ZooChat Big Year 2014

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As the year comes to an end it is getting harder and harder to get new species for the list. After a great 2 nights birding in Kampinos NP I saw many species but only three for this list, two of which are lifers.

Birds:5
176) Firecrest

Mammals:
21) Wild Boar
22) Red Deer

23) Fallow deer- This should have been added ages ago, I only just noticed that I hadn't put it on before :P

I doubt whether I will get any more this year apart from possibly one or two.
 
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208. Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittakula krameri)

For the second year running, my first view of this species came in a zoo car park: Chessington in 2013 and WWT London Wetland Centre in 2014.

For the record, my avian tally for Ethiopia was exactly the same a Maguari's (278 species), though we both missed one species that the other saw: Scaly-throated Honeyguide for me and Northern Red-billed Hornbill for him.
 
177) Great Tit- nominate ssp (just realised that I can list this separately from the British Isles ssp)
 
The temptation of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Cornwall was to hard to resist this weekend however after being severly harassed by birders on friday it was not seen again. A few good American years ticks were seen and another life tick was a good consolation for the 750 mile round trip.

239. Ring-necked Duck
240. Rose-coloured Starling
241. Lesser Yellowlegs
242. Raddes Warbler

Another excellent 3rd for Britain life tick on saturday along with a couple of good year ticks

243. eastern-crowned warbler
244. Yellow-browed warbler
245. Rough-legged buzzard
 
I got three more Eastern vagrants today that were easy to find as they were in the same tree!

258. Chestnut-sided Warbler
259. Black-and-white Warbler
260. Blackpoll Warbler
261. Red-naped Sapsucker

Yesterday I went to chase another rare Eurasian species that was found in a city park in the middle of Anaheim, California. If accepted, this will be the third record in the lower 48, but they are found annually in Alaska and Bering Sea islands.

262. Olive-backed Pipit

I also picked up two more exotic lifers in the same park, but I missed on the Mandarin Ducks and Egyptian Geese that were also found later in the day.

* Pin-tailed Whydah
* Yellow-headed Parrot
 
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I made a big road trip this weekend out to East Texas to try once again for the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (and a few others). Once again, my efforts were thwarted.

392 Brown-headed Nuthatch - Sitta pusilla
393 Chuck-will's-widow - Antrostomus carolinensis
 
Birds
523. Striated Heron

:p

Hix
 
Yesterday I went to chase another rare Eurasian species that was found in a city park in the middle of Anaheim, California. If accepted, this will be the third record in the lower 48, but they are found annually in Alaska and Bering Sea islands.

262. Olive-backed Pipit

I also picked up two more exotic lifers in the same park, but I missed on the Mandarin Ducks and Egyptian Geese that were also found later in the day.

* Pin-tailed Whydah
* Yellow-headed Parrot

Two more lifers today.

263. Mountain Plover
264. Horned Lark
 
One I somehow missed from Awash NP:

542. Namaqua Dove - Oena capensis
 
I found another one I missed!

543. Village Indigobird - Vidua chalybaeta
 
524. Northern Black Flycatcher
525. Black-bellied Firefinch

:p

Hix
 
Went down this morning to Bradwell Bird Observatory for the first time- unfortunately seem to have missed the peak autumn migration time (when 60+ yellow wagtails and 10+ whinchat were migrating through daily) but did manage to add two new birds:

115. Northern wheatear
116. Common eider

Been quite some time since I last updated the list. Bird number 117 was actually added over a month ago, near the tail-end of migration time:

117. Willow warbler

And yesterday, went down to Heybridge Basin for the first time this winter. As well as seeing several hundred dark-bellied brents, a kestrel, sparrowhawk, half a dozen duck species, avocets and a kingfisher hunting in the estuary, managed to add three new year list species:

118. European golden plover
119. Eurasian wigeon
120. Stonechat

Cetti's warbler remains my bogey bird - heard two, saw none.
 
I realised I haven't updated my list for over four months, but I haven't seen much in that time as I haven't really done any birding. My new house is near a large wetland and river, so I have seen quite a few waterbirds there, which is very cool. I also had a trip to Outback South Australia, but unfortunately it was mostly bad weather, I was with non-birders, and there was lots of water about so there were no congregations, so I didn't see many species there (emu were the highlight, awesome to see in the wild).

This time last year I was on 77 birds, but that included NZ and Australian birds, so I'm kind-of ahead at present. My trip to America should add a few lifers!

Birds:
46 New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae
47 Song Thrush Turdus philomelas
48 White-headed Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus
49 Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis
50 Galah Eolophus roseicapillus
51 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus
52 Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
53 Common Bronzewing Phaps chalcoptera
54 Australasian Darter Anhinga novaehollandiae
55 Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
56 Cape Barren Goose Cereopsis novaehollandiae
57 Black-fronted Dotteral Elseyornis melanops
58 Pacific Gull Larus pacificus
59 Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
60 Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
61 Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatus
62 Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii
63 Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae

64 Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata
65 Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra novaehollandiae
66 Cattle Egret Ardea ibis
67 Black Swan Cygnus atratus
68 Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris
69 Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia
70 Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia
71 White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae
72 Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

Mammals:
6 House Mouse Mus domesticus
7 Dingo Canis dingo
8 Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus

And now I haven't updated it for over six months! Here is the first batch of additions from the first half of my trip to North America (western USA/Canada):

Birds:
73 Common Raven Corvus corax
74 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
75 Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
76 Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
77 Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
78 Western Gull Larus occidentalis
79 Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba
80 Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
81 Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
82 Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
83 Brandt's Cormorant Phalacrocorax penicillatus
84 Pelagic Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus
85 Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens

86 Canada Goose Branta canadensis
87 American Robin Turdus migratorius
88 American Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos canadensis
89 Common Merganser Mergus merganser americanus
90 Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus
91 Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
92 Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis


Mammals:
9 Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
10 Black-tailed Deer Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
11 Pacific Harbour Seal Phoca vitulina richardsi
12 Californian Sea Lion Zalophus californianus
13 Orca Orcinus orca
14 Mouflon Ovis orientalis
15 Raccoon Procyon lotor
16 Douglas Squirrel Tamiasciurus douglasii
17 Townsend's Chipmunk Tamias townsendii
 
I'm just back from a week in Darwin.
318. Brolga
319. Green Pygmy-Goose*
320. Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo
321. Rose Crowned Fruit Dove*
322. Whiskered tern
323. Beach Stone Curlew
324. Black Eared Cuckoo*
325. Common Greenshank
.
the best bird of the trip was an eastern yellow wagtail I found wondering on the edge of some mangroves. I've already seen them earlier this year at Haxham but it was great to find one for myself.
 
I'm just back from a week in Darwin.
318. Brolga
319. Green Pygmy-Goose*
320. Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo
321. Rose Crowned Fruit Dove*
322. Whiskered tern
323. Beach Stone Curlew
324. Black Eared Cuckoo*
325. Common Greenshank
.
the best bird of the trip was an eastern yellow wagtail I found wondering on the edge of some mangroves. I've already seen them earlier this year at Haxham but it was great to find one for myself.

Did you go out to a National Park, or were these seen around the city itself?
 
fogg dam for the first 5 and Wagait beach for the others including the wagtail.
 
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