ZooChat Big Year 2021

[Great Argus]

Long time since an update from me! Between heat, smoke, and not traveling new species have been fairly slow. But got a fair few to update and things should still start picking up here soon with arrival of cooler weather so here I am again.

Mammals:

9. Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

Birds:

109. Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax trailii)
110. Dusky Flycatcher (Empidonax oberholseri)
111. Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)

Reptiles:

7. California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae)

Fish:

1. Sacramento Pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis)

Invertebrates:

25. Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)
26. Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella)
27. Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia)
28. Black & Yellow Mud-Dauber (Sceliphron caementarium)

9-111-7-2-1-28

Few additions, including a couple good ones!

Mammals:

10. Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
11. Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)

Birds:

112. Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
113. Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata)

Invertebrates:

29. German Cockroach (Blattella germanica)
30. American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

11-113-7-2-1-30

 

[MRJ]

211. Varied sittella Daphoenositta chrysoptera (new Family)

This is a case of you can't see something unless you know it is there. Varied sittellas are quite common and widespread birds so I must have seen them in the past but I probably wrote them off as a hard to identify thornbill or gerygone. Not so long ago I entered all the bird families onto my list, so as I could see where the gaps were. I was surprised to discover the Sittellas. They are a small Family, one species in Australia and two in New Guinea. They used to be known as the Australian nuthatch. Ironically I have seen three species of nuthatch, each on a different continent. Anyway I saw these birds in a gumtree while walking the dogs down the lane behind Moonlit this afternoon.

 

[Hix]

Birds
200. Barn Owl
201. Swamp Harrier
202. Freckled Duck
203. Purple-backed Fairywren
204. Great Crested Grebe



Hix

Been stuck in lockdown for the past three months and haven't been able to travel more than 5 kms from home, so not much to add at this point. Hopefully everything will change shortly and I can travel a bit further.

Birds
205. Gang-gang Cockatoo
206. Australasian Figbird
207. Superb Lyrebird
208. Rock Warbler



Hix

 

[Maguari]

I find myself in need of a big ol' catchup post going back a month or so.

Much of the below is 'incidental' wildlife from a zoo trip to northern Germany a few weeks ago - either stuff seen wild around/soaring over the zoos or at the roadside - including a lovely roadside eagle and quite literally hundreds of cranes in fields as we got further east into Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Fallow Deer was a nice bonus while crawling in traffic on the way home, and I was able to make use of a sunny morning to add a late-season reptile and do some classic looking-under-stuff to find the newt. Finally, today featured a trip out to see the still-present White-tailed Lapwing again, and then to look for Britain's third-ever Long-toed Stint at St. Aidan's - both of which proved very amenable, and Blacktoft also provided a rail and St. Aidan's a bittern flypast as nice side dish.

Birds:
180. Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix
181. Common Crane - Grus grus
182. Short-toed Treecreeper - Certhia brachydactyla
183. European White Stork - Ciconia ciconia
184. White-tailed Eagle - Haliaetus albicilla
185. Water Rail - Rallus aquaticus
186. Long-toed Stint - Calidris subminuta
187. Great Bittern - Botaurus stellaris

(UK: 182)

Mammals:
25. European Fallow Deer - Dama dama

Reptiles:
2. Viviparous Lizard - Zootoca vivipara

Amphibians:
4. Great Crested Newt - Triturus cristatus

Fishes:
3. Rudd - Scardinius erythrophthalmus

 

[Najade]

Rieselfelder Münster again

Birds
42. Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

Hochwasserrückhaltebecken Scharnhorst - Dortmund

A little one hour vagrant twitch. Not the most exciting one out of breeding plumage.

Birds
43. Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius)

 

[boof]

10/10/2021
211. Australian spotted crake

 

[red river hog]

Birds:

114. American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)

Mammals: 11
Birds: 114
Herptiles: 14
Fish: 4
Invertebrates: 34
Total: 175

Birds:

115. Merlin (Falco columbarius)

Mammals: 11
Birds: 115
Herptiles: 14
Fish: 4
Invertebrates: 34
Total: 176

 

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

Birds
172 Long toed Stint Calidris subminuta
173 Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis

The Stint was a British tick, only the third or fourth seen in the U.K., (an as yet unconfirmed record in 2011 looks likely to be upgraded thanks to similar dates to the current bird). One of the breeding grebes was still hanging around, thankfully, as most have departed to winter at sea. Good in flight views of Bittern and male Marsh Harrier as bonuses.

 

[Maguari]

Birds
172 Long toed Stint Calidris subminuta
173 Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis

The Stint was a British tick, only the third or fourth seen in the U.K., (an as yet unconfirmed record in 2011 looks likely to be upgraded thanks to similar dates to the current bird). One of the breeding grebes was still hanging around, thankfully, as most have departed to winter at sea. Good in flight views of Bittern and male Marsh Harrier as bonuses.

Ha! Quite likely the same bittern and certainly the same stint I saw at the weekend. We did look for the grebe but no joy (would have been only my second for the year, and they breed in a couple of places fairly local to me).

 

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

The Bittern flew from reeds right of the stint spot to further back on the same lake; the Grebe was about halfway along the path through the Eastern Reed bed, on the right walking away from the stint.

 

[Hix]

Been stuck in lockdown for the past three months and haven't been able to travel more than 5 kms from home, so not much to add at this point. Hopefully everything will change shortly and I can travel a bit further.

Birds
205. Gang-gang Cockatoo
206. Australasian Figbird
207. Superb Lyrebird
208. Rock Warbler



Hix

Birds
209. Dusky Woodswallow
210. Leaden Flycatcher


Mammals
12. Koala



Hix

 

[Najade]

Hochwasserrückhaltebecken Scharnhorst - Dortmund

A little one hour vagrant twitch. Not the most exciting one out of breeding plumage.

Birds
43. Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius)

Quick stop on my way north at Rieselfelder Münster again two days ago. Heaps of Harvest Mice (20+) during spotlighting. Also Tawny Owl, Brown Rat, Roe Deer, Apodemus sp., Coypu, a couple bats and a light brown shrew that I wasn’t quick enough to catch (it’s quite hard when you have so much gear dangling off of you -_-).
But finally got this one close up:

Birds
44. Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus)


Yesterday I only added to my captive list with a quick trip to Walsrode. Spotlighting only got me a fox, roe deer and Apodemus sp. again.

 

[Najade]

Quick stop on my way north at Rieselfelder Münster again two days ago. Heaps of Harvest Mice (20+) during spotlighting. Also Tawny Owl, Brown Rat, Roe Deer, Apodemus sp., Coypu, a couple bats and a light brown shrew that I wasn’t quick enough to catch (it’s quite hard when you have so much gear dangling off of you -_-).
But finally got this one close up:

Birds
44. Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus)


Yesterday I only added to my captive list with a quick trip to Walsrode. Spotlighting only got me a fox, roe deer and Apodemus sp. again.

Helgoland, main island

Birds
45. Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva)
46. Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus)
47. Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)
48. Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)
49. Razorbill (Alca torda)
50. European Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
51. Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)

 

[CMP]

Birds:
89. Bay-breasted warbler (Setophaga castanea)
90. Rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)
91. Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
92. Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Insect/Invertebrate:
194. Eastern yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons)
195. White-speck armyworm moth (Mythimna unipuncta)
196. Arabesque orbweaver (Neoscona arabesca)

Mammal:
11. Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)

Bird:
93. Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina)

Insect/Invertebrate:
197. Cicada-parasite beetle (Sandalus niger)
198. Japanese burrowing cricket (Velarifictorus micado)
199. Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina)
200. Planthopper (Anotia kirkaldyi)

 

[Coelacanth18]

Another belated update, with some good species picked up in my new area:

Birds
124. Nuttall's Woodpecker (Dryobates nuttallii)
125. Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli)
126. Sooty Grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus)
127. Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)
128. Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea)

Mammals
17. Coyote (Canis latrans)
18. American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

Some updates from last weekend and this past week, including two common species which took me an insanely long time to get:

Birds
129. American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
130. American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchus)
131. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
132. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

I also got a *much* better view of a Sooty Grouse recently than my first look after accidentally startling a female up into a tree, where it continued to hang out for a while.

 

[WhistlingKite24]

An update with a few long-awaited lifers for me. The bearded dragon, three raptors and ladybird were all seen in and around the grounds of Darling Downs Zoo yesterday. Being two hours from Brisbane it's a place I only occasionally travel to so I almost always pick up something new. Black-shouldered Kites are stunning birds in flight as they are basically pure white birds with distinct black wing patches. They are a fantastic species and should be my 13th raptor species I have seen in the wild for 2021.

The bandicoot was just a bit of luck. I found it near a dog park whilst unsuccessfully looking for babblers. The bonus toadfish was identified after my trip to the bayside and the butterfly was confirmed as it was being consumed by a bee-eater! Most of these adventures have been covered here with lots more to come: Exploring What’s on my Doorstep: WhistlingKite24 does South-east Queensland

Mammals
9) Northern Brown Bandicoot Isoodon macrourus

Birds
157) Black Kite Milvus migrans
158) Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides
159) Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris

Reptiles
15) Eastern Bearded Dragon Pogona barbata

Fish
5) Common Toadfish Tetractenos hamiltoni

Invertebrates
59) Australian Painted Lady Vanessa kershawi
60) Striped Ladybird Micraspis frenata

Five more lifers to add to 2021’s total of now 38 new bird species for the year. The honeyeater and wader were found at very familiar birding spots for me but I went to a specific location for the grebe as it’s a very uncommon, localised species in south-east Queensland. The cicadabird and button-quail were found by complete chance yesterday when I was curious to investigate a new location – Keperra Bushlands. I saw at least six or so button-quail foraging close to dusk. They were just fantastic! I also somehow forgot to list starlings up until now…

I also identified a new fish species - an American invasive - at a few sites now. The monitor was another nice find. Even though I have already seen the species for 2021, I also was pleased to find a Great Carpenter Bee feeding in the neighbourhood. They are Australia’s largest bee at 2.5 centimetres long.

Birds
160) White-naped Honeyeater Melithreptus lunatus
161) Pheasant Coucal Centropus phasianinus
162) European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
163) Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
164) Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
165) Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo
166) Painted Button-quail Turnix varius
167) Cicadabird Coracina tenuirostris

Reptiles
16) Lace Monitor Varanus varius

Fish
6) Eastern Mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki

 

[Pleistohorse]

We've entered the 3rd quarter of the year and thus far I have spotted 86 Bird Species and 23 Mammal Species. I may still pick up an owl or two by the end of the year. I probably expect another mammal or two (best chances being Ringed Seal, Coyote, Muskrat, Beaver, or Collared Lemming...Wolverine, Lynx, Wolf, or River Otter...exciting possibilities, but less likely). I have managed this year to spot all three of Alaska's Bear Species with a Polar Bear sow and two one year old cubs along the shoreline east of Utgiagvik. So as far as individual animals, I've seen at least seven individual Brown Bears (across two dozen different sightings), three individual American Black Bears (two different sightings), and three Polar Bears (one sighting). In addition to Alaska's largest carnivores, I've also spotted Alaska's smallest! Two Ermine sightings so far this year...one of a winter coated animal down in Moose Pass, Alaska and one of a summer coated animals along the Upper Hillside area of Anchorage. I was hoping most of all this year to spot a Bison, but planned excursions to the Copper River Valley and Donnelly Dome regions of eastern Alaska did not happen...maybe next year.

Here is my List:

Birds -
1. Rock Pigeon - Columba Livia
2. American Wigeon - Mareca Americana
3. Bohemian Waxwing - Bombycilla Garrulus
4. Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile Atricapillus
5. Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta Canadensis
6. Common Redpoll - Acanthis Flammea
7. Mallard - Anas Platyrhynchos
8. Black-billed Magpie - Pica Hudsonia
9. Common Raven - Corvus Corax
10. European Starling - Sturnus Vulgaris
11. Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus Leucocephalus
12. American Dipper - Cinclus Mexicanus
13. Hairy Woodpecker - Leuconotopicus Villosus
14. Downy Woodpecker - Dryobates Pubescens
16. Willow Ptarmigan - Lagopus Lagopus
17. Common Goldeneye - Bucephala Clangula
18. Common Merganser - Mergus Meganser
19. Snow Bunting - Plectrophenax Nivalis
20. Pacific Wren - Troglodytes Pacificus
21. Northern Pintail - Anas Acuta
22. Long-tailed Duck - Clangula Hyemalis
23. Greater Scaup - Aythaya Marila
24. Northwestern Crow - Corvus Brachyrhynchos Caurinus
25. Glaucous-winged Gull - Larus Glaucescens
26. Common Loon - Gavia Immer
27. Black-legged Kittiwake - Rissa Tridactyla
28. Pelagic Cormorant - Urile Pelagicus
29. Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus Serrator
30. Trumpeter Swan - Cygnus Buccinator
31. Barrow's Goldeneye - Bucephala Islandica
32. Harelquin Duck - Histrionicus Histrionicus
33. Herring Gull - Larus Smithsonianus
34. Iceland Gull - Larus Glauciodes
35. White-winged Scooter - Melanitta Deglandi
36. Surf Scooter - Melanitta Perspicillata
37. Marbled Murrelet - Brachyramphus Marmoratus
38. Canada Jay - Perisoreus Canadensis
39. Tree Swallow - Tachycineta Bicolor
40. Boreal Chickadee - Poecile Husonicus
41. American Robin - Turdus Migratorius
42. Sandhill Crane - Antigone Canadensis
43. Mew Gull - Larus Brachyrhynchus
44. Bonaparte's Gull - Chroiocoephalus Philadelphia
45. Bufflehead - Bucephala Albeola
46. Gadwall - Mareca Strepera
47. Canada Goose - Branta Canadensis
48. Cackling Goose - Branta Hutchinsii
49. Ring-necked Pheasant - Phasianus Colchicus
50. Dark-eyed Junco - Junco Hyemalis
51. Red-necked Grebe - Podiceps Grisegena
52. Rusty Blackbird - Euphagus Carolinus
53. Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser Albifrons
54. Snow Goose - Anser Caerulescens
55. Glaucous Gull - Larus Hyperboreus
56. Lapland Longspur - Calcarius Lapponicus
57. Yellow-rumped Warbler - Setophaga Coronata
58. Orange-crowned Warbler - Leiothlypis Celata
59. Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo Jamaicensis
60. Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus Sandwichensis
** Wild Turkey - Meleagris Gallopavo
61. Tundra Swan - Cygnus Columbianus
62. Swainson's Thrush - Catharus Ustulatus
63. Northern Shoveler - Spatula Clypeata
64. Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris Pusilla
65. Red-necked Phalarope - Phalaropus Lobatus
66. Pacific Loon - Gavia Pacifica
67. Arctic Tern - Sterna Paradisaea
68. Parasitic Jaeger - Stercorarius Parasiticus
69. King Eider - Somateria Spectabilis
70. Pine Siskin - Spinus Pinus
71. Varied Thrush - Ixoreus Naevius
72. Pine Grosbeak - Pincola Enucleator
73. Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle Alcyon
74. Arctic Warbler - Phylloscopus Borealis
75. Violet-green Swallow - Tachycineta Thalassina
76. American Pipit - Anthus Rubescens
77. Peregrine Falcon - Falco Peregrinus
78. Golden Eagle Aquila Chrysaetos
79. Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris Melanotos
80. Long-tailed Jaeger - Sterocorarius Longicaudus
81. Red-throated Loon - Gavia Stellata
82. Semipalmated Plover - Charadruis Semipalmatus
83. Black Guillemot - Cepphus Grylle
84. Brant - Branta Bernicla
85. Merlin - Falco Cloumbarius
86. Spurce Grouse - Canachites Canadensis
87. Common Eider - Sometria Mollissima

Mammals-
1. Singing Vole - Microtus Miurus
2. Canadian Lemming - Lemmus Trimucronatus
3. Northern Red-backed Vole - Myodes Rutilus
4. Northern American Porcupine - Erethizon Dorastum
5. Arctic Ground Squirrel - Urocitellus Parryii
6. American Red Squirrel - Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus
7. Snowshoe Hare - Lepus Americanus
8. Feral Rabbit - Oryctolagus Cuniculus Domesticus
9. Little Brown Bat - Myotis Lucifugus
10. Ermine - Mustela Erminea
11. Sea Otter - Enhydra Lutris
12. Harbor Seal - Phoca Vitulina
13. Steller Sea Lion - Eumetopias Jubatus
14. Arctic Fox - Vulpes Lagopus
15. Red Fox - Vulpes Vulpes
16. American Black Bear - Ursus Americanus
17. Brown Bear - Ursus Arctos
18. Polar Bear - Ursus Maritimus
19. Moose - Alces Alces
20. Caribou - Rangifer Tarandus
21. Muskox - Ovibous Moschatus
22. Mountain Goat - Oreamnos Americanus
23. Dall Sheep - Ovis Dalli

**The "Wild Turkeys" were feral domestics (even if their coloring and behaviors are very natural). For a few years I've heard stories of Turkeys in the Lazy Mountain and the Springer Loop areas of Palmer, Alaska. The birds are also present along the Turnagain Arm at seal-level, although I have never seen them. This year I managed to spot and photograph a flock in the Springer Loop area of Palmer. They are mainly found on private land, but appear to be breeding and lasting through the winters (which in Palmer...are not much worse than what the birds might experience their northernmost ranges in the Lower 48 or Canada. Birds on public land usually won't make it through the season during which hunters are targeting hares and upland game birds.

The Ring-necked Pheasant was part of a population established at sea-level along the north shore of Kachemak Bay. The Golden Eagle was the most exciting sighting this year for me. The Pacific Wrens, were my favorite sighting, as I spotted them roosting in a cabin along Beluga Slough in Homer, Alaska.

 

[Maguari]

A rather damp but worthwhile day at Spurn today - at the point we planned it it was very much a 'pot luck' in the hope of plugging some gaps and maybe picking up an odd migrant or vagrant. Worked out pretty well when a proper rarity turned up there yesterday afternoon - though this did attract a lot of other birders..! Fortunately we got a decent view of the bird after about 15 minutes or so, so we could then leave the twitch to it. It was also good to see lots of divers on the sea - we couldn't pick out the reported Black-throated Diver but there were good numbers of Red-throated and 'diver sp.' quite close in to the shore.

Birds:
188. Two-barred Warbler - Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus
189. Snow Bunting - Plectrophenax nivalis
190. Grey Plover - Pluvialis squatarola
191. Northern Pintail - Anas acuta

(UK: 186)

 

[Najade]

Helgoland, main island

Birds
45. Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva)
46. Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus)
47. Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)
48. Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)
49. Razorbill (Alca torda)
50. European Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
51. Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)

Helgoland, Düne and main island
(pissing rain all day)

Mammals
42. Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus)
43. Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Birds
52. Brent Goose (Branta bernicla)
53. European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
54. Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)
55. Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
56. Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)
57. Common Guillemot (Uria aalge)
58. Twite (Carduelis flavirostris)
59. Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus)
60. Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)

 

[Najade]

Helgoland, Düne and main island
(pissing rain all day)

Mammals
42. Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus)
43. Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Birds
52. Brent Goose (Branta bernicla)
53. European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
54. Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)
55. Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
56. Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)
57. Common Guillemot (Uria aalge)
58. Twite (Carduelis flavirostris)
59. Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus)
60. Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)

Helgoland, main island
(pretty slow day)

Birds
61. Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla)
62. Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret)
63. Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus)

Also Pomarine Skua, Common Scoter & Common Gull; but views too distant to make it on the list.