ZooChat Big Year 2014

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Ituri said:
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.

62 Common Raven
63 Canyon Wren
64 Marsh Wren
65 Red-winged Blackbird
66 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.
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67 Golden Eagle
68 Brown Creeper
69 Mountain Chickadee
 
has anyone got to 100 yet? I was on around 125 a few days ago (my list isn't firm yet so I can't post it; still need to add scientific names and check some IDs and so forth). Mammals only on 5.
 
Birds
87. Rainbow Bee-eater

:p

Hix
 
Chlidonias said:
has anyone got to 100 yet? I was on around 125 a few days ago (my list isn't firm yet so I can't post it; still need to add scientific names and check some IDs and so forth). Mammals only on 5.
Click to expand...

Well, you get nothing on here until you post!

I've been ill so have only been birding twice this year. Hope to rectify that next wednesday, and then again in early February.

:p

Hix
 
Ituri said:
67 Golden Eagle
68 Brown Creeper
69 Mountain Chickadee
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This winter has seen a seemingly unusual number of Harris's Sparrows over-wintering in the intermountain west. They normally winter in the central planks from Nebraska down into Texas. The other day I had an errand to run that took me near a spot where a Harris's Sparrow had been seen previously. After sorting through numerous White-crowned and Song Sparrows, a Harris's Sparrow caught my eye briefly before disappearing deep into a thicket.


70 Harris's Sparrow
 
mstickmanp said:
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
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36. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (comfirmed from day at park last week)

So today I returned to the North Etiwanda Preserve where I had no luck with birds earlier in the year. Today was still slow, but I still got some nice species.

37. Bushtit
38. Rock Wren
39. Golden-crowned Sparrow
40. Lesser Goldfinch

Mammals:

1. California Ground Squirrel
2. Desert Cottontail

Reptiles:

1. Western Fence Lizard
2. Side-blotched Lizard
 
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I'm on my way to my first coastal trip of the year. Hoping to pick up 20 or so year birds. Should be easy.
 
Birds
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)

Mammals
1. eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus)
 
Mammals
6. Greater hedgehog tenrec

Birds
26. Madagascar white-eye
27. Madagascar paradise flycatcher
28. Red-tailed vanga
29. Velvet asity
30. Long-billed tetraka
31. Brown mesite

Herpetofauna:
12. Geckolepsis typica
13. Bibilava lateralis
14. Plethodontohyla brevipes
15. Brookesia superciliaris
16. Plethodontohyla notosticta
17. Typhlops
18. Uroplatus fimbriatus


The vanga, asity, tetraka and mesite are lifers, all belonging to families endemic to Madagascar. I only miss the a ground roller and the cuckoo roller and then I have seen all endemic families :p

And the Typhlops (worm snake) is not defined up too species level, but I will count it anyway, as it is impossible to ID these critters...
 
I'm currently sitting in a seafood restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. I've been birding all morning and have picked up some nice species. I'm planning a trip to Moody Gardens later. As of now, I am well over 100 species.
 
Ituri said:
This winter has seen a seemingly unusual number of Harris's Sparrows over-wintering in the intermountain west. They normally winter in the central planks from Nebraska down into Texas. The other day I had an errand to run that took me near a spot where a Harris's Sparrow had been seen previously. After sorting through numerous White-crowned and Song Sparrows, a Harris's Sparrow caught my eye briefly before disappearing deep into a thicket.


70 Harris's Sparrow
Click to expand...

Yesterday I made plans to join a birder friend to go look for Black and Gray-crowned Rosy-finches that come in of rest in Cliff Swallow nests in a nearby river canyon. They come in promptly at dusk, sometimes they squabble over roost sites and sometimes the shoot right in and stay there. Last night I made a foolish decision and stopped at a diversion dam where American Dipper had been seen. I did find the dippers which are brilliant little birds but it made me late for the finches. Apparently they arrived just as I did. I did not have any of my gear out and missed them completely. There was no squabbling, they just dove right in and out of site. My birding companion informed me he had seen a dipper right by the finch site, so I could have had the finches and still had the dipper.

71 American Dipper

This morning I joined an Audubon Society field trip to the local landfill to look for gulls. Gull numbers were low and only three species were present, but it was a fun outing and I still picked up a few more year birds.

72 California Gull
73 Herring Gull
74 Prairie Falcon
75 Horned Lark

Mammals:
4 Coyote
 
mstickmanp said:
36. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (comfirmed from day at park last week)

So today I returned to the North Etiwanda Preserve where I had no luck with birds earlier in the year. Today was still slow, but I still got some nice species.

37. Bushtit
38. Rock Wren
39. Golden-crowned Sparrow
40. Lesser Goldfinch

Mammals:

1. California Ground Squirrel
2. Desert Cottontail

Reptiles:

1. Western Fence Lizard
2. Side-blotched Lizard
Click to expand...

So I went to Fairmount Park again to see if I can see the single Greater White-fronted Goose and Ross's Goose that have been there for a while, but I failed again. However, I did get some new species, including a single Cackling Goose.

41. Cackling Goose
42. Great Egret
43. Snowy Egret
44. Bonaparte's Gull
45. Band-tailed Pigeon
46. Western Bluebird
47. American Robin
48. Common Yellowthroat
49. Nutmeg Mannikin (Countable in California)

And I was able to finally ID another species from one of my photos.

50. Fox Sparrow
 
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I finally have some internet access that isn't on my phone. Yesterday I made a trip down to Galveston (port city just south of Houston). I was hoping to pick up some of the wintering shorebirds along the Gulf coast. My goal was to get around 25 new species for the year. I didn't plan on any lifers, but took whatever popped up. I succeeded on both points getting 24 species, 4 of which are lifers.

Today, back home, I went to a local urban lake known for some good birding and was able to pick up 4 more year birds - 2 of which are lifers (and one, the Common Merganser is a rare bird in the area).

84 Sandhill Crane - Grus canadensis
85 Redhead - Aythya americana
86 Brown Pelican - Pelecanus occidentalis
87 Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
88 White Ibis - Eudocimus albus
89 Roseate Spoonbill - Platalea ajaja
90 Osprey - Pandion haliaetus
91 White-tailed Kite - Elanus leucurus
92 Willet - Tringa semipalmata
93 Sanderling - Calidris alba
94 Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla
95 Sedge Wren - Cistothorus platensis
96 Orange-crowned Warbler - Oreothlypis celata
97 Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
98 Tricolored Heron - Egretta tricolor
99 Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola
100 Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
101 Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
102 Loggerhead Shrike - Lanius ludovicianus
103 Boat-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus major
104 Blue-winged Teal - Anas discors
105 Black Skimmer - Rynchops niger
106 American Pipit - Anthus rubescens
107 Common Loon - Gavia immer
108 Common Merganser - Mergus merganser Lifer #300
109 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius
110 Pine Warbler - Setophaga pinus
111 Monk Parakeet - Myiopsitta monachus
 
I got up at early this morning (3am) and headed to Hexham swamp in the newcastle area. Get up there hix, it's a great day. I got 21 birds there plus 5 others at Stockton and wallsend. I also got 7 lifers.
88. Cattle Egret
89. Royal Spoonbil
90. Australian Spotted Crake
91. Red Kneed Dotterel
92. Marsh Sandpiper*
93. Wood Sandpiper*
94. Pectoral Sandpiper
95. Curlew Sandpiper*
96. Ruff*
97. Sacred Kingfisher
98. Mangrove Gerygone*
99. Yellow Thornbill
100. Yellow Rumped Thornbill
101. White Fronted Chat
102. White Breasted Woodswallow
103. Golden Headed Cisticola
104. Australian Reed Warbler
105. Tawny Grassbird
106. Little Grassbird
107. Tree Martin
108. Eastern Yellow Wagtail*
109. Red Necked Avocet
110. PacificGolden Plover
111. Gull Billed Tern*
112. Chestnut Breasted Mannikin
113. Eastern Rosella
 
Chlidonias said:
yellow wagtail must be a good bird for NSW?
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It is. This is one of the few places it is seen in NSW, although it's still a rarity. Lots of discussion on Eremaea about them at this location at present.


Boof - 11 of those would be lifers for me, and so far this year I've only seen four of the birds in that list. Unfortunately my plans to visit have been put on hold at this stage, so not sure when I'll get up there now.

:p

Hix
 
Mammals
7. Rufous mouse lemur
8. Ring tailed vontsira

Birds
32. Madagascar bee-eater
33. Madagascar wood rail
34. Madagascar cuckoo shrike

Herpetofauna
19. Mantella ebenaui

This time I have lots of photos of the vontsira, as it gave a show a few meters away when hunting on a crab :)
 
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