Zoochat Big Year 2022

[CMP]

A cold and wet start, but I'm already doing better than last year.

Mammal:
1. Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Birds:
1. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
2. Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
3. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
4. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
5. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Some more observations from the past week. I haven't had a chance to do any real birding yet, but I've still picked up some of the common stuff while out and about, as well as an owl that I saw flying outside my window.

Mammal:
2. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Birds:
6. Dark-Eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
7. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
8. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
9. Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
10. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
11. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
12. Common/European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
13. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
14. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
15. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

 

[Bengal Tiger]

Some more observations from the past week. I haven't had a chance to do any real birding yet, but I've still picked up some of the common stuff while out and about, as well as an owl that I saw flying outside my window.

Mammal:
2. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Birds:
6. Dark-Eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
7. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
8. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
9. Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
10. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
11. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
12. Common/European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
13. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
14. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
15. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Lucky, I live in the central part of the state and haven’t been able to get out much (very cold), and only the squirrels seem to be hanging around, maybe I just have to pay closer attention :/

 

[Great Argus]

Picked up a handful of birds I heard yesterday but didn't see.

Birds:

34. California Quail (Callipepla californica)
35. Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
36. Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
37. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

1-37-0-0-0-1

P.S. I'm doing this update on my phone and somehow I apparently type their scientific names enough that all four of them were automatically suggested! Apparently I'm a real bird nerd!

Well a pretty slow start so far, but it's been cold and wet so a lot of species aren't showing real well (except the robins who have been here in the hundreds, the most I've seen around during winter in a few years. Hoping to pick up a Varied Thrush out of the flocks but no luck yet). Went down to the local waterfowl hotspot today and was sorely disappointed. Lots of ducks but primarily species I already saw (Bufflehead and Ruddy), and no grebes at all. Common Goldeneye and the fact I hadn't picked up any gulls yet saved it in terms of additions. Besides a Bald Eagle next to their nest near the freeway on the way over.

Birds:

38. Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperi)
39. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
40. American Coot (Fulica americana)
41. Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
42. Ring-billed Gull (Larus delewarensis)
43. California Gull (Larus californicus)
44. American Herring Gull (Larus argenteus)
45. Feral Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

1-45-0-0-0-1

 

[Hix]

Birds
18. Australian Reed Warbler
19. Magpie-lark
20. Spotted Dove
21. Indian (Common) Myna
22. Fairy Martin
23. Australian Raven
24. Red-rumped Parrot
25. Australian White Ibis
26. Australian Pelican
27. Pied Stilt
28. Great Crested Grebe

Reptiles
1. Long-necked Turtle



Hix

Birds
29. Common Starling
30. Willie Wagtail
31. Satin Bowerbird
32. Rainbow Lorikeet
33. Eastern Rosella
34. Australian King Parrot
35. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
36. Rock Dove

Reptiles
2. Eastern Water Dragon
3. Eastern Water Skink



Hix

 

[Maguari]

Bit of weather disruption today but Ogston Reservoir and the feeders at Shillito Woods offer excellent birding always within a few yards of your car.

Also managed a drive over Big Moor to spot our largest land mammal.

Brambling was the best bird of the day on paper but is very reliable at Shillito in winter; I was most happy actually with the snipe in a field at Ogston - a species I had to wait until August for in 2021.

Birds:
43. Common Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus
44. Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs
45. Coal Tit - Peripatus ater
46. Brambling - Fringilla montifringilla
47. Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos major
48. Yellowhammer - Emberiza citrinella
49. Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo
50. European Pochard - Aythya ferina
51. Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula
52. Great Crested Grebe - Podiceps cristatus
53. Song Thrush - Turdus philomelus
54. Grey Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea
55. Greater Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus
56. Common Snipe - Gallinago gallinago
57. European Nuthatch - Sitta europaea

Mammals:
5. Red Deer - Cervus elaphus

 

[red river hog]

Mammals:

1. Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
2. North American Beaver (Castor canadensis)
3. Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
4. White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Birds:

1. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
2. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
3. Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
4. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
5. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
6. Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperi)
7. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
8. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
9. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
10. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
11. Ring-billed Gull (Laura delawarensis)
12. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
13. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Mammals: 4
Birds: 13
Total: 17

 

[Mehdi]

A visit to my local spot to start the year was successful with notably two species I have missed altogether this year (Great spotted cuckoo and Common gull) as well as another one that is always tough to get in Morocco (Great egret).

01/01/2022 (Agadir [#1-9], Embouchure de l'Oued Souss [#9-42], Pont d'Inezgane [#43-46])
BIRDS:
1 - Eurasian thick-knee, Burhinus oedicnemus
2 - Spotless starling, Sturnus unicolor
3 - Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus
4 - Eurasian collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto
5 - House bunting, Emberiza sahari
6 - Feral pigeon, Columba livia
7 - White wagtail, Motacilla alba
8 - Maghreb magpie, Pica mauritanica
9 - House sparrow, Passer domesticus
10 - Common wood pigeon, Columba palumbus
11 - Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus
12 - Black-tailed godwit, Limosa limosa
13 - Yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis
14 - Common redshank, Tringa totanus
15 - Black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus
16 - Ruff, Calidris pugnax
17 - Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
18 - Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
19 - Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia
20 - Black-bellied plover, Pluvialis squatarola
21 - Mediterranean gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
22 - Slender-billed gull, Chroicocephalus genei
23 - Common gull, Larus canus
24 - Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
25 - Dunlin, Calidris alpina
26 - Sardinian warbler, Curruca melanocephala
27 - European serin, Serinus serinus
28 - Sandwich tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis
29 - Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
30 - Great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo
31 - Western osprey, Pandion haliaetus
32 - Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
33 - Grey heron, Ardea cinerea
34 - Great heron, Ardea alba
35 - Audouin's gull, Ichthyaetus audouinii
36 - Little egret, Egretta garzetta
37 - European stonechat, Saxicola rubicola
38 - Great spotted cuckoo, Clamator glandarius
39 - Zitting cisticola, Cisticola juncidis
40 - Common ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula
41 - Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
42 - Crested lark, Galerida cristata
43 - Common kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
44 - European greenfinch, Chloris chloris
45 - White stork, Ciconia ciconia
46 - Common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus

02/01/2022 (Champs d'Aghorimze [#47-67], Estuaire de l'Oued Massa [#67-79], Morocco)
BIRDS:
47 - Moussier's redstart, Phoenicurus moussieri
48 - Brown-throated martin, Riparia paludicola
49 - Laughing dove, Spilopelia senegalensis
50 - Glossy ibis, Plegadis falcinellus
51 - Black-crowned tchagra, Tchagra senegalus
52 - Common chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
53 - Eurasian coot, Fulica atra
54 - Little grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
55 - Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago
56 - Cetti's warbler, Cettia cetti
57 - Green sandpiper, Tringa ochropus
58 - Western cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
59 - Cirl bunting, Emberiza cirlus
60 - Meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis
61 - Common bulbul, Pycnonotus barbatus
62 - Great tit, Parus major
63 - Spanish sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis
64 - Corn bunting, Emberiza calandra
65 - Thekla's lark, Galerida theklae
66 - Common blackbird, Turdus merula
67 - Common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
68 - Ruddy shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea
69 - Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata
70 - Little ringed plover, Charadrius dubius
71 - Northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
72 - Common linnet, Linaria cannabina
73 - Northern pintail, Anas acuta
74 - Eurasian teal, Anas crecca
75 - Common shelduck, Tadorna tadorna
76 - Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
77 - Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
78 - Sanderling, Calidris alba
79 - Western marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus

08/01/22 (Agadir, Morocco)
MAMMALS:
1 - Brown rat, Rattus norvegicus

 

[CMP]

Lucky, I live in the central part of the state and haven’t been able to get out much (very cold), and only the squirrels seem to be hanging around, maybe I just have to pay closer attention :/

Looking around outside of even your home for long enough will yield at least a few bird species, including in the cold spell we are having right now. It helps to take pictures, look at a guidebook, or use an online guide, while you are looking at the animals you are trying to identify, at least while you are starting off.

 

[dinosauria]

Birds
20. Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
21. Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana

 

[birdsandbats]

Birds
48. Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa

Mammals
4. American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

Another surprise bird that didn't migrate:

Birds
49. Wood Duck Aix sponsa

Birds
50. Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus
51. Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus
52. Hoary Redpoll Acanthis hornemanni
53. Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
54. Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
55. Sandhill Crane Antigone canadensis)
56. Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
57. American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
58. Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis
59. American Kestrel Falco sparverius
60. Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Mammals
5. Coyote Canis latrans
6. Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus

Only my second time seeing a wild Coyote and Hoary Redpoll was a Wisconsin lifer (I have seen it in Minnesota before).

 

[Platypusboy]

10. Bohemian waxwing 8/1/22

 

[OstrichMania]

Another visit to a wetland reserve today netted me some more species, a lot of which are lifers.
Birds:
33. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
34. Black-Headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
35. Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
36. Long-Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
37. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
38. Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
39. Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus)
40. Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
41. Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
42. Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

 

[birdsandbats]

Birds
50. Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus
51. Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus
52. Hoary Redpoll Acanthis hornemanni
53. Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
54. Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
55. Sandhill Crane Antigone canadensis)
56. Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
57. American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
58. Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis
59. American Kestrel Falco sparverius
60. Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Mammals
5. Coyote Canis latrans
6. Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus

Only my second time seeing a wild Coyote and Hoary Redpoll was a Wisconsin lifer (I have seen it in Minnesota before).

Birds
61. Pine Siskin Spinus pinus

Mammals
7. Meadow Vole Microtus pennsylvanicus

 

[DesertRhino150]

Over the past couple of days, I have added a new bird and a new mammal. The bird, seen a couple of days ago taking bread off the neighbour's lawn. The mammal turned up in broad daylight today, albeit with a badly injured foot. I've put some food out in the hopes that may help.

35. Western jackdaw Coloeus monedula

3. Red fox Vulpes vulpes

Put out the bird feeder for a couple of days, which got me three new birds - two of them interested in the feeder itself and the other in the 'clients' at the bird feeder:

36. Common chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
37. Great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major
38. Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus

 

[German Zoo World]

Birds

Tits

1. Greater Tit (Parus major)

Crows, Magpies and Jays

2. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
3. Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)

Birds

Thrushes

4. European Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Pigeons and Doves

5. Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)

 

[Maguari]

Today was a Carsington Water/Attenborough Nature Reserve double-header.

The huge reservoir at Carsington, about 40 minutes from home, is a great site with a regular 'gang' of reliable species like Willow Tit, Tree Sparrow, and Barnacle Goose - and in recent years there has always been at least one wintering Great Northern Diver, which has become a January tradition for me to track down. This year it was looking like I might need to pick one up elsewhere as it rolled round into January and still none had taken up residence - but one started to be reported during the last few days and sure enough was present and correct today, along with the less-regular Red-necked Grebe.

The last five are from Attenborough NR. Stock Dove and Egyptian Goose are site classics. We weren't optimistic about finding the reported Caspian Gull among the other gulls but in the end it was very showy outside one of the hides (generally I've seen juveniles, so it was nice to see an adult bird, with the classic combination of dark eye and a fully-white head retained all through winter helping to pick it out from other grey-winged Larus).

Birds:
58. Barnacle Goose - Branta leucopsis
59. Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa
60. Common Reed Bunting - Emberiza schoeniclus
61. Common Redshank - Tringa totanus
62. Northern Pintail - Anas acuta
63. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Passer montanus
64. Great Northern Diver - Gavia immer
65. Eurasian Wigeon - Mareca penelope
66. Red-necked Grebe - Podiceps grisegena
67. Willow Tit - Poecile montanus
68. Stock Dove - Columba oenas
69. Common Gull - Larus canus
70. Egyptian Goose - Alopochen aegypticus
71. Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris
72. Caspian Gull - Larus cachinnans

 

[Najade]

Wilsum Mülldeponie (landfill), Wilsum

Birds
03. Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)

I guess I'll not just list lifers, but also species that are new for me in Europe.

Took some inspiration from @Vision and popped over to Belgium and the NL. Actually got every species I'd planned to find plus one extra with the owl. It is quite nice to have those days where you don't miss out on half of what you're looking for

IJzermonding (westside), Nieuwpoort, Belgium (04, 05, 06)
Asper-Station, Gavere, Belgium (07)
Lazarusstraat, Rumst, Belgium (08)
Landbouwweg, Dordrecht, NL (09)
Alblasserbos-Kortland, Alblasserwaard, NL (10)
Achterwaterschap, Alblasserwaard, NL (11)


Birds
04. Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
05. Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea)
06. Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)
07. Eurasian Eagle-owl (Bubo bubo)
08. Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
09. Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)
10. Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus)
11. Western Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)

I feel like this might be the year of the gull or the warbler. We'll see...

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

Some people really love the sea and the coast. Not me. It is always with some reluctance that I leave my beloved forests, grasslands and fields behind for a day at the coast. But that is where all the seabirds are, so what are you gonna do? A few days ago I ended my holiday with a day to the Dutch coasts to see some coastal species for my year list. My goal of 300 species in one year more or less necessitates an almost complete set of regular Dutch species. So to the coast I went!

The first location was the Kwade Hoek, which is a relatively natural coastal area with dunes, beaches and a large salt marsh. Salt marshes and their surrounding areas in winter are basically the only place and time in the Netherlands to find a set of four (or five) rather exclusive passerines: Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, Twite, and Horned Lark (and maybe Rock Pipit). In previous years I've had a lot of succes finding several of these species in the Kwade Hoek. Not so much this time! We were unable to find any of them despite spending several hours there. There were a few good species to find though, including Grey Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit, both of which are scarce inland, and a fly-by of a Gannet from the beach. Of salt marsh passerines not a trace though. There was a lot of rain, which may not have helped.

The next location was the Brouwersdam which is very famous among Dutch birders as a place to see loads of seabirds. In particular I wanted to see a Razorbill, a species still missing from my life list. I had good hope as they are especially abundant this year. At the first location we very quickly found an alcid but it turned out to be a guillemot. No Razorbills. We saw very few birds at the first location, bar the seemingly endless flocks of gulls. The rest of Brouwersdam turned out to be hard work for relatively few birds. Often in the rain that is! We did find a Long-tailed Duck though so all was fine. Then, around 4 pm suddenly the sea was covered with birds. There were huge rafts of eiders, scoters and mergansers and divers where flying around everywhere. And there were four Razorbills! I was very pleased. And very cold, so I had to warm up in the car for a while.

While I warmed up in the car, my friend, who is a bit of a gull-fanatic, spend a lot of time photographing all the gulls. Then he walked to the other side of the dam to see the Grevelingen lake and look at gulls there. After a while he called that he had seen a Sandwich Tern which is a species I adore, but my toes were still very numb so I kept waiting. Then he called again to say that there was also a Little Gull. So my toes had to endure a little more cold! Both the tern and the gull showed very well so it was worth it. There was also a huge - and I mean huge! - bull Grey Seal swimming around which was a good bonus. A great day all things considered, but it will probably be a while before I head to the coast again!

Birds
65. Common Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus
66. Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
67. Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
68. White Stork, Ciconia ciconia
69. Western Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus
70. Redwing, Turdus illiacus
71. Song Thrush, Turdus philomelos
72. Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata
73. Eurasian Oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
74. Sanderling, Calidris alba
75. Grey Plover, Pluvialis squatarola
76. Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
77. Northern Gannet, Morus bassanus
78. Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator
79. Red-throated Diver, Gavia stellata
80. Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica
81. Common Linnet, Linaria cannabina
82. Common Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus
83. Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago
84. European Stonechat, Saxicola rubicola
85. Little Egret, Egretta garzetta
86. Brant, Branta bernicla
87. Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres
88. Common Guillemot, Uria aalge
89. Common Eider, Somateria mollissima
90. Long-tailed Duck, Clangula hyemalis
91. Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus
92. Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus
93. Purple Sandpiper, Calidris maritima
94. Razorbill, Alca torda
95. Common Scoter, Melanitta nigra
96. Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus
97. Sandwich Tern, Thallasseus sandvicensis

Mammals
4. Harbour Seal, Phoca vitulina
5. Grey Seal, Halichoerus grypus
6. European Rabbit, Oryctolagus cunniculus

 

[Ituri]

Birds:
37 Merlin - Falco columbarius
38 Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca
39 Canvasback - Aythya valisineria
40 Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis
41 Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus
42 Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii
43 Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura
44 Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus
45 American Tree Sparrow - Spizelloides arborea
46 Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

Mammals:
2 White-tailed Deer - Odocoileus virginianus

Birds:
47 Lesser Black-backed Gull - Larus fuscus
48 Hairy Woodpecker - Dryobates villosus
49 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia
50 Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula
51 American Kestrel - Falco sparverius
52 Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis
53 Northern Harrier - Circus hudsonius
54 Rough-legged Hawk - Buteo lagopus
55 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus
56 Ross's Goose - Anser rossii
57 Greater Scaup - Aythya marila

 

[boof]

Slow start to the year, with other priorities until I heard about a Radjah Shelduck in Sydney (apparently the first record for Sydney), not far from where i live. So, despite the rain yesterday, I made an effort.
Hix

Nice bird to add to a NSW list.