ZooChat Big Year 2016

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Better late than never.

BIRDS:
1. Canada Goose
2. Herring Gull
3. American Crow
4. Mourning Dove
5. Blue Jay
6. House Sparrow
7. Dark-Eyed Junco
8. Northern Cardinal
9. Mallard
10. Mute Swan
11. Yellow-Crowned Sparrow
12. American Robin
13. Wild Turkey
14. Northern Mockingbird
15. Eastern Bluebird
16. Great Blue Heron
17. European Starling
18. Great Egret
19. Osprey
20 Warbling Vireo
21. Baltimore Oriole
22. Gray Catbird
23. Chimney Swift
24. Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
25. Black-and-White Warbler
26. Black-Throated Green Warbler
27. Black-Crowned Night Heron
28. Eastern Kingbird
29. White-Breasted Nuthatch
30. Wood Duck
31. Red-Winged Blackbird
32. Yellow Warbler
33. Common Grackle
34. Canada Warbler
35. Chipping Sparrow
36. Redheaded Woodpecker
37. Northern Flicker
38. Magnolia Warbler
39. Blackburnian Warbler
40. Wood Thrush

MAMMALS:
1. Gray Squirrel
2. White-Tailed Deer
3. Eastern Chipmunk
4. Eastern Cottontail
5. Red Fox
6. Groundhog
7. Coyote
 
Hevden said:
They have been breeding again in very small numbers over the last few years but sites are kept secret for obvious reasons. I've only ever seen them on migration, all being first winters other than last weekends adult female, the first I've seen in spring.

I've added one more this weekend which was also my 400th British life tick. Admittedly not as exciting as the lammergeier but a species I've been waiting to see for the last 26 years and by far the commonest bird I still needed. And at least it was a consolation for dipping Gull-billed Tern.

192. European Storm Petrel
Click to expand...

Just one more this weekend

193. Hobby
 
lintworm said:
Last additions from Kenya, I have just arrived in Ethiopia, which will be my home for the next 3 weeks.

293. Yellow bishop
294. Green-winged pytillia
295. Crowned hornbill
296. Red-winged starling

Mammals

36. White-bearded wildebeest
37. Masai giraffe
Click to expand...

An update from Ethiopia, all additions either seen from the hotel window in Addis, on the Addis - Awash road or just north of Awash NP:

297. Dusky turtle dove
298. Brown-rumped seedeater
299. White-collared pigeon
300. Tacazze sunbird
301. Mountain trush
302. White-backed vulture
303. Dark chanting goshawk
304. Hooded vulture
305. Fan-tailed raven
306. Spur-winged goose
307. Cut-throat finch
308. Swainson’s sparrow
309. Striated heron
310. African palm trush
311. Abdim’s stork
312. Orange-bellied parrot
313. Abyssinian roller
314. Black-billed woodhoopoe
315. Senegal thick-knee
316. Egyptian vulture
317. Ethiopian boubou
318. Ethiopian swallow
319. Deckens hornbill
320. Double-banded courser
321. Vitelline masked weaver
322. Northern carmine bee-eater
323. Yellow bellied eremomela
324. Chestnut-backed sparrowlark

Mammals:

38. Salt’s dikdik
39. Grivet monkey
40. Northern lesser kudu
41. Hamdryas baboon
42. African golden wolf jackal (or whatever it is called now...)

With Abdim's stork I have finally completed my African set of storks (also for this year), somehow I have managed to miss this species before, but now they are everywhere giving the recent rains in Afar...

The coolest mammal that I saw (well allmost) is Naked mole rat, I have seen the burrow and the sand that was actively being pushed out of it, but I failed to spot the little critter responsible for the activity, so unfortunately it is not countable...


I will have one week in the eastern Ethiopian highlands later in June and I plan to visit the southern highlands of Ethiopia later this year. Together with a return trip to Baringo Kenya and almost 2 months in Tanzania (most of which in E Usambara mountains again), I hope to get at at least 600 bird species this year...
 
robmv said:
Go with the worldwide number - it's probably simpler. I'll use that numbering from now on.
Click to expand...

Mwahaha!

He's one of us now...
 
and with that, here is the monthly round-up:


BIRDS:

robmv – 346
lintworm – 324
LaughingDove – 317
Maguari – 313
jbnbsn99 – 303
Ituri – 300
boof – 216
Hevden – 193
TeaLovingDave – 130
DesertRhino150 – 125
KevinVar – 95
Macaw16 – 81
Fireplume – 72
ThylacineAlive – 51
Chlidonias – 50
BeardsleyZooFan – 40
Hix – 29
canaryboy2 – 28
Vision – 26
zooboy28 – 25
Pleistohorse – 9


MAMMALS:

Maguari – 49
lintworm – 42
LaughingDove – 39
Ituri – 29
TeaLovingDave – 16
Fireplume – 16
jbnbsn99 – 15
DesertRhino150 – 15
ThylacineAlive – 10
KevinVar – 9
Pleistohorse – 7
BeardsleyZooFan – 7
Macaw16 – 5
Hix – 3
Chlidonias – 2
Vision – 2
zooboy28 – 1


HERPTILES:

Ituri – 14 Herptiles total (12 Reptiles, 2 Amphibians)
lintworm – 11 Herptiles total (8 Reptiles, 3 Amphibians)
ThylacineAlive – 11 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 7 Amphibians)
Maguari – 8 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 4 Amphibians)
Fireplume – 7 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 3 Amphibians)
LaughingDove – 6 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 2 Amphibians)
TeaLovingDave – 5 Herptiles total (0 Reptiles, 5 Amphibians)
DesertRhino150 – 5 Herptiles total (3 Reptiles, 2 Amphibians)
KevinVar – 5 Herptiles total (0 Reptiles, 5 Amphibians)
Macaw16 – 3 Herptiles total (0 Reptiles, 3 Amphibians)
Hix – 2 Herptiles total (2 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)


FISH:

Hix – 268
DesertRhino150 – 5
Maguari – 5
Fireplume – 1


INVERTEBRATES:

Maguari – 49 various
lintworm – 6 Butterflies, 37 Molluscs
Hix – 38 various
DesertRhino150 – 6 Bumblebees, 1 Hornet, 9 Butterflies, 4 Damselflies
ThylacineAlive – 3 insects
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Since my last update, I have managed to add one new bird, two new butterflies and one new damselfly to my list:

125. Garganey Anas querquedula
Click to expand...

Just got back from a three day trip to Minsmere. Despite the weather being rather rough, I still managed eleven new birds (four of which were lifers), three mammals and a fish:

126. Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis
127. Black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla
128. Long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis (Vu)
129. Great bittern Botaurus stellaris
130. Little tern Sternula albifrons
131. Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo
132. Dartford warbler Sylvia undata (Nt)
133. Eurasian stone curlew Burhinus oedicnemus
134. Purple heron Ardea purpurea
135. Sandwich tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
136. Mediterranean gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

16. Red deer Cervus elaphus
17. Eurasian otter Lutra lutra (Nt)
18. Northern water vole Arvicola amphibius

6. Three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus
 
Macaw16 said:
Hopefully the first of a few additions from my current trip...

The first is from Speke Hall and the other two from Speke and Garston Coastal Reserve (29/5/2016):

79. Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
80. European Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
81. Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis
Click to expand...

And a few additions :P...

The following are from Anglesey and RSPB South Stack (31/5/2016), there was also a Pipit I am still in the process of identifying:

82. Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
83. European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola

And some from Snowdonia (1/6/2016), including the second time I've ever seen a wild reptile:

84. Common Raven Corvus corax
85. White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus

Reptiles:
1. Common Lizard Zootoca vivipara

From the National Trust's Bodnant Gardens (2/6/2016):

86. Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
87. European Jay Garrulus glandarius

And finally from RSPB Conwy (2/6/2016):

88. Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
 
lintworm said:
An update from Ethiopia, all additions either seen from the hotel window in Addis, on the Addis - Awash road or just north of Awash NP:

297. Dusky turtle dove
298. Brown-rumped seedeater
299. White-collared pigeon
300. Tacazze sunbird
301. Mountain trush
302. White-backed vulture
303. Dark chanting goshawk
304. Hooded vulture
305. Fan-tailed raven
306. Spur-winged goose
307. Cut-throat finch
308. Swainson’s sparrow
309. Striated heron
310. African palm trush
311. Abdim’s stork
312. Orange-bellied parrot
313. Abyssinian roller
314. Black-billed woodhoopoe
315. Senegal thick-knee
316. Egyptian vulture
317. Ethiopian boubou
318. Ethiopian swallow
319. Deckens hornbill
320. Double-banded courser
321. Vitelline masked weaver
322. Northern carmine bee-eater
323. Yellow bellied eremomela
324. Chestnut-backed sparrowlark

Mammals:

38. Salt’s dikdik
39. Grivet monkey
40. Northern lesser kudu
41. Hamdryas baboon
42. African golden wolf jackal (or whatever it is called now...)

With Abdim's stork I have finally completed my African set of storks (also for this year), somehow I have managed to miss this species before, but now they are everywhere giving the recent rains in Afar...

The coolest mammal that I saw (well allmost) is Naked mole rat, I have seen the burrow and the sand that was actively being pushed out of it, but I failed to spot the little critter responsible for the activity, so unfortunately it is not countable...


I will have one week in the eastern Ethiopian highlands later in June and I plan to visit the southern highlands of Ethiopia later this year. Together with a return trip to Baringo Kenya and almost 2 months in Tanzania (most of which in E Usambara mountains again), I hope to get at at least 600 bird species this year...
Click to expand...

The rest of the new species from a week in Afar.

325. Chestnut weaver
326. Somali fiscal
327. Arabian bustard
328. Somali ostrich
329. Straw-tailed whydah
330. Lappet-faced vulture
331. Nile-valley sunbird
332. Black-billed barbet
333. White-bellied bustard
334. Rueppel’s weaver

Mammals

43. Soemmerings gazelle
44. Beisa oryx

Now a week of meetings in Adama, so I do not expect much new...
 
51) White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus

My first year bird since the 14th of March. I've almost caught up with lintworm now! Almost.

The tern was at the local oxidation ponds in Christchurch, and I think it is the first one I have seen in breeding plumage. They are only sporadically seen in New Zealand.
 
Chlidonias said:
51) White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus

My first year bird since the 14th of March. I've almost caught up with lintworm now! Almost.
Click to expand...

A very nice bird though, especially in breeding plumage ;). I am still looking for a companion on a short trip through southern Ethiopia and if you would join, you would catch up quite a lot ;)
 
Chlidonias said:
51) White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus

My first year bird since the 14th of March. I've almost caught up with lintworm now! Almost.
Click to expand...

30. Cattle Egret

A single bird in full breeding plumage. This is the sixth record for the island, the last being in 2008.

:p

Hix
 
Last edited:
A long, but most enjoyable, day trip to Anglesey yesterday to fill in some gaps:

347. Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
348. Gannet (Morus bassanus)
349. Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus)
350. Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)
351. Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle)

(212 UK)
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Just got back from a three day trip to Minsmere. Despite the weather being rather rough, I still managed eleven new birds (four of which were lifers), three mammals and a fish:

126. Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis
127. Black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla
128. Long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis (Vu)
129. Great bittern Botaurus stellaris
130. Little tern Sternula albifrons
131. Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo
132. Dartford warbler Sylvia undata (Nt)
133. Eurasian stone curlew Burhinus oedicnemus
134. Purple heron Ardea purpurea
135. Sandwich tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
136. Mediterranean gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

16. Red deer Cervus elaphus
17. Eurasian otter Lutra lutra (Nt)
18. Northern water vole Arvicola amphibius

6. Three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus
Click to expand...

Since I got back home, I have heard a turtle dove several times (and possibly seen two) but since I cannot guarantee the sighting yet I will not count it for now.

While out looking for the turtle doves over the past couple of days, I have managed to find one new fish, one new butterfly and three new Odonata:

7. Northern pike Esox lucius

10. Gatekeeper butterfly Pyronia tithonus

5. White-legged damselfly Platycnemis pennipes
6. Hairy dragonfly Brachytron pratense
7. Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly Libellula depressa
 
Evening wander at Carr Vale got me one new bird:

314. Common Tern - Sterna hirundo

Significantly, this is UK species 175, which means I've already matched last year's British total - one more species will be the record! (I'm so early reaching this largely thanks to the Scottish trip earlier in the year)
 
LaughingDove said:
This afternoon and early evening I went to an area of reed beds, forests and lakes near to the Warsaw airport with the main aim of seeing one of the 3-4 pairs of Penduline Tits that breeds there:

312) Sedge Warbler
313) European Reed Warbler
314) Eurasian Penduline Tit
315) Thrush Nightingale
316) Great Reed Warbler
317) Garganey

Also worth mentioning sightings of a Western Marsh Harrier and multiple Reed Buntings, both of which were second sightings for the year.

Three species that I hoped to see here but didn't spot were Black Woodpecker, Little Bittern and Otters which are supposed to be present in some numbers. Hopefully next time.
Click to expand...

A few mostly common things from my first day in Perth, no mammals yet though, and a bit of spotlighting was unsuccessful.

318) Australian Magpie
319) Australian Ringneck Parrot
320) Australian Raven
321) New Holland Honeyeater
322) Magpie Lark
323) Galah
324) Australian White Ibis
325) Carnaby's White-tailed Black Cockatoo
326) Square-tailed Kite
327) Singing Honeyeater
328) Spotted Pardalote
329) Rufous Whistler
330) Grey Fantail
331) Weebill
332) Striated Pardalote
333) Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
334) Laughing Kookaburra
335) Little Crow

Still quite a few more common things for me to get over the next couple of days.
 
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