ZooChat Big Year 2013

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zooboy28 said:
Some very nice species there Chlidonias, I have always wanted to see frigatebirds, boobies and nodies, they seem very interesting, and I am hoping I will get to see some in the near-ish future.

Are there no NZ pigeons in Hokitika? Or are they rare there? I'm surprised you first saw one in Auckland, I assumed they were common everywhere.

Where did you see Cape Barren Geese in Kaikoura specifically? I didn't realise they had established populations in NZ.
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I've always wanted to see boobies too, and tropicbirds. I'd seen frigatebirds in Fiji previously, so this trip I was quite pleased to see the seabirds I did even if they weren't great in number (need to get off the coast really, or have a good scope for sea-watching, to get bigger numbers). I shall be doing a Samoa report in due course.

There are no birds of any kind in Hokitika! Seriously, up until May I had only 35 species on my year list! Note also the very late inclusions of common things like goldfinches and even feral pigeon!

The Cape Barren geese are at St. Anne's Lagoon just out of Cheviot (not in Kaikoura specifically, I just included them under the title for convenience). They are the only established population in NZ, and they are the only ones where a UBR (Unusual Bird Report) is not required to be submitted if you see them, because they are always there. They've been breeding there for several decades at least.
 
Chlidonias said:
I've always wanted to see boobies too, and tropicbirds. I'd seen frigatebirds in Fiji previously, so this trip I was quite pleased to see the seabirds I did even if they weren't great in number (need to get off the coast really, or have a good scope for sea-watching, to get bigger numbers). I shall be doing a Samoa report in due course.

There are no birds of any kind in Hokitika! Seriously, up until May I had only 35 species on my year list! Note also the very late inclusions of common things like goldfinches and even feral pigeon!

The Cape Barren geese are at St. Anne's Lagoon just out of Cheviot (not in Kaikoura specifically, I just included them under the title for convenience). They are the only established population in NZ, and they are the only ones where a UBR (Unusual Bird Report) is not required to be submitted if you see them, because they are always there. They've been breeding there for several decades at least.
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I forgot Tropicbirds, very keen to see those too! There appear to be none of any of these species in captivity in Australasia (ZAA anyway), except for one Brown Booby at Sea World. I would have expected a few more rescue birds up north maybe, although they are clearly not good candidates for captivity.

Why are there so few birds in Hokitika, too wet? Its not particularly environemntally degraded is it?
 
zooboy28 said:
Why are there so few birds in Hokitika, too wet? Its not particularly environemntally degraded is it?
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no its just because it is surrounded by farmland. There are some areas of forest not too far away but I'm too busy too bike out to them (say, an hour's bike ride away). I did a rough count in my head a few months ago and there's only about 40-ish species you could fairly expect to see round Hokitika and its outskirts (and that's a number I could realistically expect to see in a good day or two in Christchurch).
 
zooboy28 said:
I forgot Tropicbirds, very keen to see those too! There appear to be none of any of these species in captivity in Australasia (ZAA anyway), except for one Brown Booby at Sea World. I would have expected a few more rescue birds up north maybe, although they are clearly not good candidates for captivity.
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don't try and see them in captivity! Boobies and noddies maybe, but frigatebirds and most especially tropicbirds have to be seen in flight; they are magnificent and beautiful!
 
49) Tree Swallow
50) Hairy Woodpecker
51) Greater Scaup
52) Common Loon
53) Bonaparte's Gull

Mammals
9) North American Porcupine
 
nanoboy said:
the 'Where to see birds in Victoria' book just arrived. It should make for interesting reading.
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just remember, with a real book you have to use your fingers and eyes. It doesn't talk to you like the ones you're used to.
 
nanoboy said:
85. Blue-billed Duck
86. Freckled Duck
87. Northern Mallard
88. Australasian Shoveler
89. Hardhead
90. Pink-eared Duck
91. Great Egret
92. Intermediate Egret
93. White-plumed Honeyeater
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94. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo [near my house, Melbourne suburb]
95. Yellow Thornbill [Yan Yean Reservoir, just north of Melbourne]
 
Chlidonias said:
just remember, with a real book you have to use your fingers and eyes. It doesn't talk to you like the ones you're used to.
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I felt like I was touching a museum artefact. It was surreal!! I couldn't Ctrl-F to find a bird, but instead, I had to use an "Index". How quaint. This must be how the common people get their information. :p
 
256) White-rumped Sandpiper
257) Wilson's Warbler
258) Acadian Flycatcher
259) Alder Flycatcher
260) Black-throated Green Warbler
261) Scarlet Tanager
262) Olive-sided Flycatcher
263) Little Blue Heron
264) Henslow's Sparrow
265) Least Tern
266) Mourning Warbler
267) Lark Bunting
268) Western Wood-Pewee
269) Willow Flycatcher
270) Cordilleran Flycatcher
271) Mountain Bluebird
272) Clark's Grebe
273) Sharp-tailed Grouse
274) Cassin's Kingbird
275) Violet-green Swallow
276) Western Tanager
 
Ituri said:
Birds:
166. Blue-winged Teal
167. Lesser Yellowlegs
168. House Wren
169. Mountain Bluebird
170. Dusky Flycatcher
171. Nashville Warbler
172. Townsend's Warbler
173. Rufous Hummingbird

Amphibians:
2. Sierran Tree-frog
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Birds:
174. Semipalmated Plover
175. Chipping Sparrow
176. Barn Swallow
177. Cassin's Finch
178. White-faced Ibis
179. Western Kingbird
180. Vaux's Swift
181. Yellow Warbler
182. Spotted Sandpiper
183. Wilson's Phalarope
184. Ruffed Grouse
185. Hammond's Flycatcher
186. Willet
187. Dunlin
188. Forster's Tern
189. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
190. Brown-headed Cowbird
191. Yellow-breasted Chat
192. Wilson's Warbler
193. Red-necked Grebe
194. Western Wood-Pewee
195. Bank Swallow
196. Lark Sparrow
197. Black-headed Grosbeak
198. Lazuli Bunting
199. Bullock's Oriole
200. Western Sandpiper
201. White-winged Scoter
202. Pectoral Sandpiper
203. Cliff Swallow
204. Western Screech-Owl
205. Eastern Phoebe
206. MacGillivray's Warbler
207. Western Tanager
208. Black-chinned Hummingbird
209. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
210. Common Nighthawk
211. Burrowing Owl
212. Eastern Kingbird
213. Brewer's Sparrow
214. Grasshopper Sparrow

Mammals:
17. Yellow-bellied Marmot
18. Red Fox
19. Red-tailed Chipmunk
20. Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Reptiles:
3. Northwestern Terrestrial Garter Snake
4. Great Basin Gopher Snake

Amphibians:
3. American Bullfrog
4. Western Toad
 
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Pleistohorse said:
54) Northern Harrier
55) Arctic Tern
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56) Wilson's Warbler
57) Greater Yellowlegs
58) Northern Pintail
59) Cliff Swallow

Mammals
10) Canada Lynx*

*track only, with photo confirmation. I'm counting it, because wild forest cats, are not easy to spot. Also consider that birds can be counted if you can confirm their song alone. In eight years in Alaska I've spotted Wolves, Brown Bears, even a Wolverine and an Ermine. But never a Lynx or Marten...so my fellow zoo chatters, does confirmed sign of a Mammal count? What about roadkill or predator killed small mammals?
 
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