ZooChat Big Year 2013

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ThylacineAlive said:
And, of course, there's the whole http://www.zoochat.com/1679/hix-does-uganda-330394/ thing coming up:p

~Thylo:cool:
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Yeah, I'm gonna see things I've never even heard of. Like Lemon-bellied Crombec, Olive-green Camaroptera, Masked Apalis, Southern Hyliota, Tit Hylia, Mountain Illadopsis, Ruwenzori Batis, Fire-crested Alethe, the Nicator, the Akalat, the Sprosser, the Leaflove, and the Piapiac.*

:p

Hix


*Obviously I've heard of them now, but until recently I hadn't.
 
nanoboy said:
Oh thanks for asking. I always hoped that posters would write more about memorable sightings. The story behind the sighting, to me, is so much more exciting than a list.

On Saturday 27th July 2013, my wife and I made a pilgrimage to the Western Treatment Plant (WTP). We chose this day because there was a good run of dry days in the run-up to Saturday, and because Saturday itself promised to be sunny and dry.

After making a preemptive toilet stop at the service station just before the Avalon Airport exit (there are no toilets at the WTP), we finally arrived at Gate 3 at approximately 12:30pm. I spent 10 minutes trying to get the gate open with my key, but was unsuccessful. Defeated by a lock!

We had our route planned beforehand, so I was quite disappointed. I was also getting a bit worried, because I thought the locks were changed, and a frightening thought ran through my head: what if I got in, but couldn't get back out? :eek:

Anyway, we decided to try at Gate 2 before heading home. So we pulled up to Gate 2, at which point I realised I forgot to call WTP and leave a voicemail about my visit (re: health and safety). I called them and was in the middle of leaving a voicemail when I saw a pair of very large grey birds flying up ahead. I ended the call and told my wife to take pics and she managed to get a few good ones.

So it was a pair of brolgas, about 100 metres away, flying in perfect synchronicity (will post pics later) from east to west. I initially thought they were herons until I saw the red on their faces. :D We were extremely pleased with seeing them because: it was the first time we saw them in the wild, they were the first species of the day, and checking the bird lists for WTP they aren't seen very regularly there.

You really should get your permit and keys soon. We saw a couple cars doing the rounds (Nissan Micra, Toyota Corolla) so clearly it's not too difficult to drive there in dry weather. We set our selves the goal of seeing blue-winged parrots, orange-bellied parrots, and the northern shoveler. We didn't see any, but there's always next time!
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Brolgas as promised.
 

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@Hix, counting feral cats doesn't seem that fare, but well we are also counting feral rock pigeons....

just returned from the pyrenees, great hiking, but not that much new species only 3 new birds, but seeing a bearded vulture/lammergeier at 50 meter distance flying at the same height as we were standing was very very cool. For such kind of species one should get double points :p
 
and my list of new species from 4 weeks southern Europe:

Birds

148. European pygmy cormorant
149. Little bittern
150. Night heron
151. Black stork
152. Griffion vulture
153. Bearded vulture
154. Egyptian vulture
155. Golden eagle
156. Booted eagle
157. White tailed sea eagle
158. Black kite
159. Chukar
160. Black winged stilt
161. Yellow legged gull
162. Scops owl
163. European night jar
164. Alpine swift
165. Pallid swift
166. Common hoopoo
167. European bee-eater
168. European roller
169. Syrian spotted woodpecker
170. Crested lark
171. Rock martin
172. Red rumped swallow
173. Water pipit
174. Grey wagtail
175. European dipper
176. Alpine accentor
177. Ring ouzel
178. Great reed warbler
179. Wall creeper
180. Masked shrike
181. Woodchat shrike
182. Nut cracker
183. Yellow billed chough
184. Oriole
185. Montane sparrow
186. Spanish sparrow
187. European canary
188. Crossbill
189. Cirl bunting
190. Black headed bunting
191. Rock bunting
192. Corn bunting
193. Citril finch
194. Iberian green woodpecker
195. Black starling


Mammals

21. Greater horseshoebat
22. Little horseshoebat
23. Mediterranean horseshoebat
24. Cappacini's bat
25. Geoffreys bat
26. Greater mouse eared bat
27. Common noctule
28. Savi's pipistrelle
29. European freetailed bat
30. Edible dormouse
31. European souslik
32. Yellow necked mouse
33. Chamois
34. Pyrenean chamois
35. Alpine marmot
(+ 36. feral cat and 37. feral dog, if you want)

Reptiles & Amphibians

16. Aesculapean snake
17. Dice snake
18. Hermanns tortoise
19. Spur tighed tortoise
20. Caspian turtle
21. Balkan green lizard
22. Eastern green lizard
23. Erhards wall lizard
24. Kotschy's gecko
25. green toad
26. Spanish wall lizard
27. Occelated lizard
 
boof said:
wow. three i need for the year. and the turkey would be a lifer.
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I know I've only been in Australia five minutes, but I've already seen two of those. You need to get up to Brisbane - the place was crawling with Brush-turkeys! :cool:
 
zooboy28 said:
I know I've only been in Australia five minutes, but I've already seen two of those. You need to get up to Brisbane - the place was crawling with Brush-turkeys! :cool:
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i might head up to the north shore soon.
 
Irrawong Reserve.

One of the turkeys was the first thing I saw, within 10 metres of walking in. Ignored me while it raked through the leaf litter. A couple of bold Eastern Whipbirds were also foraging on the ground.

Was looking for the pitta but didn't find it. The Powerful Owl was just luck, and the drongo was calling on my way back which was how I located it. Lucky again.

http://www.zoochat.com/674/powerful-owl-332262/

:p

Hix
 
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I've read about the pitta. It's a long drive up there though. worth it if I get those three plus the pitta but.
 
I can almost guarantee the Brush Turkey. You'll have to bring a big bag of luck to get the others.

:p

Hix
 
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