Zoochat Big Year 2023

Coelacanth18 said:
Interesting; when I was in northern Tanzania I saw multiple leopards while on safari. They were always sleeping in a lone tree on the savanna. 30 Jeeps would all crowd on the road to watch one cat; I'm not sure how any leopards in the parks manage to rest.
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Leopards aren't easy in most parts of Africa with the Serengeti being the best place to see them. There are so few trees and so many tourists that just looking for a large congregation of cars will usually yield one... It took me years to finally see one, while supposedly visiting parks where it should be possible such as Ruaha, Etosha and Nakuru. My only sighting outside Serengeti is in Samburu in N Kenya...
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Interesting; when I was in northern Tanzania I saw multiple leopards while on safari. They were always sleeping in a lone tree on the savanna. 30 Jeeps would all crowd on the road to watch one cat; I'm not sure how any leopards in the parks manage to rest.
Click to expand...
lintworm said:
Leopards aren't easy in most parts of Africa with the Serengeti being the best place to see them. There are so few trees and so many tourists that just looking for a large congregation of cars will usually yield one... It took me years to finally see one, while supposedly visiting parks where it should be possible such as Ruaha, Etosha and Nakuru. My only sighting outside Serengeti is in Samburu in N Kenya...
Click to expand...

This is why the Mara National Res txe is supposed to be better for Leopards than the conservancies. There's a lot more open space and the reserve has a similar car harassment problem (the latter being the reason why the conservancies in general are proving better for the wildlife—fewer cars, less cars per sighting).

With the wildebeest migration still underway, fewer cars were out in other portions of the reserve to have possibly found Leopards.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Day 17 saw us visiting the Masai Mara National Reserve for the day. By far my favorite place from a wildlife perspective so far, though Naboisho is a very close second (and Naboisho has better managed wildlife-tourist interactions, it's a bit of a free for all at the National Reserve). Some good new birds to add including the return of one previously removed species, as well as a surprise mammal I honestly did not expect to see wild. To my surprise, absolutely no whydahs or widowbirds out on the plains, and still very few raptors to be found.

The biggest pain of the day (and trip) remains Leopards. Today is particularly painful as we got word of a sighting out in the open but by the time we got there it had moved into a forested area. We were able to follow a road into the forest where we came across today's turaco addition. Apparently while most of us watched the turaco, the Leopard walked through a clearing briefly in the background. Two people saw it, the rest (including myself), did not. I clearly have severely underestimated the difficulty of finding this species, as this record was the only report of one all day and there were never any reports of them from Naboisho either day we were there.

426) African Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus
427) Red-Necked Spurfowl Francolinus afer
428) Black Coucal Centropus grillii
429) Sooty Chat Myrmecocichla nigra
430) Grey Kestrel Falco ardosiaceus
431) African Woolly-Necked Stork Ciconia microscelis
432) Black-Bellied Bustard Lissotis melanogaster
433) Schalow's Turaco Turaco schalowi
434) Reichenow's Seedeater Crithagra reichenowi
435) Yellow-Spot Bush Sparrow Gymnoris pyrgita

79) Steenbok Raphicerus campestris

~Thylo
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Day 18 represented my last full day in the Mara. Tomorrow I'll briefly relocate to Brackenhurst again for a couple nights. I ended up getting permissiong to tag along with another group of volunteers heading into Naboisho for the day, so I got one last day there! Still no Leopards, but this time we came across that band of four young Cheetahs again as they successfully brought down an adult Impala. Unfortunately some hyenas came in and took the kill off the coalition before they got their fill, but at least they fed.

The day ended with an up-close view of a wild Secretarybird and, of course, ended up with some lovely birds to top off my time in the Mara:

436) Senegal Lapwing Vanellus lugubris
437) White-Browed Robin-Chat Cossypha heuglini
438) African Pygmy Kingfisher Ispidina picta
439) Rufous-Crowned Roller Coracias neavius
440) Red-Winged Starling Onychognathus morio
441) Striped Kingfisher Halcyon chelicuti

Following Naboisho, we visited a small Masai village and spent some time helping them walk the livestock home to their bomas, making traditional kienyeji tea, and learning about their traditional lifestyles.

~Thylo
 
I thought I would start off with some hints on birding Panti Forest Reserve. The nearest town is Kuta Tinggi, a fairly ordinary Malaysian town that does not offer a lot to the visitor. It has however the nearest accommodation to the Reserve as well as the nearest restaurants and food stores. Keep this in mind as the Reserve is about half an hours drive from town and any food or water you want must be brought with you. The town itself is about an hours drive from the crossing between Singapore and Malaysia.

Interestingly many of the buildings in Kuta Tinggi have a wire structure on the roof. This is to encourage swiftlets to nest and the nests are then farmed for the eatable nest trade.

Birders use the Bunker Trail, a reasonably wide and well maintained dirt road running through the northern part of the reserve; There are some side tracks that can be used, however the reality is most birds can be seen from the main track. Only the Malaysian rail-babbler require bird-watchers to enter the forest. The Bunker Trail is suitable for ordinary cars, at least in dry weather. Probably the biggest problem is that as a Forest Reserve, a permit is required. The has to be obtained from the Forest Department offices in Johor Barat and can take a couple of weeks.

Firstly a couple of corrections:
  • 663. Red-throated barbet was a Red-crowned barbet Psilopogon rafflesii (NT)
  • 697. Tiger shrike was a Black-winged flycatcher-shrike Hemipus hirundinaceus
Birds
708. Germain's swiftlet Aerodramus germani (seen around town)
709. Brown-backed needletail Hirundapus giganteus
710. Orange-bellied flowerpecker Dicaeum trigonostigma
711. Dark-necked tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis
712. Asian red-eyed bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus
713. Olive-winged bulbul Pycnonotus plumosus
714. Chestnut-rumped babbler Stachyris maculata
715. Scaly-crowned babbler Malacopteron cinereum
716. Moustached babbler Malacopteron magnirostre
717, Malayan black-caped babbler Pellorneum nigrocapitatum

Other interesting observations:
  • A black-thighed falconet was seen by Azmil, my guide.
  • Great argus pheasants were heard calling.
  • A draco (flying lizard) was observed flying onto the trunk of a tree, but could not be identified to species level.
  • Saw some quite large pitcher plants.
And so ends my Malaysian weekend.

Two-year new species targets
Mammals 91/100
Birds 718/1000
Bonus ectotherms 196
 
Najade said:
12.-14.07. - Brittany Ferries - Plymouth (UK) to Santander (Spain) and back, through Bay of Biscay

Mammals
113. [Short-beaked] Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
114. Sowerby's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens)
115. Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris)
116. Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
117. Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Birds (non-passerines)
293. Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus)
294. Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis)
Click to expand...
15./16./17.07. - Mount Grace Priory, Bempton Cliffs, Winterbourne Downs, UK

also a mustelid and two shrews

Mammals
118. European Hare (Lepus europaeus)
119. Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
120. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Birds (non-passerines)
295. Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Day 18 represented my last full day in the Mara. Tomorrow I'll briefly relocate to Brackenhurst again for a couple nights. I ended up getting permissiong to tag along with another group of volunteers heading into Naboisho for the day, so I got one last day there! Still no Leopards, but this time we came across that band of four young Cheetahs again as they successfully brought down an adult Impala. Unfortunately some hyenas came in and took the kill off the coalition before they got their fill, but at least they fed.

The day ended with an up-close view of a wild Secretarybird and, of course, ended up with some lovely birds to top off my time in the Mara:

436) Senegal Lapwing Vanellus lugubris
437) White-Browed Robin-Chat Cossypha heuglini
438) African Pygmy Kingfisher Ispidina picta
439) Rufous-Crowned Roller Coracias neavius
440) Red-Winged Starling Onychognathus morio
441) Striped Kingfisher Halcyon chelicuti

Following Naboisho, we visited a small Masai village and spent some time helping them walk the livestock home to their bomas, making traditional kienyeji tea, and learning about their traditional lifestyles.

~Thylo
Click to expand...

Day 19 saw us transfer from the Mara back to Brackenhurst. First day of the trip where I didn't actually see any new species to add unfortunately. I do, however, have a correction to make. It turns out the hares I was seeing in Pardamat are actually Cape Hare, Lepus capensis, not savanna hares. Savanna hares are supposed to be more common but the difference can be told in the way they run. Cape Hares will hold their tail down showing the black upper side when they run, while savanna will hold their tails up showing the white underside. I imagine I probably saw both, but the animals whose tails I paid attention to after learning this fact all held their tails down.

That's all for now, hopefully I have something more for you all tomorrow!

~Thylo
 
MRJ said:
711. Dark-necked tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis
Click to expand...
I had already listed this, however I did see three species of tailor bird. This should be:
711, Ashy tailorbird Orthotomus ruficeps
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Day 19 saw us transfer from the Mara back to Brackenhurst. First day of the trip where I didn't actually see any new species to add unfortunately. I do, however, have a correction to make. It turns out the hares I was seeing in Pardamat are actually Cape Hare, Lepus capensis, not savanna hares. Savanna hares are supposed to be more common but the difference can be told in the way they run. Cape Hares will hold their tail down showing the black upper side when they run, while savanna will hold their tails up showing the white underside. I imagine I probably saw both, but the animals whose tails I paid attention to after learning this fact all held their tails down.

That's all for now, hopefully I have something more for you all tomorrow!

~Thylo
Click to expand...

Day 20 of being in Kenya! My program is officially over as of tonight and tomorrow I begin my own adventure, starting with a 4am start towards the eastern part of the nation. I may not have great service for the first 2-3 days so this may be my last daily update for a bit.

As for today's activities, it was foggy and rainy so I took the poor birding conditions as an opportunity to get some much needed rest. I did do a little bit of batting at the end of the day in a nearby wetland. In addition to the serotine, I saw one bat which remains unidentified. Additionally, I also saw a fairly large shrew swimming along the shore of a pond! I initially assumed this was a water shrew but have learned that Kenya does not have those, nor any particularly aquatic shrew species. For now, a mystery...

442) Lesser Swamp Warbler Acrocephalus gracilirostris

80) Cape Serotine Neoromicia capensis

~Thylo
 
BerdNerd said:
6. Two-Lined Spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta)
Click to expand...


7/28/23


7. Golden Orb-Weaver (Trichonephila clavipes)
8. Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
9. Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes)
10. American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana)


Total:

Mammals: 13
Birds: 112
Reptiles: 8
Amphibians: 6
Invertebrates: 10
 
There is a Facebook page for whale and dolphin sightings in Wellington (NZ) which I keep a regular eye on. Invariably, however, the days when I fail to check it are the exact days when whales or dolphins get sighted. And so it was that a Southern Right Whale turned up in Evans Bay on Wednesday (three days ago) and stayed there until Friday, literally right off the beach, almost within spitting distance (should a person be a very efficient spitter and so inclined as to spit at seeing a Southern Right Whale). I didn't find out about this whale until yesterday (Friday), while at work. Being winter darkness has already fallen by the time work finishes, which meant whaling would have to wait until Saturday. Except upon checking the Facebook page this morning it transpired the whale hadn't been seen since Friday afternoon, and had apparently moved along.

I had my breakfast, contemplating whether to chance it or not. Then at 8.45-ish there was a post "whale at Island Bay right now". Island Bay is actually the closest coast to where I live, and soon enough I was on the beach watching a Southern Right Whale!


8) Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis


It's not the first one I have ever seen but it is the first one I've seen in New Zealand (the first - and only other one - was in Western Australia in 2011).

Southern Right Whales used to be so common in New Zealand that the residents of early Wellington, when it was just a small town, would complain about the noise whales made in the harbour at night. Then, of course, they got hunted to near-extinction. Now are just rare visitors. There was one in 2018 which spent a week in the harbour but I always managed to miss it. Probably the only Wellingtonian who missed it!

The whale wasn't anywhere near as close to shore as it had been in Evans Bay earlier this week, but it was still clearly visible with binoculars and the photos weren't too bad. It does rather look like a black rock covered in barnacles though.


full


full
 
Bisonblake said:
7/23/23
Birds:
104. Purple martin Progne subis
105. Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula

Total Species: 132
Birds: 105
Mammals: 15
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
Click to expand...
This might be the last species I see in Indiana this year. My internship ends this Friday, then I'm moving back to Michigan Saturday. I've seen 81 species of birds in Indiana (41 new species for the year), which is more than I expected. I've also had great sightings of mammals and herps. I'm looking forward to what I may see for the rest of the year.

Birds:
106. Carolina chickadee Poecile carolinensis

Total Species: 133
Birds: 106
Mammals: 15
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
 
DesertTortoise said:
Birds
May
150. Black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
151. Stilt sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)
June
152. Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
153. Eastern wood-pewee (Contopus virens)
154. Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
155. Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
156. Yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)

Mammals
June
9. North American river otter (Lontra canadensis)
10. Coyote (Canis latrans)

Invertebrates
May
33. Confused eusarca moth (Eusarca confusaria)
34. Great spangled fritillary (Argynnis cybele)
35. Brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa)
36. Little wood satyr (Megisto cymela)
37. Common whitetail (Plathemis lydia)
38. Tuft-legged orbweaver (Mangora placida)
June
39. Red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus)
40. Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
41. Dasymutilla ursus
42. Margined calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus)
43. Putnam’s jumping spider (Phidippus putnami)
44. False milkweed bug (Lygaeus turcicus)
45. Virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis)
Click to expand...
Birds
July
157. Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus)
158. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
159. Purple Martin (Progne subis)
160. Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea)
161. Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

Mammals
July
11. Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

Herps
July
17. Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera)
18. Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Fish
June
15. Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

Invertebrates
46. Golden Jumping Spider (Paraphidippus aurantius)
47. Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica
48. Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
49. Margined Leatherwing Beetle (Chauliognathus marginatus)
50. Eastern Elderberry Borer (Desmocerus palliatus)
51. Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)
52. Promachus vertebratus
53. Grapevine Beetle (Pelidnota punctata)
54. Virginia Metallic Tiger Beetle (Tetracha virginica)
55. Black-and-gold Bumble Bee (Bombus auricomus)
56. Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)
57. Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus)
58. Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita)
59. Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)
60. Virginia Giant Hover Fly (Milesia virginiensis)
61. Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina)
62. Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta)
63. Nosy Pill Woodlouse (Armadillidium nasatum)
64. Two-spotted Bumble Bee (Bombus bimaculatus)
65. Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee (Agapostemon virescens)
66. Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)
67. Maize Calligrapher (Toxomerus politus)
68. German Cockroach (Blattella germanica)
69. Black-sided Pygmy Grasshopper (Tettigidea lateralis)
70. Enoclerus rosmarus
 
amur leopard said:
A little boost from a trip to Tenerife from last week (not a birding trip in any way so pretty measly addition numbers) - pretty sure there are more additions from London as well from the last few months but I'll have to sit down and go through it all in due course. For now:

36. African collared dove, Streptopelia rosegrisea
37. Eurasian collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto
38. Yellow-legged gull, Larus micahellis
39. Plain swift, Apus unicolor
40. Spanish sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis
41. Common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
42. Common buzzard, Buteo buteo
43. Lesser black backed gull, Larus fuscus
44. Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea

And a particularly notable reptile which I've wanted to see for a while and just happened to surface and swim right under my kayak just off the Southern tip of the island...

Reptiles:

1. Green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas
2. West Canaries lizard, Gallotia galloti
Click to expand...

A few additions as I'm currently on Jeju Island off Korea.

45. Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
46. Light vented bulbul, Pycnonotus sinensis
47. Brown headed bulbul, Hypsites amaurotis
48. Rufous turtle dove, Streptopelia orientalis
49. Oriental magpie, Pica serica
50. Great egret, Ardea alba
51. Eastern spot billed duck, Anas zonorhyncha
52. Warbling white eye, Zosterops japonicus
53. Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus
54. Japanese cormorant, Phalacrocorax capillatus
55. Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
56. Asian house martin, Delichon dasypus

Hopefully a few more additions as the trip progresses :)
 
Last edited:
amur leopard said:
A few additions as I'm currently on Jeju Island off Korea.

45. Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
46. Light vented bulbul, Pycnonotus sinensis
47. Brown headed bulbul, Hypsites amaurotis
48. Rufous turtle dove, Streptopelia orientalis
49. Oriental magpie, Pica serica
50. Great egret, Ardea alba
51. Eastern spot billed duck, Anas zonorhyncha
52. Warbling white eye, Zosterops japonicus
53. Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus
54. Japanese cormorant, Phalacrocorax capillatus
55. Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
56. Asian house martin, Delichon dasypus

Hopefully a few more additions as the trip progresses :)
Click to expand...

Bits and bobs of progress after a walk up Hallasan and some nice evening birding at Seogwipo on Jeju:

57. Large-billed crow, Corvus macrorhynchos
58. Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus
59. Japanese tit, Parus minor
60. Varied tit, Sittiparus varius
61. Black-tailed gull, Larus crassirostris
62. Mandarin duck, Aix galericulata

Plus a couple of intriguing issues - first is was a Japanese paradise flycatcher heard only in the Hallasan forests and second was a small Muscicapidae sp. individual in the same place which I can't seem to identify at all as it doesn't seem to match any extant Korean birds, but likely just an omission on my part.
Might upload to the forum and if so help much appreciated. Additions in the coming days unlikely, but who knows?
 
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