ZooChat Big Year 2014

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I went out to one of the few places around with open water to try and add to my waterfowl for the year. Ended up picking up 6 more birds.

57 Northern Shoveler
58 Green-winged Teal
59 Lesser Scaup
60 Black-crowned Night-heron
61 Yellow-rumped Warbler
62 Northern Harrier

PS, nanoboy, I'm in Boise, Idaho :D
 
I decided to go to the local wetlands about 4 miles from where I live this morning. I had visited for about 5 minutes earlier this year, but left due to biting cold. Today, it's in the low 60s (F) and not a cloud in the sky. The birds were in fine form today, and I tallied 40 total species in 2 hours, and of those, 8 are new for the year.

73 Sora - Porzana carolina
74 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus
75 Blue-headed Vireo - Vireo solitarius
76 Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis
77 Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis
78 Lincoln's Sparrow - Melospiza lincolnii
79 Rusty Blackbird - Euphagus carolinus
80 Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum
 
I've finished birding for the day. I went to a few places in the north part of the county to try and pick up a few more birds. My hope was to try for a few lake species at Lake Grapevine (hoping for a few species of grebes). No grebes, or ducks, but lots of gulls including my first Bonaparte's Gulls of the year. I was also able to pick up Canada Goose at a nearby park.

81 Bonaparte's Gull - Chroicocephalus philadelphia
82 Canada Goose - Branta canadensis
 
Ituri said:
I went out to one of the few places around with open water to try and add to my waterfowl for the year. Ended up picking up 6 more birds.

57 Northern Shoveler
58 Green-winged Teal
59 Lesser Scaup
60 Black-crowned Night-heron
61 Yellow-rumped Warbler
62 Northern Harrier

PS, nanoboy, I'm in Boise, Idaho :D
Click to expand...

When you say "open water" you mean that all the other lakes are frozen?
 
mstickmanp said:
Today I went to the Los Angeles Zoo to volunteer so I wasn't really birding, but I did however get some new species for the year.

14. Mallard
15. Black Phoebe
16. Mourning Dove
Click to expand...

So today I decided to go to a lake near my house because there was reports of a Greater White-fronted Goose and Ross's Goose. Unfortunately I didn't find them, but I did get 19 new species and maybe 3 more after I can ID them.

17. Red-breasted Sapsucker (found on my way to the lake)
18. Canada Goose
19. Northern Shoveler
20. Canvasback
21. Ring-necked Duck
22. Ruddy Duck
23. Pied-billed Grebe
24. Double-crested Cormorant
25. Red-shouldered Hawk
26. Red-tailed Hawk
27. American Coot
28. Costa's Hummingbird
29. Acorn Woodpecker
30. Northern Flicker
31. Western Scrub-Jay
32. Phainopepla
33. Yellow-rumped Warbler
34. Spotted Towhee
35. House Finch
 
1. american crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
2. american robin (Turdus migratorius)
3. brown creeper (Certhia americana)
4. black capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
5. blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
 
As Nanoboy wants details (or 'substance' as he calls it) here we go:

Yesterday morning I got up at 3:00am and left home at 4:00, arriving in the Capertee Valley at 6:30am. Unfortunately, the sun was already up, but it was cool (around 16ºC - 61ºF) and there had been some fog around. I drove through the valley (purported to be the world's largest valley) birding until about 2:00pm (temps up to mid-high 30's - around the 90º - 100ºF mark) when I headed north to Lake Windamere, and then drove back to Sydney stopping at Lake Wallace along the way.

Over the day I got 77 birds (41 new for the year and four lifers, plus three I've seen only once before, but not for some years) and another two or three I haven't identified yet. Mammal-wise I got three species of macropod, a dasyurid and a lagomorph, all new for the year (and the dasyurid is a lifer - don't think I've even seen a captive one). I also saw three Lace Monitors, one being a Bell's Phase. I also managed to pick up a cold.

Birds
46. Collared Sparrowhawk
47. Grey Fantail
48. Eastern Rosella
49. Variegated Wren
50. Brown Thornbill
51. Pied Currawong
52. Australasian Pipit
53. Restless Flycatcher
54. Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike
55. White-browed Woodswallow
56. Noisy Friarbird
57. Plumhead Finch
58. White-plumed Honeyeater
59. Dusky Woodswallow
60. Little Raven
61. Hooded Robin
62. White-winged Triller
63. Rock Dove
64. Doublebar Finch
65. Zebra Finch
66. House Sparrow
67. http://www.zoochat.com/674/diamond-firetail-351551/
68. Bar-shouldered Dove
69. Golden-headed Cisticola
70. Satin Bowerbird
71. Crested Shrike-tit
72. Brown Treecreeper
73. European Starling
74. Yellow-billed Spoonbill
75. Little Pied Cormorant
76. Straw-necked Ibis
77. Common Bronzewing Pigeon
78. Peaceful Dove
79. Olive-backed Oriole
80. Great cormorant
81. Grey Shrike Thrush
82. Whistling Kite
83. Great crested Grebe
84. Australasian Reed Warbler
85. Baillon's Crake
86. Fairy Martin


Mammals
2. European Rabbit
3. Rednecked Wallaby
4. Eastern Grey Kangaroo
5. Yellow-footed Antechinus (seen foraging during the day)

Reptiles
3. http://www.zoochat.com/674/lace-monitor-351556/ (although they're the same species, the Bell's morph is a lifer).

All in all a pretty good days work. Apart from the cold, as now I'm stuck inside for the next few days.

:p

Hix

http://www.zoochat.com/674/yellow-footed-antechinus-351548/
http://www.zoochat.com/674/crested-shrike-tit-351557/
http://www.zoochat.com/674/lace-monitor-bells-phase-351554/
 
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Mammals:

4. Eastern wooly lemur (Avahi laniger)
5. Eastern gray bamboo lemur

Birds:
21. Madagascar drongo
22. Madagascar blue pigeon
23. Hook-billed vanga
24. Madagascar buzzard
25. Nelicouri weaver

Herpetofauna:
9. Leioheterodon madagascariensis
10. Madagascarophis colubrinus
11. Ptychadena mascariensis
12. Geckolepsis typica

Only the Avahi and the vanga are lifers. But I guess the Avahi will be enough to get a jealous TLD :p. Maybe somebody can check in HMW which species of Avahi occurs in Betampona, my guide lists them as A. laniger, but there has been some splitting in the past years....

I will also try to upload a new story in the madagascar section ;)
 
Great birds Hix. I'm very jealous of the plum head and diamond firetail. Both would be lifers for me along with the ballion's crake. What were the views of the crake like? I really want to go up there and have a look around.
.
I'm planning a trip up to Hexham swamp next monday the 20th. I really want to see the yellow wagtails and I wold love another look at a painted snipe.
 
boof said:
Great birds Hix. I'm very jealous of the plum head and diamond firetail. Both would be lifers for me along with the ballion's crake. What were the views of the crake like? I really want to go up there and have a look around.
.
I'm planning a trip up to Hexham swamp next monday the 20th. I really want to see the yellow wagtails and I wold love another look at a painted snipe.
Click to expand...

The Plumheads were lifers for me, so I was really happy to get them - at two sites. The Diamond Firetails I had seen once before at Monarto, near the Mallefowl cage. Was happy to see them again (also at two sights) and despite being shy I managed a couple of nice shots of them. And then I saw the Shrike-tit (another lifer).

The Baillon's Crake, on the other hand, were very brief glimpses through the reeds. I thought it was a king Quail at first before I woke up to what it was.

As for Hexham Swamp, I'm hoping to go up there at some point in the near future, but I don't know when. Just hope the wagtails stick around till then. Will probably do Ash Island at the same time.


Have you noticed on Eremaea there is a guy who reckons he's seen 536 species this year, all of them in Queensland?

:p

Hix
 
On an unseasonably warm winter day (60 F!) I went exploring a few sites along the Snake River. High winds and a little rain kept a lot of the birds out of site, but I did pick up a few more.

63 Common Raven
64 Canyon Wren
65 Marsh Wren
66 Red-winged Blackbird
67 Double-crested Cormorant

And yes nanoboy, by open water I meant unfrozen, but there is bound to be a bit more of that around after the last couple of days of warmth.
 
Hix said:
The Plumheads were lifers for me, so I was really happy to get them - at two sites. The Diamond Firetails I had seen once before at Monarto, near the Mallefowl cage. Was happy to see them again (also at two sights) and despite being shy I managed a couple of nice shots of them. And then I saw the Shrike-tit (another lifer).

The Baillon's Crake, on the other hand, were very brief glimpses through the reeds. I thought it was a king Quail at first before I woke up to what it was.

As for Hexham Swamp, I'm hoping to go up there at some point in the near future, but I don't know when. Just hope the wagtails stick around till then. Will probably do Ash Island at the same time.


Have you noticed on Eremaea there is a guy who reckons he's seen 536 species this year, all of them in Queensland?

:p

Hix
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WOW. He's been very busy. Where on eremaea is his list? I only look at the recent sightings and I have a look at whats being seen at Darwin. I'm trying to figue out a few spots to visit in March. If you are off on monday let me know. I'm going up for the day and would be happy to take you. It would be good to go up with someone else.
 
He's in Queensland, look in the recent Queensland lists. And his lists (he has two) are both for Sunday only. I think he's just gone through and ticked every bird in Queensland.

Unfortunately, I'm all working next weekend, this is my one weekend in three where I don't have to work (and now I'm sick, so Sunday and Monday are a right off). My next weekend in three weeks I have business to attend to outside of Sydney, so may incorporate some bird-watching into that.

:p

Hix
 
  1. Mute Swan
  2. Greylag Goose
  3. Canada goose
  4. Gadwall
  5. Teal
  6. Mallard
  7. Pochard
  8. Tufted Duck
  9. Scaup
  10. Common Scoter
  11. Red-breasted merganser
  12. Goosander
  13. Pheasant
  14. Red-throated diver
  15. Fulmar
  16. Comorant
  17. Grey Heron
  18. Great-crested Grebe
  19. Buzzard
  20. Kestrel
  21. Peregrine
  22. Moorhen
  23. Coot
  24. Oystercatcher
  25. Lapwing
  26. Dunlin
  27. Redshank
  28. Turnstone
  29. Black-headed Gull
  30. Common Gull
  31. Lesser Black-backed Gull
  32. Herring Gull
  33. Guillemot
  34. Feral Pigeon
  35. Wood Pigeon
  36. Collared Dove
  37. Tawny Owl
  38. Magpie
  39. Jay
  40. Jackdaw
  41. Rook
  42. Carrion Crow
  43. Raven
  44. Goldcrest
  45. Blue Tit
  46. Great Tit
  47. Coal Tit
  48. Long-tailed Tit
  49. Nuthatch
  50. Treecreeper
  51. Wren
  52. Starling
  53. Blackbird
  54. Redwing
  55. Mistle Thrush
  56. Robin
  57. Dunnock
  58. House Sparrow
  59. Pied Wagtail
  60. Chaffinch
  61. Green finch
  62. Gold finch
  63. Linnet
  64. Two-barred crossbill
  65. Common crossbill
  66. Bullfinch
  67. Hawfinch
 
79. Long Billed Corella
80. Straw-necked Ibis
81. Channel - Billed Cuckoo
82. Eastern Koel
 
You guys are getting some top birds there. I'm on 40 or so at the moment and will post my list when I get to a desktop.
 
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