Invertebrates
8 Two-spotted Ladybird Adelia bipunctata
8 Two-spotted Ladybird Adelia bipunctata
Zoochat Big Year 2022
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
I'm not completely sure if I have ever seen this species in the past before, but this is the first time I have ever been able to 100% accurately identify it.
Birds:
39. Fish Crow
Total:
Mammals: 2
Birds: 39
Reptiles: 1
Invertebrates: 1
Birds
86. Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii
Fish
2. Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus
Invertebrates
9 German wasp Vespula germanica
10 Yellow slug Limacus flavus
9 German wasp Vespula germanica
10 Yellow slug Limacus flavus
On my way to and from work each day I bike along the waterfront of Wellington harbour. I keep my eye out for anything unusual along the way - usually I just see gulls and shags, occasionally shearwaters, sometimes stingrays (I saw a stingray this morning, in fact). Yesterday on my way home I saw my first mammal species for the year, with a pod of Common Dolphins fishing not far out.
1) Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis
1) Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis
Since the start of March, I have been able to go out walking more (now that I have replaced my walking boots, the old ones of which had a gaping hole in the back) and added five new birds. Four of these were seen locally, while bird number 60 was seen on a lake at the local RHS gardens. Number 59 was particularly exciting, as it is the first time I have ever seen a pair of red kites in my area.
I would say that I have now pretty much exhausted the birds within walking distance of my house that can be reasonably expected, although earlier today I did hear my first singing chiffchaffs, so I imagine I will be adding them to the list soon.
59. Red kite Milvus milvus
60. Gadwall Mareca strepera
61. Great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus
62. Eurasian treecreeper Certhia familiaris
63. Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
I have also seen two new invertebrates in or around the house.
5. Varied carpet beetle Anthrenus verbasci
6. Seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata
A morning at Beddington in search of one of my absolute favourite bird species, Little ringed plovers. Think I saw the two that were there but were so far away, I chose not to count them and will twitch some more in the coming weeks.
110. Green sandpiper
An interesting sighting from last night in my backyard.
Mammals:
1. American mink (Neogale vison)
Mammals:
1. American mink (Neogale vison)
A couple of additions from the Derby area - one stop on the way to Twycross Zoo this morning and one on the way back. Two of the geese were hanging out with the local Greylags and Canadas - as well as also my first Derbyshire Greater White-fronted Goose as a bonus. This was a quick roadside twitch as the birds have been there all week. On the way back I called in at Alvaston Park - one of my closest reliable parakeet spots.
Birds:
129. Tundra Bean Goose - Anser serrirostris
130. Ring-necked Parakeet - Psittacula krameri
Birds:
129. Tundra Bean Goose - Anser serrirostris
130. Ring-necked Parakeet - Psittacula krameri
Not seeing the plovers yesterday was bothering me, especially as someone in the Beddington whatsapp group posted some excellent pictures taken about an hour after I left. So I returned this afternoon and... success! Plus a bonus Caspian gull.
111. Little ringed plover
112. Caspian gull
Inverts
18. Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus
19. Varied Carpet Beetle Anthrenus verbasci
Questionable 20. Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp. (as flesh flies have an absolute nightmare of a taxonomic situation, I can't confirm species and it may not be includable)
18. Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus
19. Varied Carpet Beetle Anthrenus verbasci
Questionable 20. Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp. (as flesh flies have an absolute nightmare of a taxonomic situation, I can't confirm species and it may not be includable)
3/13/22
I went birdwatching again today, but like last time, I saw nothing new. Nevertheless, it was still great to see a few birds from previous years again.
Birds:
40. American White Ibis
41. Laughing Gull
42. Red-Shouldered Hawk
43. Boat-Tailed Grackle
44. Tricolored Heron
Total:
Mammals: 2
Birds: 44
Reptiles: 1
Invertebrates: 1
A family emergency had me flying up to the Gold Coast last Friday. Yesterday was spent in Brisbane and I had some time for wildlife watching. I contacted @WhistlingKite24 for advice and he kindly gave me a list of possible sites. Many sites have been damaged by the catastrophic floods that have hit this region in the last couple of weeks, and were closed. I chose Enogerra Reservoir. Damage here seemed to be minimal, however on my best estimate I would think that water rose to over 5 metres higher than the normal water level.
Probably a combination of me being there towards the middle of the day and the floods led to only nine bird species being observed, I think given normal circumstances (early morning visit, no flooding) this would be a ripper location. However I still got a couple of great new species. The highlight was probably watching a forest kingfisher attack a termite nest high up a tree.
Birds
132. Forest kingfisher Todiramphus macleayii
133. Varigated fairywren Malurus lamberti
Reptiles
I came around the corner on the track and encountered a nervous looking young couple huddled about 10 metres away. They had seen a snake in the bushes beside the path, and there was a standoff. The snake was unwilling to cross the path while they were there and they were unwilling to walk past the snake. The snake was a gorgeous 1.5 metre carpet python. I walked past it after a closer look and told them they had nothing to fear. I don't know what happened but they were not there when I came back.
1. Carpet python Morelia spilota
Amphibians
1. Dusky toadlet Uperoleia fusca
Invertebrates
There was an abundance of butterflies, at this stage I have only included new species I observed.
15. Bordered rustic Cupha prosope
16. Common grass yellow Eurema hecabe
17. Common aeroplane Phaedyma shepherdi
18. Small green banded blue Psychonotis caelius
And to finish up a recent observation from Moonlit
19. Honeybrown beetle Ecnolagria grandis
Two-year new species targets
Mammals 1/100
Birds 10/1000
Bonus ectotherms 19
Probably a combination of me being there towards the middle of the day and the floods led to only nine bird species being observed, I think given normal circumstances (early morning visit, no flooding) this would be a ripper location. However I still got a couple of great new species. The highlight was probably watching a forest kingfisher attack a termite nest high up a tree.
Birds
132. Forest kingfisher Todiramphus macleayii
133. Varigated fairywren Malurus lamberti
Reptiles
I came around the corner on the track and encountered a nervous looking young couple huddled about 10 metres away. They had seen a snake in the bushes beside the path, and there was a standoff. The snake was unwilling to cross the path while they were there and they were unwilling to walk past the snake. The snake was a gorgeous 1.5 metre carpet python. I walked past it after a closer look and told them they had nothing to fear. I don't know what happened but they were not there when I came back.
1. Carpet python Morelia spilota
Amphibians
1. Dusky toadlet Uperoleia fusca
Invertebrates
There was an abundance of butterflies, at this stage I have only included new species I observed.
15. Bordered rustic Cupha prosope
16. Common grass yellow Eurema hecabe
17. Common aeroplane Phaedyma shepherdi
18. Small green banded blue Psychonotis caelius
And to finish up a recent observation from Moonlit
19. Honeybrown beetle Ecnolagria grandis
Two-year new species targets
Mammals 1/100
Birds 10/1000
Bonus ectotherms 19
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Some more birds I spotted in my backyard, the park, and a few other places over the last week or so. Tons and tons of House finches, bushtits, and Song sparrows behind my house!
7) Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
8) Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)
9) House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
10) Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
11) Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria hesperophilus)
12) Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
13) Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
14) American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)
15) Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
16) Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
17) Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
18) Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
19) White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
20) Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
21) American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
22) California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum)
23) House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
24) Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus vociferus)
25) Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
26) Common Raven (Corvus corax clarionensis)
27) Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
28) Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin sasin)
29) Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata)
Well nothing significant since my last update, though migration is well underway and southern migrants are arriving.
Birds:
68. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
69. Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)
70. Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya)
71. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
72. Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)
73. Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
74. American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Invertebrates:
8. Road Duster (Dissosteira carolina)
9. Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
10. Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice)
6-74-4-0-0-10
Time for a quick update. A short trip to the polders yielded a few neat but not unexpected spring migrants. I wanted to see the godwits, the first of which have arrived around their breeding areas or local stopover sites. So I went to the polders and saw them. Easy. Then I went to the River Meuse to see avocets, and after a short walk a flock of thirty avocets came flying over and landed on the water nearby. Easy again. And a few days later, I found myself within reasonable distance to a site with Palmate Newt. So I went there and, surprise, I saw a few male Palmate Newts within minutes after arriving at the pond they're supposed to be in. How am I supposed to write an even slightly entertaining story when all the animals just cooperate?
Birds
129. Common Redshank, Tringa totanus
130. Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa
131. Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix
132. Ruff, Calidris pugnax
133. Common Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
134. Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
Herptiles
4. Palmate Newt, Lissotriton helveticus
Butterflies
1. Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae
2. Common Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni
3. Comma, Polygonia c-album
Birds
129. Common Redshank, Tringa totanus
130. Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa
131. Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix
132. Ruff, Calidris pugnax
133. Common Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
134. Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
Herptiles
4. Palmate Newt, Lissotriton helveticus
Butterflies
1. Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae
2. Common Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni
3. Comma, Polygonia c-album
I've fixed my bird count, American woodcock should have brought me to 46, not 5. I saw the Cackling Goose much earlier in the year, but I've only now gotten to IDing them. They were technically my 'first lifer' or first new birds since the year I started keeping track, which is nice as I think they are a fitting species for a 'first lifer'.
Birds:
47. Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) (Lifer)
48. Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
49. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
50. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Herptiles:
1. Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum) (Lifer!)
Amphibians:
1. Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum) (Lifer!)
Insect/Invertebrate:
17. Small milkweed bug (Lygaeus kalmii)
18. Sweet click beetle (Aeolus mellillus)
19. Riparian woodlouse (Hyloniscus riparius)
20. Curly woodlouse (Cylisticus convexus) (Lifer)
I'm really quite happy about the salamander, my first wild one ever. After trying unsuccessfully last year, the timing and weather lined up just right, and I watched one slip into a creek from beneath a piece of bark along the bank that I lifted. They are commonly reported in Busey Woods, and the only salamander species in my county, but in nearby Vermilion county there are many more species, so now that I know how to find them here I think I'll try for some more.