Zoochat Big Year 2022

Dhole dude said:
Three more species seen at the Minnesota Zoo yesterday, and one more seen while on a walk in my neighborhood.

Birds
55. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
56. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
57. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
58. House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)

Mammals: 5
Birds: 58
Reptiles: 7
Fish: 3
Invertebrates: 1
Click to expand...
Mammals
6. Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)

Birds
59. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
60. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Mammals: 6
Birds: 60
Reptiles: 7
Fish: 3
Invertebrates: 1
 
22/3/2022
163. Australian spotted crake
164. black-faced woodswallow
165. brown goshawk
166. glossy ibis
167. great crested grebe
168. intermediate egret
169. magpie goose
170. nankeen night-heron
171. pallid cuckoo
172. plumed whistling duck
173. spotted harrier
174. swamp harrier
.
The highlight of the day was while I was watching some zebra finches drinking from a dam a 4 foot mulga snake slithered out of the weeds and drank near the finches. Beautiful animal.
 
I'm back in Melbourne now. My trip was not for watching wildlife, and had both personal and business aspects. Unfortunately the personal side was sad, and the business side was disappointing. So a little wildlife watching provided a welcome relief.

One of the wonders of the Australian bush are the songbirds, notably the members of the Family Artamidae, the Australian magpie, currawongs and butcherbirds (woodswallows bombed out here). Down at Kingscliff we had a large population of pied currawongs and their early morning calls were magnificent. At Twin Waters the currawongs were still present, but joined by pied butcherbirds with their beautiful song. I have seen pied bucherbirds here, but the view was fleeting. Here I got multiple excellent and prolonged views, to the point of a young bird trying to steal orange-peel off the table I was sitting at on the deck. Otherwise the birdlife was very similar to Kingscliff, however I was surprised with the lizards and fish.

Birds
140. White-bellied sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
141. Pied butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis
142. Spangled drongo Dicrurus bracteatus

Reptiles
3. Eastern striped skink Ctenotus robustus
4. Nobbi Diporiphora nobbi

Fish
2. Blue-barred parrot-fish Scarus ghobban
3. Dusky flathead Platycephalus fuscus (new Family)
4. Diamondfish Monodactylus argenteus (new Family)
5, Sea mullet Mugil cephalus (new Order and Family)

I was able to do a little birding away from Twin Waters, when we visited Sue's friends and relatives, but again only for an hour or so, and in mid-afternoon. Still I managed to pick up three new species.

Bribie Island looks like it would be a fantastic birding venue, with over 250 species on the list. The southern section of the island is basically a suburb, but most of the island is reserved.

143. Double-barred finch Stizoptera bichenovii
144. Pacific koel Eudynamys orientalis

Currimundi Lake Conservation Reserve is a great little reserve. The northern half of the reserve has been burnt recently, it looks like it was an environmental burn which would be to maintain the conservation values. However the heathland on the southern side was wonderful and full of birds.

145. Mangrove honeyeater Gavicalis fasciogularis
146. Red-winged fairywren Malurus elegans
147. Spectacled monarch Symposiachrus trivirgatus

Invertebrates observed at various places:
22. Common albatross Appias paulina
23. Blue wanderer (tiger) Tirumala hamata
24. Blue triangle Graphium choredon
25. Lydia lichen moth Asura lydia
26. False garden mantis Pseudomantis albofimbriata (new Order and Family)
27. Australian ghost shrimp Trypaea australiensis (new Family)

Two-year new species targets
Mammals 1/100
Birds 14/1000
Bonus ectotherms 28
 
A few additions from some local walks over the last few days:

Birds:
131. Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis
132. Common Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita

Mammals:
15. Bank Vole - Myodes glareolus

Invertebrates:
2. Red-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus lapidarius
3. Buff-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus terrestris

:)
 
akasha said:
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
Click to expand...

akasha said:
I had a bit of a slack start to the year, but a quick trip to the ACT and then Kosciuszko National Park got the lists going...

Mammals:

1. House Cat (Felis catus)
2. Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)
3. Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
4. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
5. Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
6. Brumby (Equus ferus caballus)

Birds:

1. Black Swan
2. Musk Duck
3. Eurasian Coot
4. Australasian Swamphen
5. Little Pied Cormorant
6. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
7. Australian Magpie
8. Australian Shelduck
9. Australasian Shoveller
10. Pacific Black Duck
11. Grey Teal
12. Masked Lapwing
13. Silver Gull
14. White-faced Heron
15. Hardhead
16. Crested Pigeon
17. Pacific Koel
18. Dusky Moorhen
19. Latham's Snipe
20. Australasian Darter
21. Royal Spoonbill
22. Galah
23. Red-rumped Parrot
24. Superb Fairywren
25. Red Wattlebird
26. White-plumed Honeyeater
27. White-browed Scrubwren
28. Black-faced Cuckooshrike
29. Willie Wagtail
30. Grey Fantail
31. Magpie-lack
32. Golden-headed Cisticola
33. Australian Reed Warbler
34. Silvereye
35. Common Myna
36. Red-browed Finch
37. Laughing Kooaburra
38. Sacred Kingfisher
39. Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo
40. Gang-gang Cockatoo
41. White-throated Treecreeper
42. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
43. White-eared Honeyeater
44. White-naped Honeyeater
45. Brown Thornbill
46. Golden Whistler
47. Flame Robin
48. Eastern Yellow Robin
49. Welcome Swallow
50. Brown Falcon
51. Yellow-rumped Thornbill
52. Little Raven
53. Spotted Pardelote
54. Pied Currawong

Reptiles:

1. Eastern Snake-necked Turtle (Chelodina longicollis)
2. Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus)
3. Cunninghams's Skink (Egernia cunninghami)
4. Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis)

Invertebrates:

1. Leopard Slug (Limax maximus)
Click to expand...

I have been so slack, but I have added a couple of interesting species:

Mammals:

7. Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus)

Birds:

63. Australian Hobby
64. Wedge-tailed Eagle
65. Blue-billed Duck
66. Crimson Rosella
67. Brown Quail

Invertebrates:

2. European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
3. Giant Green Slant-Face (Acrida conica)
4. Garden Wolf Spider (Tasmanicosa godeffroyi)
5. Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum)
6. Wingless Grasshopper (Phaulacridium vittatum)
7. Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae)
8. Black Garden Ant (Lasius niger)
9. Redback Spider (Latrodectus hasselti)
10. Jewel Spider (Austracantha minax)
11. Housefly (Musca domestica)
12. White-banded House Jumping Spider (Hypoblemum griseum)
 
BerdNerd said:

3/13/22

Birds:

40. American White Ibis
41. Laughing Gull
42. Red-Shouldered Hawk
43. Boat-Tailed Grackle
44. Tricolored Heron
Click to expand...

I saw another couple birds in my backyard today, both from previous years.

Birds:

45. White-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

46. Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

Total:
Mammals: 2
Birds: 46
Reptiles: 1
Invertebrates: 1
 
BerdNerd said:
Invertebrates:

1. Bent-Line Carpet Moth
Click to expand...


3/24/22

I captured this little guy in my room, who flew into my house trying to seek refuge from a rainy day.


Invertebrates:

2. European Crane Fly (Tipula paludosa)


Total:
Mammals: 2
Birds: 46
Reptiles: 1
Invertebrates: 2
 
  • Like
Reactions: MRJ
I've just returned from a morning at Wilson's Promontory National Park where I joined a team trapping New Holland Mice for a new conservation breeding program which will be jointly run by Moonlit Sanctuary and Zoos Victoria. In total there were eight NHM in the traps of which we kept two for the program.

Mammals
8. New Holland mouse Pseudomys novaehollandiae
9. Bush rat Rattus fuscipes

Birds
148. Blue-winged parrot Neophema chrysostoma

Two-year new species targets
Mammals 2/100
Birds 14/1000
Bonus ectotherms 28
 
Coelacanth18 said:
As I sort of expected, bad winter weather combined with real-life obstacles prevented me from doing almost any birding the past month. I'll be en route to greener pastures yet again in the coming days, so before I do I'll add in the couple finds I've gotten - one in the rafters of a grocery store, the other flocking around a local lake where I was looking for waterfowl.

Birds
37. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
38. Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Click to expand...

Been a while since a recent update; I have indeed moved on to newer pastures (greener? Unclear...) and have added 88 birds and 9 mammals in that time. I could dump them all at once just to catch up, but what fun would that be? (Also the copy-paste function is giving me trouble, so transferring from my bird list is a bit time-consuming.) Here are my new additions through the end of my cross-country trip in February.

No new birds between the eastern seaboard and the Texas border, but a visit to Abilene Zoo brought me an American Coot, a Fox Squirrel, and more Great-tailed Grackles than one could reasonably ever want or need.

I was hoping my next-day visit to Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum would be a desert birding boon, with its location just outside Saguaro National Park. Before my arrival, hours of desert driving brought me numerous Common Ravens and a moderate surprise - a Greater Roadrunner, perched atop a large bush right next to the freeway!

The desert museum yielded some good finds, although it wasn't extremely productive since I didn't arrive until midday and was focused mainly on completing the zoo before close. Plenty of Cactus Wrens and Rock Squirrels were around, as well as a couple of Phainopeplas, Curve-billed Thrashers, Gila Woodpeckers, a Canyon Towhee and a Harris's Antelope Squirrel - all lifers except the Phainopepla. No Verdin which I found a bit surprising, and no Gambel's Quail or Black-tailed Gnatcatchers; these will have to remain target species for my next voyage to the desert.

My final additions before starting work were in California: a flock of Brewer's Blackbirds in a motel parking lot and a few Western Gulls in a Walmart parking lot near the beach.

Next update will be tomorrow.

Birds
39. Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
40. American Coot (Fulica americana)
41. Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
42. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
43. Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)
44. Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)
45. Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre)
46. Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis)
47. Canyon Towhee (Melozone fusca)
48. Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cynocephalus)
49. Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)

Mammals
3. Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
4. Rock Squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus)
5. Harris’s Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii)
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Been a while since a recent update; I have indeed moved on to newer pastures (greener? Unclear...) and have added 88 birds and 9 mammals in that time. I could dump them all at once just to catch up, but what fun would that be? (Also the copy-paste function is giving me trouble, so transferring from my bird list is a bit time-consuming.) Here are my new additions through the end of my cross-country trip in February.

No new birds between the eastern seaboard and the Texas border, but a visit to Abilene Zoo brought me an American Coot, a Fox Squirrel, and more Great-tailed Grackles than one could reasonably ever want or need.

I was hoping my next-day visit to Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum would be a desert birding boon, with its location just outside Saguaro National Park. Before my arrival, hours of desert driving brought me numerous Common Ravens and a moderate surprise - a Greater Roadrunner, perched atop a large bush right next to the freeway!

The desert museum yielded some good finds, although it wasn't extremely productive since I didn't arrive until midday and was focused mainly on completing the zoo before close. Plenty of Cactus Wrens and Rock Squirrels were around, as well as a couple of Phainopeplas, Curve-billed Thrashers, Gila Woodpeckers, a Canyon Towhee and a Harris's Antelope Squirrel - all lifers except the Phainopepla. No Verdin which I found a bit surprising, and no Gambel's Quail or Black-tailed Gnatcatchers; these will have to remain target species for my next voyage to the desert.

My final additions before starting work were in California: a flock of Brewer's Blackbirds in a motel parking lot and a few Western Gulls in a Walmart parking lot near the beach.

Next update will be tomorrow.

Birds
39. Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
40. American Coot (Fulica americana)
41. Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
42. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
43. Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)
44. Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)
45. Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre)
46. Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis)
47. Canyon Towhee (Melozone fusca)
48. Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cynocephalus)
49. Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)

Mammals
3. Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
4. Rock Squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus)
5. Harris’s Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii)
Click to expand...
Next time you're in the Tucson area stop at Sweetwater Wetlands, that should get you all your target species and then some.
 
I've been keeping track of everything this year but forgot to post it here! Here's my yearlist so far:

MAMMALS
1 - Platypus
2 - Spectacled Flying Fox

BIRDS
1 - Black Butcherbird
2 - Australian Brushturkey
3 - Willie Wagtail
4 - Rainbow Lorikeet
5 - Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo
6 - Olive Backed Sunbird
7 - Peaceful Dove
8 - Masked Lapwing
9 - Indian Mynah
10 - Double-Barred Finch
11 - Wompoo Fruit Dove
12 - Crested Pigeon
13 - White-Headed Pigeon
14 - Pied Currawong
15 - Magpie-Lark
16 - Feral Pigeon
17 - Bush Stone-Curlew
18 - Laughing Kookaburr
19 - Grey Goshawk
20 - Great Crested Grebe
21- Metallic Starling
22 - Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
23 - Torresian Imperial Pigeon
24 - White-Breasted Woodswallow
25 - Silver Gull
26 - Australian Pelican
27 - Varied Honeyeater
28 - Spangled Drongo
29 - Eastern Reef Egret
30 - Yellow Honeyeater
32 - Rainbow Bee-Eater
33 - Australian Pied Oystercatcher
34 - Black-Necked Stork
35 - Bar-Tailed Godwit
36 - Great Knot
37 - Sacred Kingfisher
38 - Pacific Black Duck
39 - Australian White Ibis
40 - Mistletoebird
41 - Comb-Crested Jacana
42 - Orange-Footed Scrubfowl
43 - Black Bittern
44 - Australasian Darter
45 - Royal Spoonbill
46 - Helmeted Friarbird
47 - Australasian Figbird
48 - Papuan Frogmouth
49 - Scarlet Honeyeater
50 - Red-Backed Fairy Wren
51 - Rufous Whistler
52 - Wandering Whistling Duck
53 - Australian Wood Duck
54 - Nankeen Night Heron
55 - Whimberel
56 - Australian Swiftlet
57 - Greater Crested Tern

HERPS
1 - Cane Toad
2 - Asian House Gecko
3 - Krefft's River Turtle
4 - White-Lipped Tree Frog

FISHES
1 - Pacific Blue-Eye
2 - Guppy
3 - Jungle Perch
4 - Spotted Tilapia
5 - Empire Gudgeon
6 - Australian Longfin Eel
7 - Mouth Almighty
8 - Crescent Grunter
9 - Banded Toadfish
10 - Barred Mudskipper
11 - Mozambique Tilapia
12 - Sevenspot Archerfish

INVERTS
1 - Ulysses Butterfly
2 - Yellow Crazy Ant
3 - Blue Triangle Butterfly
4 - Monarch Butterfly
5 - Gasteracantha fornicata
6 - Green Tree Ant
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top