ZooChat Big Year 2016

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I don't think it is countable, however I saw an American Wood Duck in my local park the other day which I think was probably an escaped bird. The area has a large (and countable) feral population of Mandarin Ducks so it was interesting to see a Wood Duck around.
 
Macaw16 said:
A climb up a big, muddy, near vertical hill in the Yorkshire Dales, got me another two for the year:

63. Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
64. Red Grouse Lagopus (lagopus) scotica
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I can now start on amphibians! Both 7/4/2016.

65. Song Thrush Turdus philomelos

Amphibians

1. Palmate Newt Lissotriton helveticus (possible lifer, but I don't keep a list of the herps I see)
 
4/4/2016
175. bell miner
176. EURASIAN TREE SPARROW*
5/4/16
177. black kite
178. buff-banded rail
179. cape barren goose
 
boof said:
4/4/2016
175. bell miner
176. EURASIAN TREE SPARROW*
5/4/16
177. black kite
178. buff-banded rail
179. cape barren goose
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was this in Melbourne? You didn't manage to get song thrush?
 
Chlidonias said:
was this in Melbourne? You didn't manage to get song thrush?
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yep. I went to Melbourne Zoo on the 4th and Werribee on the 5th. It's school holidays in Victoria and both zoos have free entry for children during school holidays. It was very, very busy at both zoos. I wass told to look around the gardens on t he tiger trails for song thrushes. There was no chance with the noise and crowds. Got a tree sparrow easy enough in the zoo but. A feral but I'll take it. A lifer's a lifer.

Did you see the paradise shelduck report for bushnell lagoon in NSW. A male. Maybe the same bird from earlier this year perhaps.
 
boof said:
Did you see the paradise shelduck report for bushnell lagoon in NSW. A male. Maybe the same bird from earlier this year perhaps.
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I did see that. I don't know the distance between that and the previous bird, but I think it is being assumed to be the same one.
 
lintworm said:
The first real spring days in Switzerland :)

79. Stock dove
80. European serin
81. Black kite
82. Firecrest
83. Hawfinch
84. Ruddy shelduck


Herps
2. Common toad
3. Common wall lizard
4. Viviparous lizard
5. Fire salamander
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Spring has started and the first swifts have arrived in Switzerland

85. Alpine swift

Butterflies
3. Holly blue
4. Red admiral
5. European peacock
6. Green-veined white

Next week the big year can really start ;)
 
lintworm said:
Next week the big year can really start ;)
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You'll probably overtake me for now, but I may be able to catch up again in June with just over 7 weeks in Australia :p

I'm not sure how many birds I'll get in Australia but I will be visiting Perth, Brisbane, Cairns, Karunda, and Lamington National Park so I think 150 species over the two weeks would be reasonable. Maybe as high as 200?
I've only been to Perth before, so I don't really know what a reasonable expectation would be.

Anyway, back to the main purpose of this post:

294) Marsh Tit
 
LaughingDove said:
You'll probably overtake me for now, but I may be able to catch up again in June with just over 7 weeks in Australia :p

I'm not sure how many birds I'll get in Australia but I will be visiting Perth, Brisbane, Cairns, Karunda, and Lamington National Park so I think 150 species over the two weeks would be reasonable. Maybe as high as 200?
I've only been to Perth before, so I don't really know what a reasonable expectation would be.
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there's a good variation of habitat around the Cairns/Tablelands area (mangroves and tidal flats in Cairns, the botanic gardens, the rainforest and dry forest on the Tablelands, wetlands e.g. out of Atherton) so you should get at least 100 to 150 round there if you're putting in the time.

Lamington is a bit harder because it is really dense forest, but if you get to the dry eucalypt forest there then you'll get a suite of different birds. I imagine you're more interested in the wet forest though, for Albert's lyrebirds?

Of course Perth has a range of birds not in Queensland, and of your spots is the best for waterbirds which will up your total.
 
Chlidonias said:
there's a good variation of habitat around the Cairns/Tablelands area (mangroves and tidal flats in Cairns, the botanic gardens, the rainforest and dry forest on the Tablelands, wetlands e.g. out of Atherton) so you should get at least 100 to 150 round there if you're putting in the time.

Lamington is a bit harder because it is really dense forest, but if you get to the dry eucalypt forest there then you'll get a suite of different birds. I imagine you're more interested in the wet forest though, for Albert's lyrebirds?

Of course Perth has a range of birds not in Queensland, and of your spots is the best for waterbirds which will up your total.
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Should get quite a few birds then :)

I don't actually have much time around Cairns, I'm just there for three nights I think.

Albert's Lyrebirds are one of my main targets, and I will be staying in O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat for three nights (despite the ridiculous cost) so I think I have a chance of seeing them.

The majority of my time will be spent in Perth and I will just have 15 days in Queensland and about 5 weeks in Perth. From past experience that time in Perth should take me up to 70-100 birds depending on day trips and possible longer trips for a few nights.
 
LaughingDove said:
You'll probably overtake me for now, but I may be able to catch up again in June with just over 7 weeks in Australia :p
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Let's see, the coming two months should give me at least 200 new species, but the real gems I will only visit in Autumn ;)
 
LaughingDove said:
Should get quite a few birds then :)

I don't actually have much time around Cairns, I'm just there for three nights I think.

Albert's Lyrebirds are one of my main targets, and I will be staying in O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat for three nights (despite the ridiculous cost) so I think I have a chance of seeing them.

The majority of my time will be spent in Perth and I will just have 15 days in Queensland and about 5 weeks in Perth. From past experience that time in Perth should take me up to 70-100 birds depending on day trips and possible longer trips for a few nights.
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are you doing any tours around Cairns or just by yourselves?

At Lamington I found the lyrebirds easy, but others have had different experiences so it is probably down to luck on the day. There's a cool spot right where the bus turns outside O'Reilly's where if you stand with a handful of raisins, birds like regent bowerbirds will fly in to feed from your hand.
 
Chlidonias said:
are you doing any tours around Cairns or just by yourselves?

At Lamington I found the lyrebirds easy, but others have had different experiences so it is probably down to luck on the day. There's a cool spot right where the bus turns outside O'Reilly's where if you stand with a handful of raisins, birds like regent bowerbirds will fly in to feed from your hand.
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I will be doing two tours around Cairns, a Great Barrier Reef trip to Michaelmas Cay, and a second day tour including Paronella Park and a Lake Barrine Crater Lake Cruise. I will be limited in places that I can go to outside of Cairns because we won't be hiring a car and will be relying on public transport. Sounds like I should see lots of birds just within Cairns itself too.
Two of my main targets will be the Lyrebirds at Lamington and Cassowaries at Karunda (I should have a fair chance since I'm staying at Cassowary House for two nights) but since the only part of Australia I have been to is Perth and the surrounding areas, a lot of the birds will be lifers.

I do plan to post a thread about this eventually, but I don't fly to Australia until the 5th of June and between now and the end of May, I am prioritising my (GCSE) exams which are in the last week of April and the first three weeks of May. The exams are the reason that I am able to have such a long time in Australia because after the exams I don't have to go back to school until September, so I will be flying to Australia by myself and staying with my aunt in Perth who I will be going with to Queensland as a trip from Perth.

Anyway, apologies for derailing this thread slightly :p
 
LaughingDove said:
Should get quite a few birds then :)

I don't actually have much time around Cairns, I'm just there for three nights I think.

Albert's Lyrebirds are one of my main targets, and I will be staying in O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat for three nights (despite the ridiculous cost) so I think I have a chance of seeing them.

The majority of my time will be spent in Perth and I will just have 15 days in Queensland and about 5 weeks in Perth. From past experience that time in Perth should take me up to 70-100 birds depending on day trips and possible longer trips for a few nights.
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I was in Cairns/Julatten at the end of 2014 for just three nights and saw 112 species - however I did have a bird guide for half a day in Julatten which helped significantly in finding some rare and obscure FNQ endemics. On my third day (spent in Cairns at the Botanic Gardens, on the mountain behind the Gardens, and at the Cattana Wetlands) I saw 50 species, although half of them I had already seen that year elsewhere in Australia (Magpies, Feral Pigeons, Cattle Egrets, Indian Mynahs etc.)

From what I've heard O'Reilly's runs early morning bird walks.

And you've been to Perth before so you know you're way around there. I think 150-200 birds over seven weeks is certainly do-able.

:p

Hix
 
Hevden said:
Last day of my holiday today so took a detour to north Norfolk on the way home highlights were summer plumaged Lapland Bunting, Brambling and Water Pipits.

148. Lapland Bunting
149. Brambling
150. Red-crested Pochard
151. Little Ringed Plover
152. Swallow
153. Bar-tailed Godwit
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154. Yellow (Channel) Wagtail
155. Spoonbill
 
Migrants still flowing in locally:

150. Willow Warbler - Phylloscopus trochilus
151. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
152. Common House Martin - Delichon urbicum

:)
 
Macaw16 said:
I can now start on amphibians! Both 7/4/2016.

65. Song Thrush Turdus philomelos

Amphibians

1. Palmate Newt Lissotriton helveticus (possible lifer, but I don't keep a list of the herps I see)
Click to expand...

I've finally seen a Grey Heron! It really shouldn't have taken this long... Both from a walk on the Harewood Estate (9/4/2016)

66. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
67. Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
 
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