ZooChat Big Year 2015

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Managed to add one new bird on this morning's trip to Colchester Zoo:

70. House sparrow Passer domesticus

And then went on a return trip to Abberton Reservoir. Just missed a pintail which a marsh harrier was trying to drown, but did manage to get two very nice lifers:

71. Green sandpiper Tringa ochropus
72. Smew Mergellus albellus

Doing very well, considering that last year it took me until the 7th of May to hit 72 bird species.
 
Another weekend with no proper birding, but a couple of additions on my way to a family function today, and tomorrow I've a zoo day - there are a couple of easy 'park and garden' species I'm still missing so fingers crossed. For today:

45. Common Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus
46. Northern Lapwing - Vanellus vanellus

:)
 
mstickmanp said:
cloudedleopard- Egyptian Geese are all over the place in Southern California as WILD animals and are actively breeding, but it wasn't until this week that I was finally able to see one at a local park by my house.

As for counting it or not, I will for my Zoochat list. Mainly because Ebird doesn't make the distinction between countable or non-countable birds by ABA rules and can get quite confusing considering all the exotics in Southern California. I wouldn't be surprised if they become countable in SoCal in the years to come, along with other established exotics.
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my impression of the ABA is that they seem very reluctant about adding "new" established species onto their list, no matter how well they are doing in the wild.
 
Chlidonias said:
my impression of the ABA is that they seem very reluctant about adding "new" established species onto their list, no matter how well they are doing in the wild.
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ABA is by far the most conservative birding organization I know of. It takes an act of a deity to change taxonomy that is well-established by other organizations.
 
mstickmanp said:
154. Wrentit
155. Lincoln's Sparrow
156. Egyptian Goose
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Got 12 new birds, including two lifers today during an Audubon trip.

157. Wood Duck
158. Greater Scaup
159. Barrow's Goldeneye
160. California Quail
161. Common Loon
162. Lewis's Woodpecker
163. Steller's Jay
164. Mountain Chickadee
165. Oak Titmouse
166. California Thrasher
167. Phainopepla
168. Golden-crowned Sparrow
 
Mammals
1. Barbary macaque
2. Red fox (subspecies barbara)

Birds

1. Greylag Goose
2. Dunnock
3. Herring gull
4. Blackbird
5. Great white egret
6. Blue heron
7. Mute swan
8. Egyptian Goose
9. Mallard
10. Eurasian wigeon
11. House sparrow
12. European jay
13. Common waterhen
14. Common coot
15. Black headed gull
16. Wood pigeon
17. Eurasian collared dove
18. White wagtail
19. Wren
20. Great tit
21. Jackdaw
22. European finch

Morocco (Fez, Merzouga desert, Ouarzazate, Marrakech)

23. Eurasian kestrel
24. Black starling
25. Cattle egret
26. Little egret
27. European stork
28. Greenfinch
29. Common chifchaff
30. Common bulbul
31. Morrocan white wagtail
32. Blackcap
33. Feral / rock pigeon
34. Long legged buzzard
35. Barabary falcon
36. Ruddy shellduck
37. Laughing dove
38. Bar-tailed lark
39. Black wheatear
40. Black crowned wheatear
41. Blue rock trush
42. Sardinian warbler
43. Brown necked raven
44. Trumpeter finch
45. Desert sparrow
46. House bunting

Back in Netherlands
47. Goshawk
48. Long tailed tit
49. Crested tit
50. Redbreast
51. Eurasian nuthatch

We also saw a group of sandgrouse, but they were impossible to identify from a fast driving bus...
 
LaughingDove said:
Surprised it took so long but out of my window today was:
48) Chaffinch
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I went down to the Vistula river today one my way to Warsaw Zoo and right in the centre of the city were at least 10

49) Goosanders

I also spotted an otter's den so will be back when I have more time to look for otters!

Then within Warsaw Zoo was

50) Greater Spotted woodpecker
Surprised I didn't see this sooner actually

:)
 
Chilly visit to Chester today did indeed fill in a couple of obvious gaps:

47. Long-tailed Tit - Aegithalos caudatus
48. Eurasian Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes

:)
 
Hevden said:
A few hours birding this weekend gave me another life tick.

71. Shelduck
72. Smew
73. Caspian Gull
74. Glaucous Gull
75. Jay
76. Long-tailed Tit
77. Treecreeper
78. Grey Wagtail
79. Meadow Pipit
80. Siskin
81. Hawfinch
Click to expand...

A very long drive to Aberdeen gave me another life tick this weekend but managed to miss yet another King Eider (4th time)

82. Eider
83. Harlequin Duck
84. Long-tailed Duck
85. Shag
86. Red-necked Grebe
87. Grey Plover
88. Knot
89. Bar-tailed Godwit
90. Curlew
91. Spotted Sandpiper
92. Razorbill
93. Dipper
94. Rock Pipit
95. Yellowhammer
96. Reed Bunting

I'll hopefully reach 100 next weekend.
 
One from a local stroll yesterday:

95. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

Despite some no-shows, some very nice additions from a long day around the Blackpool area:

96. Eider (Somateria mollissima)
97. Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)
98. Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) - at last!
99. Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
100. Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
101. Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus) - LIFER
102. Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus)
103. Shore Lark (Eremophila alpestris)
104. Twite (Carduelis flavirostris)
 
Started out slow, but slow and steady wins the race

65 Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii
66 Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis
67 Neotropic Cormorant - Phalacrocorax brasilianus
68 American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
69 Brown Pelican - Pelecanus occidentalis
70 Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla
71 Herring Gull - Larus argentatus
72 Forster's Tern - Sterna forsteri
73 Boat-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus major
74 Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
75 White Ibis - Eudocimus albus
76 White-tailed Kite - Elanus leucurus
77 American Avocet - Recurvirostra americana
78 American Oystercatcher - Haematopus palliatus
79 Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus
80 Willet - Tringa semipalmata
81 Loggerhead Shrike - Lanius ludovicianus
82 Nelson's Sparrow - Ammodramus nelsoni
83 Seaside Sparrow - Ammodramus maritimus
84 Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola
85 Piping Plover - Charadrius melodus
86 Sanderling - Calidris alba
87 Dunlin - Calidris alpina
88 Short-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus griseus
89 Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus
90 Horned Lark - Eremophila alpestris
91 Northern Gannet - Morus bassanus
92 Black Skimmer - Rynchops niger
 
LaughingDove said:
Just got a few more species to add that I don't usually see in the UK since I'm back in Poland:

Mammals:
4) Eurasian red squirrel
5) Striped field mouse
Click to expand...

Seen outside my apartment building on my way home from school

6) European hedgehog

Is it strange to see this species out and about (after dark) in winter? I have only ever seen them in summer
 
Got another new species just down the road from my house - these along with a large flock of golden plovers are both new local (within 2 mile radius of home) ticks:

73. Common snipe Gallinago gallinago
 
93 Mottled Duck - Anas fulvigula
94 Reddish Egret - Egretta rufescens
95 Roseate Spoonbill - Platalea ajaja
96 Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
97 Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus
98 Long-billed Curlew - Numenius americanus
99 Marbled Godwit - Limosa fedoa
100 Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
101 Red Knot - Calidris canutus
102 Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri
103 Caspian Tern - Hydroprogne caspia
104 Blue-headed Vireo - Vireo solitarius
105 American Pipit - Anthus rubescens
106 Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas
107 Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifrons
108 Snow Goose - Chen caerulescens
109 Blue-winged Teal - Anas discors
110 White-faced Ibis - Plegadis chihi
111 Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata
112 Crested Caracara - Caracara cheriway
113 Sedge Wren - Cistothorus platensis
114 Sprague's Pipit - Anthus spragueii
115 Grasshopper Sparrow - Ammodramus savannarum
116 White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys
 
Though I do not have time to get out, because of thesis deadlines, I still got some new birds the last days from when biking to university / looking out of the window:

52. Common buzzard
53. Great cormorant
54. Black crow

and I forgot one from Morocco:
55. Little grebe.
 
Not done this before and wasn't planning this year, as I know with all good intentions I wouldn't keep it going, plus I'm not very good at birding - however a quick walk up the River Weaver and then back home got me inspired to give it a shot:

1. Mallard
2. Mute swan
3. Canadian goose
4. Common moorhen
5. Great cormorant
6. Grey heron
7. Black-headed gull
8. Wood pigeon
9. Collared dove
10. Eurasian magpie
11. Eurasian jay
12. Carrion crow
13. Eurasian blue tit
14. Great tit
15. Wren
16. Blackbird
17. European robin
18. Pied wagtail

Also, walking to work today:

19. Common starling
 
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