how oftene do new zeland record first contry records? here in sweaden we get normely 2-4 every year gone azume a lot fewer for new zealand. i now you had the first mainland red foted bobby last year?
Zoochat Big Year 2022
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
I don't believe it was a grey teal, I'll post the images but they're kinda unrecognizable.
Ducks, Geese, and Swans from Island Road, Mangere, Auckland, NZ on January 18, 2022 at 02:13 PM by okokokokmyinfatuatn · iNaturalist
Yeah, looks like a scaup.
Spent today at one of my most frequent birdy days out Frampton Marsh (and spotting distant seals at sister site Freiston Shore). Nothing exceptionally rare about, though turnstone is a site first for me. As ever for Frampton though, just hundreds of birds - a flock of around 20 Whooper Swans probably the highlight of the day.
Birds:
82. Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus
83. European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris
84. European Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola
85. Ruff - Calidris pugnax
86. Dunlin - Calidris alpina
87. Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
88. European Golden Plover - Pluvialis apricaria
89. Brent Goose - Branta bernicla
90. Western Marsh Harrier - Circus aeruginosus
91. Eurasian Curlew - Numenius arquata
92. Whooper Swan - Cygnus cygnus
93. Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus
94. Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus
Mammals:
7. Common Seal - Phoca vitulina
Birds:
82. Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus
83. European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris
84. European Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola
85. Ruff - Calidris pugnax
86. Dunlin - Calidris alpina
87. Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
88. European Golden Plover - Pluvialis apricaria
89. Brent Goose - Branta bernicla
90. Western Marsh Harrier - Circus aeruginosus
91. Eurasian Curlew - Numenius arquata
92. Whooper Swan - Cygnus cygnus
93. Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus
94. Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus
Mammals:
7. Common Seal - Phoca vitulina
A quick walk around the neighbourhood yesterday.
Birds:
55. Australian Wood Duck
56. Noisy Miner
57. Common Starling
58. Eastern Rosella
59. Rainbow Lorikeet
60. Common Blackbird
61. Australian White Ibis
62. House Sparrow
I guess you could say "one or two per year" on average.
Looking at the reports, in 2013 and 2014 there were accepted records of Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Dusky Woodswallow.
Over 2015 and 2016 there were Northern Fulmar, Herald Petrel, Red-footed Booby, Laughing Gull, and Magpie-Lark.
Over 2017 and 2018 there were Macquarie Island Shag and Cox's Sandpiper (which is a naturally-occurring hybrid).
Over 2019 and 2020 there were Collared Petrel, South Polar Skua, and Rose-crowned Fruit Dove.
However, new records aren't necessarily of birds actually arriving in New Zealand that year. For example, the Macquarie Island Shag record is from specimens collected in the Auckland Islands in 1901 which were only recently "discovered" (see Over-looked for a century: Macquarie Island shag added to the New Zealand list | Te Papa’s Blog).
TheChukaulorian
Well-Known Member
I got quite lucky during the course of my holidays, probably because I chose to spend summer in the Maule region, a transition zone between the Mediterranean sclerophyll scrub of central Chile and the temperate forests from the south. During my excursion to the high Andes I even managed to cross the frontier for a while and spotted some nice lifers in Argentina.
Also caught glimpse of two rare lizard species endemic to the Andes and that were only described in the past decade.
Birds:
Reptiles:
Amphibians:
Also caught glimpse of two rare lizard species endemic to the Andes and that were only described in the past decade.
Birds:
- Chimango caracara, Milvago chimango
- Chilean swallow, Tachycineta leucopyga
- House sparrow, Passer domesticus
- Austral thrush, Turdus falcklandii
- Southern lapwing, Vanellus chilensis
- Feral pigeon, Columba livia
- Eared dove, Zenaida auriculata
- California quail, Callipepla californica
- American kestrel, Falco sparverius
- Picui ground dove, Columbina picui
- Austral blackbird, Curaeus curaeus
- Tufted tit-tyrant, Anairetes parulus
- Monk parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus
- White-crested elaenia, Elaenia albiceps
- Neotropic cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus
- Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
- American black vulture, Coragyps atratus
- Great egret, Ardea alba
- Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura
- House wren, Troglodytes aedon
- Red-gartered coot, Fulica armillata
- Brown-hooded gull, Chroicocephalus maculipennis
- Snowy egret, Egretta thula
- Harris's hawk, Parabuteo unicinctus
- Burrowing parrot, Cyanoliseus patagonus
- Black-faced ibis, Theristicus melanopis
- Rayadito, Aphrastura spinicauda
- Black-chinned siskin, Spinus barbatus
- Shiny cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis
- Striped woodpecker, Dryobates lignarius
- Yellow-billed pintail, Anas georgica
- Chilean mockingbird, Mimus thenca
- Chilean flicker, Colaptes pitius
- Green-backed firecrown hummingbird, Sephanoides sephaniodes
- Dark-bellied cinclodes, Cinclodes patagonicus
- Andean condor, Vultur gryphus
- Mountain caracara, Phalcoboenus megalopterus
- Andean gull, Chroicocephalus serranus
- Rufous-banded miner, Geositta rufipennis
- Blue and white swallow, Notochelidon cyanoleuca
- Rufous-collared sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis
- Creamy-rumped miner, Geositta isabellina
- Greater yellow finch, Sicalis auriventris
- Black-winged ground dove, Metriopelia melanoptera
- Buff-winged cinclodes, Cinclodes fuscus
- Cinereous ground-tyrant, Muscisaxicola cinereus
- Gray-hooded sierra finch, Phrygilus gayi
- Yellow-billed teal, Anas flavirostris
- Variable hawk, Geranoaetus polyosoma
- Austral parakeet, Enicognathus ferrugineus
- White-throated treerunner, Pygarrhichas albogularis
- Black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
Reptiles:
- Elegant tree iguana, Liolaemus lemniscatus
- Chilean tree iguana, Liolaemus chiliensis
- Southern grumbler, Pristidactylus torquatus
- Garín's lizard, Liolaemus carlosgarini
- Lobo's rock lizard, Phymaturus loboi
- Slender tree iguana, Liolaemus tenuis
- Schroeder's tree iguana, Liolaemus schroederi
- Northern painted tree iguana, Liolaemus septentrionalis
Amphibians:
- Four-eyed frog, Pleurodema thaul
- Hugo's spiny-chest frog, Alsodes hugoi
- Housefly, Musca domestica
- White butterfly, Mathania leucothea
- European earwig, Forficula auricularia
- Common carpet beetle, Anthrenus scrophulariae
- Common green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea
- Jumping spider, Menemerus semilimbatus
- Western honey bee, Apis mellifera
- Buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris
- Rooster wasp, Sphex latreillei
- Adonis ladybeetle, Hippodamia variegata
- Argentine ant, Linepithema humile
- Common black butterfly, Auca coctei
- Blue darner, Rhionaeschna diffinis
- Chilean scorpion, Bothriurus chilensis
- Chilean recluse spider, Loxosceles laeta
- Bronze tarantula, Euathlus manicata
- Green scarab, Hylamorpha elegans
- Black horsefly, Scaptia lata
- Water strider, Aquarius chilensis
- Common house mosquito, Culex pipiens
- Golden carpenter ant, Camponotus chilensis
- Puya butterfly, Castnia eudesmia
- Blue damselfly, Antiagrion gayi
- Burrito, Rhyephenes humeralis
- Pallid-winged grasshopper, Trimerotropis pallidipennis
- Red damselfly, Oxyagrion rubidum
- Red thynnid wasp, Elaphroptera scoliaeformis
- Chilean lady, Vanessa terpsichore
- European drone fly, Eristalis tenax
Birds
26: American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
Invertebrates
8: Long-Bodied Cellar Spider Pholcus phalangioides
26: American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
Invertebrates
8: Long-Bodied Cellar Spider Pholcus phalangioides
I have to be a pain and say that black-billed gulls were probably the easiest "rarity" that I have ever had. After the ZAA conference in Wellington a few years back I took a few days to see some NZ wildlife parks. First day I drove from Wellington via Mt Bruce to spend the night at Taupo on Lake Taupo. As I drove into town beside the lake I kept my eyes peeled for gulls, and the first one I saw perched on a bollard, I pulled over. Tick, it was a black-billed gull, and my motel was pretty much opposite.
Well, my impression were that they only really occurred around Taupo/Rotorua and bits of the South Island, so I was really surprised seeing them in Auckland, and only an hour or so of public transport from my house. Of course I've done a bit more digging and they occur all over NZ, but it was a rarity that I had no expectations of finding so, I think that's what made it really stand out to me.
Heard enough stories of me not being able to find birds? How about one where I did find birds but couldn't find mammals!
This weekend I went to visit a friend, who is also a wildlife enthusiast, and he lives close to a famous Dutch nature area called the Planken Wambuis. So naturally we went there. According to what I've read about the place, there should be a lot of good forest birds there as well as some larger mammals like deer and boar. We started just before sunrise and found a good observation spot, but there was a lot of fog again so we couldn't see anything! After a while we started walking around the area but we saw very few birds and even fewer mammals. There were lots of people around and they kept saying they had seen wild boar! We never managed to find one and after several hours were we didn't see a lot we gave up.
On my way back home however I went past the city of Wageningen. I was a bit disappointed that I hadn't seen much wildlife at all so I stopped there to visit some owl roosts. The botanical garden is a fantastic base of operation as I knew three roosts of three owl species within walking distance from there. I also knew another one out of town for Tawny Owl which I went to first because that individual is far more reliable than the one in the botanical garden. Then I realised I would almost drive past a pond where a Ferruginous Duck had been hanging out for a few weeks now, so I checked that out as well. When I first arrived at the pond I quickly saw a few Smews which was great, but not my target species. I tried another vantage point. Nothing. Another point. Nothing. Another one? Nothing. One more try? Oh look, there's the Ferruginous Duck! It was tucked away between the reed beds and did not come out so the views were rather poor, but it was unmistakably a Ferruginous Duck so I was happy nonetheless.
Then I approached the owl roost and somewhat surprisingly I immediately saw a Tawny Owl! In the Netherlands there are two distinct colour morphs, grey and brown. This owl was of the brown morph which I think is the more beautiful one so that was good, and also the owl the frequents the roost in the botanical garden is a grey one. Then I went to the botanical garden and first visited an owl roost just outside of it, and already from quite a distance I could see a Long-eared Owl sitting there! They're very reliable but usually it takes some more work because the like to sit a dense fir tree. After a walk through the botanical garden I went to the second roost for Tawny Owl, but when I approached it I saw that the dead tree in which the owl could sometimes be seen had fallen down since my last visit! Naturally I didn't see the grey Tawny Owl so I was very glad I saw the brown one before. The last owl roost was a huge willow in which I had seen Little Owl in the past. However in the last two years or so I had not seen him or her anymore so I was doubtful I would see an owl there. Still I wanted to try (because trying and failing is better than not trying at all!) and when I approached the tree there was in fact a teeny tiny Little Owl sitting there, looking all grumpy. Sometimes I can actually find what I am looking for!
The botanical garden in Wageningen is also a great place to visit, even without the owls, and I thoroughly recommend a visit if you are in the area. The botanical collection is not to sniffed at, if you care for such things, but also it is a great place for birders. There are always lots of birds and they tend to be very bold, often hardly reacting when people walk past. Even shy species like Bullfinch! It was very very busy with people when I visited but still there were finches and nuthatches and tits and woodpeckers all over the show, including several very neat species. Best of all was a small tree with no less than seven Hawfinches in it! Again, a great place to check out if you are in the area.
Birds
104. Mistle Thrush, Turdus viscivorus
105. Ferruginous Duck, Aythy nyroca
106. Tawny Owl, Strix aluco
107. Coal Tit, Periparus ater
108. Long-eared Owl, Asio otus
109. Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes
110. Little Owl, Athene noctua
111. Eurasian Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
112. Common Firecrest, Regulus ignicapilla
Totally understandable, Whiskered Tern is a species that leaves an impression! Incredible bird, one of my favourites for sure.
This weekend I went to visit a friend, who is also a wildlife enthusiast, and he lives close to a famous Dutch nature area called the Planken Wambuis. So naturally we went there. According to what I've read about the place, there should be a lot of good forest birds there as well as some larger mammals like deer and boar. We started just before sunrise and found a good observation spot, but there was a lot of fog again so we couldn't see anything! After a while we started walking around the area but we saw very few birds and even fewer mammals. There were lots of people around and they kept saying they had seen wild boar! We never managed to find one and after several hours were we didn't see a lot we gave up.
On my way back home however I went past the city of Wageningen. I was a bit disappointed that I hadn't seen much wildlife at all so I stopped there to visit some owl roosts. The botanical garden is a fantastic base of operation as I knew three roosts of three owl species within walking distance from there. I also knew another one out of town for Tawny Owl which I went to first because that individual is far more reliable than the one in the botanical garden. Then I realised I would almost drive past a pond where a Ferruginous Duck had been hanging out for a few weeks now, so I checked that out as well. When I first arrived at the pond I quickly saw a few Smews which was great, but not my target species. I tried another vantage point. Nothing. Another point. Nothing. Another one? Nothing. One more try? Oh look, there's the Ferruginous Duck! It was tucked away between the reed beds and did not come out so the views were rather poor, but it was unmistakably a Ferruginous Duck so I was happy nonetheless.
Then I approached the owl roost and somewhat surprisingly I immediately saw a Tawny Owl! In the Netherlands there are two distinct colour morphs, grey and brown. This owl was of the brown morph which I think is the more beautiful one so that was good, and also the owl the frequents the roost in the botanical garden is a grey one. Then I went to the botanical garden and first visited an owl roost just outside of it, and already from quite a distance I could see a Long-eared Owl sitting there! They're very reliable but usually it takes some more work because the like to sit a dense fir tree. After a walk through the botanical garden I went to the second roost for Tawny Owl, but when I approached it I saw that the dead tree in which the owl could sometimes be seen had fallen down since my last visit! Naturally I didn't see the grey Tawny Owl so I was very glad I saw the brown one before. The last owl roost was a huge willow in which I had seen Little Owl in the past. However in the last two years or so I had not seen him or her anymore so I was doubtful I would see an owl there. Still I wanted to try (because trying and failing is better than not trying at all!) and when I approached the tree there was in fact a teeny tiny Little Owl sitting there, looking all grumpy. Sometimes I can actually find what I am looking for!
The botanical garden in Wageningen is also a great place to visit, even without the owls, and I thoroughly recommend a visit if you are in the area. The botanical collection is not to sniffed at, if you care for such things, but also it is a great place for birders. There are always lots of birds and they tend to be very bold, often hardly reacting when people walk past. Even shy species like Bullfinch! It was very very busy with people when I visited but still there were finches and nuthatches and tits and woodpeckers all over the show, including several very neat species. Best of all was a small tree with no less than seven Hawfinches in it! Again, a great place to check out if you are in the area.
Birds
104. Mistle Thrush, Turdus viscivorus
105. Ferruginous Duck, Aythy nyroca
106. Tawny Owl, Strix aluco
107. Coal Tit, Periparus ater
108. Long-eared Owl, Asio otus
109. Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes
110. Little Owl, Athene noctua
111. Eurasian Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
112. Common Firecrest, Regulus ignicapilla
Totally understandable, Whiskered Tern is a species that leaves an impression! Incredible bird, one of my favourites for sure.
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Might as well add my hat into the ring, finally going on some long-delayed foreign holidays this year (hopefully).
Mammals
Birds
Mammals
- Brown rat
- House mouse
- Grey squirrel
- Reeve's muntjac
- European rabbit
Birds
- Reed bunting
- European goldfinch
- Common linnet
- European greenfinch
- Meadow pipit
- Pied wagtail
- House sparrow
- Dunnock
- European stonechat
- European robin
- Eurasian blackbird
- Redwing
- Song thrush
- Mistle thrush
- Common starling
- Eurasian blackcap
- Long-tailed tit
- Eurasian skylark
- Great tit
- Eurasian blue tit
- Carrion crow
- Eurasian jackdaw
- Common magpie
- Ring-necked parakeet
- Common kestrel
- Eurasian green woodpecker
- Great spotted woodpecker
- Common buzzard
- Great cormorant
- Herring gull
- Black-headed gull
- Eurasian coot
- Common moorhen
- Collared dove
- Common woodpigeon
- Tufted duck
- Mallard
- Egyptian goose
- Mute swan
- Eurasian nuthatch
- Goldcrest
- Coal tit
- Eurasian jay
- Stock dove
- Eurasian wren
- Greylag goose
- Lesser black-backed gull
- Common gull
- Red kite
- Great northern diver
- Great crested grebe
- Little grebe
- Common goldeneye
- Eurasian wigeon
- Gadwall
- Canada goose
- Grey wagtail
- Great black-backed gull
- Common chaffinch
- Common chiffchaff
- Pallas's warbler
- Common kingfisher
- Eurasian sparrowhawk
- Grey heron
- Common snipe
- Northern lapwing
- European golden plover
- Goosander
- Smew
- Common pochard
- Northern shoveller
- Little egret
- Common redshank
- Eurasian curlew
- Grey plover
- Eurasian oystercatcher
- Pied avocet
- Eurasian teal
- Common shelduck
- Brent goose
- Sanderling
- Ruddy turnstone
- Common firecrest
- Hume's leaf warbler
- Shorelark
- Peregrine falcon
I have added another five birds since my last update. The first two were on local walks - the dove is an increasingly common resident around here (in fact, there's one in my garden right now) while the siskin is not an annual bird in my area, so is something of a treat.
The other three birds I picked up from the grounds of Colchester Zoo today - the African paddock had multiple individuals of both pied and grey wagtails, which was lovely to see.
42. Stock dove Columba oenas
43. Eurasian siskin Spinus spinus
44. Lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus
45. Common gull Larus canus
46. Pied wagtail Motacilla alba yarrelli
Birds:
61 Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
62 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa
63 Yellow-rumped Warbler - Setophaga coronata
64 Northern Pintail - Anas acuta
65 Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis
Bislicher Insel, WeselI 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...
Mammals
02. European Hare (Lepus europaeus)
Birds
12. Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis)
Finally!
Well I'm still missing all five bird species I mentioned in my last update, but I've added three mammals and caught up with an elusive mega-rarity for a wild lifer!
Mammals:
3. Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
4. California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)
5. Botta’s Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)
Birds:
56. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
57. Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) - wild lifer
Invertebrates:
4. Bordered Plant Bug (Largus succinctus)
5. Common Bluebottle (Calliphora vomitoria)
5-57-2-0-0-5
Unexpected lifer whilst walking along Musik Point.
Birds
41. Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
Birds
72 Treecreeper Certhia familiaris
72 Treecreeper Certhia familiaris
I decided that today I would go for a much longer walk than normal and it certainly paid off, with several excellent and unexpected sightings. First were two Cetti's warblers, often very skulking birds you hear rather than see, both in the open on short riverbank vegetation.
At the end of the walk, where the freshwater river meets the highest tidal section, I spotted an extremely tame water rail - at times I was probably no more than two metres from it and when a dog walker went past the bird continued feeding with very little reaction.
And then, after arriving home, found a pair of bullfinches in the garden (around here, they are definitely not a regular garden species).
47. Common coot Fulica atra
48. Little egret Egretta garzetta
49. Cetti's warbler Cettia cetti
50. Common teal Anas crecca
51. Little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
52. Western water rail Rallus aquaticus
53. Goldcrest Regulus regulus
54. Eurasian bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Looking back through my 2021 list, by this time last year I was only on 39 birds - well on course to do a lot better than that this time around.
