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
Some more arthropod IDs. Woodlice and pillbug IDs are easier than I previously thought.

Insect/Invertebrate:
15. Common pill woodlouse/ Roly-poly (Armadillidium vulgare)
16. Riparian woodlouse (Hyloniscus riparius)
17. Nosy pill woodlouse (Armadillidium nasatum)
18. Globose dome snail (Ventridens ligera)
19. Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)
20. Chestnut carpenter ant (Camponotus castaneus)
21. Cherry ant (Crematogaster cerasi)
Click to expand...
It was a nice day, so I went to a local nature park. I'm quickly rounding out the local woodpeckers, the ones that are left aren't too common in my area

Birds:
26. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
27. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
 
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