Zoochat Big Year 2023

And the mammal list for 2023 so far, which is already on 174 species!

Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Northern Brown Bandicoot Isoodon macrourus
Common Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpecula
Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus
Red-necked Wallaby Macropus rufogriseus
Swamp Wallaby Wallabia bicolor
Red-legged Pademelon Thylogale stigmatica

Black Flying Fox Pteropus alecto
Grey-headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus
Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus
Straw-coloured Fruit Bat Eidolon helvum
Ethiopian Epauletted Fruit Bat Epomophorus labiatus
Hammer-headed Fruit Bat Hypsignathus monstrosus
Angolan Fruit Bat Lissonycteris angolensis
Egyptian Fruit Bat Rousettus aegyptiacus
Lesser Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus hipposideros
Geoffroy's Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus clivosus
Ruwenzori Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus ruwenzorii
Sundevall's Leaf-nosed Bat Hipposideros caffer
Noack's Leaf-nosed Bat Hipposideros ruber
Yellow-winged Bat Lavia frons
Egyptian Tomb Bat Taphozous perforatus
Mauritian Tomb Bat Taphozous mauritianus
Brazilian Free-tailed Bat Tadarida brasiliensis
Little Free-tailed Bat Chaerephon pumilus
Angolan Free-tailed Bat Mops condylurus
Dwarf Free-tailed Bat Mops nanulus
Greater Sac-winged Bat Saccopteryx bilineata

Northern Short-tailed Shrew Blarina brevicauda

Senegal Bushbaby Galago senegalensis
Dusky (Spectacled Lesser) Bushbaby Galago matschiei
Demidoff's Bushbaby Galagoides demidoff / demidovii
Thomas' Dwarf Bushbaby Galagoides thomasi
Potto Perodicticus ibeanus
Grey Slender Loris Loris lydekkerianus
Geoffroy's Spider Monkey Ateles geoffroyi
Panama White-faced Capuchin Cebus imitator
Mantled Howler Monkey Alouatta palliata
Black and White Colobus Colobus guereza
Ursine Colobus Colobus vellerosus
Ugandan Red Colobus Piliocolobus tephrosceles
Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus
Green Monkey Chlorocebus sabaeus
Tantalus Monkey Chlorocebus tantalus
Blue Monkey Cercopithecus mitis
Golden Monkey Cercopithecus kandti
Silver Monkey Cercopithecus doggetti
De Brazza's Monkey Cercopithecus neglectus
Mona Monkey Cercopithecus mona
Dent's Monkey Cercopithecus denti
Lowe's Monkey Cercopithecus lowei
Red-tailed Monkey Cercopithecus ascanius
L'Hoest's Monkey Cercopithecus lhoesti
Patas Monkey Erythrocebus patas
Grey-cheeked Mangabey Lophocebus albigena
Ugandan Mangabey Lophocebus ugandae
Guinea Baboon Papio papio
Olive Baboon Papio anubis
Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata
Common Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes
Eastern Gorilla Gorilla beringei

European (Brown) Hare Lepus europaeus
Granada Hare Lepus granatensis
Cape Hare Lepus capensis
Savannah Hare Lepus victoriae
Indian Hare Lepus nigricollis
Black-tailed Jackrabbit Lepus californicus
Bunyoro Rabbit Poelagus marjorita
European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
Desert Cottontail Sylvilagus audubonii
Marsh Rabbit Sylvilagus palustris
Brush Rabbit Sylvilagus bachmani

European Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris
Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinesis
Western Grey Squirrel Sciurus griseus
Arizona Grey Squirrel Sciurus arizonensis
Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger
American Red Squirrel Tamasciurus hudsonicus
Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus
Sonoma Chimunk Neotamias sonomae
Three-striped Palm Squirrel Funambulus palmarum
Striped Ground Squirrel Xerus erythropus
Unstriped Ground Squirrel Xerus rutilus
Barbary Ground Squirrel Atlantoxerus getulus
Forest Giant Squirrel Protoxerus stangeri
Ochre Bush Squirrel Paraxerus ochraceus
Boehm's Bush Squirrel Paraxerus boehmi
Alexander's Bush Squirrel Paraxerus alexandri
Fire-footed Rope Squirrel Funisciurus pyrropus
Carruther's Mountain Squirrel Funisciurus carruthersi
Small Sun Squirrel Heliosciurus punctatus
Red-legged Sun Squirrel Heliosciurus rufobrachium
Rock Squirrel Otospermophilus variegatus
Californian Ground Squirrel Otospermophilus beecheyi
Groundhog / Woodchuck Marmota monax

Pel's Anomalure Anomalurus pelii

Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus
House Mouse Mus musculus / domesticus
Bank Vole Myodes glareolus
Southern Red-backed Vole Myodes gapperi
Kemp's Gerbil Gerbilliscus kempi
African Grass Rat Arvicanthis niloticus
Beaded Wood Mouse Hylomyscus aeta
Fawn-footed Melomys Melomys cervinipes
Watson's Climbing Rat Tylomys watsoni
Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
Coypu / Nutria Myocastor coypus
European Beaver Castor fiber
North American Porcupine Erethizon dorsatum
African Crested Porcupine Hystrix cristata
Central American Agouti Dasyprocta punctata

African Elephant Loxodonta africana

Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis
Western Tree Hyrax Dendrohyrax dorsalis
Benin Tree Hyrax Dendrohyrax interfluvialis

Plains Zebra Equus quagga

Baird's Tapir Tapirus bairdii

Common Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius

Collared Peccary Dicotyles tajacu

Giant Forest Hog Hylochoerus meinertzhageni
Common Warthog Phacochoerus africanus

Northern Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis

African Buffalo Syncerus caffer

Common Eland Taurotragus oryx
Kongoni (Hartebeest) Alcelaphus buselaphus
Topi Damaliscus lunatus
Roan Antelope Hippotragus equinus
Northern Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus
Kob Kobus kob
Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus
Impala Aepyceros melampus
Oribi Ourebia ourebi
Bohoe Reedbuck Redunca redunca
Mountain Reedbuck Redunca fulvorufula
Bush Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia
Black-fronted Duiker Cephalophus nigrifrons

European Red Deer Cervus elaphus
European Fallow Deer Dama dama
White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus
Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionianus
European Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus
Reeves' Muntjac Muntiacus reevesi

Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae
Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena

Lion Panthera leo
Leopard Panthera pardus
Bobcat Lynx rufus
Dingo Canis dingo / familiaris
Coyote Canis latrans
Black-backed Jackal Canis mesomelas
Side-striped Jackal Canis adusta
Red Fox Vulpes vulpes
Least Weasel Mustela nivalis
American Mink Neogale vison
American Badger Taxidea taxus
North American River Otter Lontra canadensis
Sea Otter Enhydra lutris
Rusty-spotted Genet Genetta maculata
Egyptian Mongoose Herpestes ichneumon
Indian Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii
White-tailed Mongoose Ichneumia albicauda
Slender Mongoose Galerella sanguinea
Pousargue's Mongoose Dologale dybowskii
Dwarf Mongoose Helogale parvula
Spotted Hyaena Crocuta crocuta
Northern Raccoon Procyon lotor
White-nosed Coati Nasua narica
Northern Olingo Bassaricyon gabbii

Common / Harbour Seal Phoca vitulina
Grey Seal Halichoerus gryphus
New Zealand Fur Seal Arctocephalus forsteri
California Sealion Zalophus californianus
 
Chlidonias said:
While updating the totals lists I found three mis-numbered / out-of-place birds.

In post #295 you added numbers "442 and 443" but you were on 447 prior to that post and after the post started at 448.






Then in post #303 and #314 you ended and started on the same number (497).




So I think that makes 549 birds total rather than the 546 of your latest post.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That saves me a lot of work and leaves me only one short on my main list, which has me at 550.

However I did a thorough review of my postings and found out I had four duplicates. But I also discovered I had missed five birds which evens everything out. So here they are:

546. Nyanza swift Apus niansae
547. White-crested touraco Tauraco leucolophus
348. Grey-headed batis Batis orientalis
549. African paradise flycatcher Terpiphone viridis
550. Yellow-vented bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier

I hope that is clear and I hope I'm right. I think I attempted to do too much on the trip itself which led to errors.

However Graeme reviewed my list today and came back reminding me we also saw an Eurasian hoopoe, so here it is:

551. Eurasian hoopoe Upupa epops

I'll be posting a systematic list of animals seen in the next day or two, so hopefully that will help.
 
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On the nights of Friday and Saturday, I participated in ‘turtle-walks’ on the Chennai coast. Today, with the amount of disturbance from humans and domestic animals, along with pollution both light and chemical, the chance of sea turtle nests surviving on these beaches is virtually nil. As a result, volunteers, especially students and locals, started patrolling the beaches to find and relocate eggs to protected hatcheries, built to ensure survival. On the weekends, walks are held for the public to join in.
Even without finding any nests, these walks are extremely interesting: our Friday walk didn’t produce a single nest, but we found vary many crabs ducking through the surf, dead balloonfishes, and tragically two dead turtles. We also saw a number of birds, especially on the second night, where we saw a possible night-heron, and the silhouette of a bird I have always wanted to see, the Indian Thick-knee. It flew past screaming after I had spent several hours straining my years for their calls.
On the second night we struck gold, or rather, olive, as right as we were starting out someone spotted a turtle that had come up to nest within meters of our group. We saw every stage of the nesting (from a distance): the excavation, the laying, the filling and compression, and the return to the sea. There were a 109 eggs; this was probably not the female’s first brood of the year.
At the end of both walks, we released hatchlings that had emerged in the hatchery back into the sea: to prevent them getting misled by artificial lighting, we released them well before sunrise leading them using torchlight.

Reptiles
4. Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea

Birds
104. Indian Thick-knee Burhinus indicus
 
ThylacineAlive said:
One from the drive to work this morning:

137) Common Merganser Mergus merganser

~Thylo
Click to expand...

Another single update for the year:
138) Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo

As some of the early spring migrants begin to arrive, the winter visitors I have left to see become fewer and farther between. Red-Winged Blackbirds and Common Grackle have returned, and the first CT Blue-Winged Teal and Boat-Tailed Grackle of the year have been reported. I am looking forward to the start of migration, though my free time to go birding on the weekends might be dwindling some, but we shall see.

~Thylo
 
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Another specific target in North Wales, and some more of the missing species located
90 Baikal Teal Anas formosa
91 Greenshank Tringa nebularia
92 Goldeneye Bucephalus clangula
93 Peregrine Falco peregrinus
94 Siskin Carduelis spinus
 
Kakapo said:
Today going to work I saw two red kites over the zone where a flock of cattle egrets usually land and is almost always present. Some egrets flied scared, but I think that the kites were just interested in the same thing that attract the egrets, rather than in kill an egret. As I came out from workplace I decided to spend some minutes investigating why there are usually a flock of cattle egrets landing in the same area of a wasteland. I didn't saw nothing special, just a bare terrain near one of the industries of the zone. I was hoping to see a wetland or a place where meat or fish subproducts are poured. Nothing of this. Tough one of the egrets carried something unidentifiable in the bill, a long and thin red thing with a ball in the tip. If it was the bone of an animal leg, or maybe a rope with a knot, I was unable to tell. Other egrets wanted this thing too, but only moved if the egret carrying it drop it for a moment, otherwise they would respect the "private property". A white stork approached the scene from far, but didn't landed here, maybe because he saw me. Also flocks of spotless starlings were with the egrets. I lifted a stone here and saw an ant nest of harvester ants, new species for the year. Fortunately there was some soldiers, that allowed me identify to species level - workers looks like the same in all species of this genus.

Coming back to home I decided to lose some minutes more and investigate around the river under the bridge that I usually pass over. Maybe because the windy and cold day there was almost no birds here - only one black-headed gull flied over the zone, where other times there are lots of them. No little egrets, and only one cormorant flied quickly following the course of the river. However, I was blessed with a quite numerous flock of tree sparrows. But I lifted barks of some old plane trees planted in the zone and I was rewarded by two species of ladybugs (one of them, the two-spotted ladybug, was not new for the year but the two individuals I saw were red, while the other I seen previously in the year in the very same trees, was black), plane lace bugs, spiders (mostly unidentifiable), two individuals of a shield bug species, and little more. (Also, an unidentifiable weevil and a beetle of unknown family).

BIRDS:
33. Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus)

INVERTEBRATES:
30. Messor barbarus
31. Oenopia conglobata
32. Rhaphigaster nebulosa
33. Horvathiolus syriacus
34. Lathys humilis
Click to expand...

Today I had a SUPER day of urban (and not so urban) wildlife watching. My boyfriend purposed to go for a walk along the Ebro river and I of course accepted enchanted. The river birds were very abundant as we go slightly far from the city, and I saw several species including some new for the year. First thing I saw (besides the common urban birds such as pigeons and magpies) is a flock of white storks soaring over the city before reach the river. I found several robins, serins singing, the loud song of Cetti's warblers, in the water and the margins there were abundant cormorants, little egrets, mallards, gulls, I saw no less than three Turdus species: two male blackbirds, a mistle thrush and even a rare (here) song thrush! first flock of chaffinches of the year, a female black redstart, white wagtails, two greenfinches!!! a long-tailed tit!!!! great tits, in the opposite margin I saw a magnific GREAT egret! I only missed a kingfisher but with so many species I certainly could not complain! We went just to the point where I saw the first kingfisher of my life and then came back to the city. I also lifted some barks of dead poplar trunks and alive plane trees revealing several hibernating insect species, some of them new for the year and one of them not common here! Under a bark there is also a dead American red crayfish and not a small one, but I can't count as it was dead, but very surprising to find it under a tree bark (various meters above the usual river level). Also first marmalade hoverfly of the year, a carpenter bee, and some cabbage white butterflies but the latter didn't landed so I was unable to identified them to species leve (either napi or rapae).

We came back to home and a bluebottle fly seep into my house. Common as dirt but new species for the year.

Later, we met with some friends of my boyfriend in afternoon-night activities that are done for today (public holiday in Spain) in a big park. This leaded me to see more species of birds and even mammals!!! Flocks of jackdaws seeking for a roost place, first night heron of the year approaching to the roosting places shared by little egrets, cormorants and jackdaws in some islets with threes in the middle of the river we passed by where going to the park. A swan was floating in the water with the neck hidden - maybe already sleeping. Two blackcaps were discussing with their territorial sound over the privet trees they tend to favour. With the last wood pigeons and collared doves seeking for a roost place over the park, first bats of the year emerged already from hibernation with the arise of the good temperatures!! But the best of all went for the last moment: from a distance, we saw a MOUSE in the middle of a quiet road!!! I saw very few mouses in my life! The mouse finally hide under a car as we approached.


MAMMALS:
3. Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus)
4. House mouse (Mus musculus)

BIRDS:
35. Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
36. Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
37. Song thrush (Turdus philomelos)
38. Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
39. Common greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
40. Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)


INVERTEBRATES:
35. Cheiracanthium mildei.
36. Porcellio laevis
37. Arocatus melanocephalus
38. Holcocranum saturejae
39. Prostemma guttula (not seen one since 2011!)
40. Episyrphus balteatus
41. Calliphora vicina
42. Akis genei
43. Xanthogaleruca luteola
 
Coelacanth18 said:
End of February update. Just a couple incidental sightings to add:

133. Bell's Sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli)
134. Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus)

Frustratingly I've heard Cedar Waxwings a couple more times since my New Year's outing, but still have yet to lay eyes on them. Also seen a couple of lizards already this year, but they ducked into brush too fast for me to get an ID.
Click to expand...

Finally made it out to the coast for some light birding this weekend, nabbing me some late commoners like Western Gull and Brown Pelican. As usual, got a few surprises as well - including very brief and very lucky glances at a Belted Kingfisher flying over a pond and an angry House Wren darting through a tree. Meanwhile, yet another attempt at finding Cedar Waxwings ended in failure.

Seabirds and Shorebirds
135. Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
136. Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
137. Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni)
138. Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
139. Willet (Tringa semipalmata)
140. Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
Other Birds
141. Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
142. Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
143. House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
144. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
145. Cassin’s Kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans)
 
It has not yet been assessed by the Rarities Committee, but I am unaware of voices being raised against it; it is on an Estuary and associating with Teal and Pintail, not showing any rings or being any tamer than the undoubted wild birds surrounding it.
 
Today while I was walking to school a hawk like bird flew out of nowhere and landed in a tree near me. After a closer look I was able to tell it was a Northern goshawk

Birds

22. Northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis 9/3/23
 
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I keep forgetting to add this:

MAMMALS:
4) House Mouse Mus musculus

I very rarely see mice, curiously enough. This one was seen earlier in the week from the bus while I was on my way home from work (!).
 
Some additions from a long weekend in Norfolk with family. To say it wasn't a full-on birding trip (only really two half-days out of four were specifically birding, plus a long walk and a few odd coastal stops) the wildlife performed really well. A road diversion took us down a lane where we were graced with the company of an owl flying alongside for about half a mile. The Cley Long-billed Dowitcher evaded us, but there was plenty to see nonetheless, and the coastal protection reefs near Sea Palling provided a couple of lovely sea ducks. A quick stop at West Runton produced some lovely Snow Buntings hanging out with the linnets and the best came last with our final stop at Holkham finally producing some Shorelarks after a history of failures on this front! Also, muntjacs everywhere. Probably more than doubled my life wild muntjac total - but I missed out on a Chinese Water Deer seen only by one of us.

Mammals:
13. Brown Hare - Lepus europaeus
14. Reeves' Muntjac - Muntiacus reevesi

Birds:
129. Western Barn Owl - Tyto alba
130. Western Marsh Harrier - Circus aeruginosus
131. Pied Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta
132. Pink-footed Goose - Anser brachyrhynchus
133. Grey Plover - Pluvialis squatarola
134. Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis
135. Common Linnet - Linaria cannabina
136. Long-tailed Duck - Clangula hyemalis
137. Common Eider - Somateria mollissima
138. Yellowhammer - Emberiza citrinella
139. Snow Bunting - Plectrophenax nivalis
140. Shorelark - Eremophila alpestris

Invertebrates:
1. Harlequin Ladybird - Harmonia axyridis
2. Buff-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus terrestris

:)
 
Maguari said:
140. Shorelark - Eremophila alpestris


:)
Click to expand...
Saw my first shorelark ever on the South Coast a few weeks back. I lived in Norfolk for a while but never managed to see them there. This is the last 'regular'(visiting) BB. species I had not seen I think. Cracking little bird.

Barn Owl- its years since I saw one, need to go out looking I think.
 
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