ZooChat Big Year 2015

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Have to say, I am a little jealous about the King Eider; unlike yourself I am not a twitcher in the slightest and wouldn't bother travelling to see an odd rarity...... but if a King Eider were reported somewhere on the Northumberland coastline where I could easily reach, I would travel for one of those.
 
101. Australasian Darter
102. Australasian Shoveller
103. Australasian Reed Warbler
104. Black-Fronted Dotterel
105. Blue-Billed Duck
106. Fan-Tailed Cuckoo
107. Freckled Duck
108. Golden-Headed Cisticola
109. Grey Teal
110. Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo
111. Musk Duck
112. Nankeen Night-Heron
113. Pink-Eared Duck
114. Rufous Whistler
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Have to say, I am a little jealous about the King Eider; unlike yourself I am not a twitcher in the slightest and wouldn't bother travelling to see an odd rarity...... but if a King Eider were reported somewhere on the Northumberland coastline where I could easily reach, I would travel for one of those.
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Unfortunately it was only a first winter male, I'd still travel to see and adult.
 
Had a pleasing new bird arriving in the garden today. The first and last time I saw one was a very brief (couple of seconds) view of one flying away, so to see a flock of no less than ten is very nice:

95. Lesser redpoll Acanthis cabaret
 
LaughingDove said:
I have just got back from my trip to Tanzania, I have a few species that I need identifying so will be uploading pictures to the gallery and I will also shortly be writing up a little trip report but I have over 100 bird species from the trip which in the end turned out to be more like half birding and safari and half community service. It's nice to be back in a wifi zone though :p!
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Now that I've got the majority of things identified from my trip I'm going update my year list:). It is possible that I will get one or two more birds identified but this will be most of them:cool:

(List in order that I saw things in and lifers in bold as always)

In Istanbul which I had about 18 hours to visit around on the way to Tanzania, though I mostly visited historical things and a market, I managed to get a couple of year birds:

60) Laughing dove
61) Alexandrine parakeet

I landed in Kilimanjaro Airport in the middle of the night but whilst driving to my camp I saw a

11) Black-backed jackal

The first day I spent birding on camp and exploring/doing an orienteering exercise in a private wildlife reserve

On camp:
62) Common fiscal
63) Holub's golden weaver
64) African Mourning dove
65) Brown-breasted Barbet
66) African black swift
67) Great-white egret
68) Giant kigfisher
69) Common bulbul
70) Speckled mousebird
71) Crowned hornbill
72) Hadada ibis
73) Black crake
74) Taveta golden weaver
75) Grosbeak-weaver
76) Black-headed weaver
77) Sacred Ibis
78) Black-headed heron
79) Purple heron
80) Dusky turtle-dove

12) Ochre bush squirrel

In the wildlife reserve
81) Long-tailed fiscal
82) Purple Grenadier
83) Pied crow
84) Red-backed Shrike
85) Superb Starling
86) Pin-tailed Wydah
87)African-grey hornbill
88) Crowned Lapwing
89) Mosque Swallow

13) Grant's Gazelle
14) Impala
15) Wildebeest

90) Helmeted Guineafowl
91) Glossy Ibis

16) Kirk's dik-dik
17) Southern Gerenuk

91) African pied hornbill
92) Tawny eagle

Since that was the end of my first day in Tanzania, I will break off the post there and continue in a new one because it's getting quite long
 
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Continuing with my Tanzanian animals, I then had a safari in Tarangire national park

Drive to national park

93) Black-crowned night-heron
94) Augur Buzzard
95) Tambourine dove
96) African pied wagtail
97) White-necked raven
98) African palm swift
99) Southern red bishop
100) Lilac-breasted roller
101) Marabou stork
102) Cattle egret
103) Abdim's stork
104) Fawn-coloured lark
105) Red-billed quelea
106) Von-der-decken's hornbill
107)Namaqua dove
108) Rufous sparrow
109) White-bellied go-away bird
110) Dark chanting goshawk
111) Yellow-billed egret
112) Hamerkop
113) White-throated bee-eater
114) Mottled swift
115) Alpine swift

Safari day one:

116) Black redstart
117) White-headed buffalo-weaver
118) White-rumped helmetshrike
119) Grey-headed sparrow

18) Waterbuck

120) Common ostrich

19) African elephant
20) Giraffe
21) Common warthog

121) Hildebrandt's starling
122) African drongo
123) African open-billed Stork
124) Black kite
125) Red-billed oxpecker
126) Yellow-crowned bishop
127) Knob-billed duck
128) Woodland kingfisher
129) Wahlberg's eagle
130) Ashy starling
131) Red-billed hornbill
132) Lappet-faced vulture
133) Egyptian goose
134) Malachite kingfisher

22) Banded mongoose

135) African silverbill
136) Double-banded courser

23) Vervet monkey
24) Dwarf mongoose

137) Wattled starling
138) Black-winged lapwing
139) Yellow-collared lovebird
140) European roller

25) Bushbuck

141) Black-winged stilt
142) Southern ground hornbill - possibly the highlight species of my trip
143) Hoopoe
144) Bare-faced go-away bird
145) Yellow-necked spurfowl
146) Magpie-shrike
147)Verreux's eagle
148) Crested francolin
 
My goal:
Common raven
Black-headed gull
Northern gannet
Blue tit
Golden eagle
Common pheasant
Rose-ringed parakeet
European shag
Arctic tern (they're supposed to be breeding where I live)
Great tit
Collared dove
Fantail pigeon
 
Safari day two:

149) White-bellied bustard

26) Bat-eared fox
27) Coke's hartebeest

150) Black-faced sandgrouse
151) Black-bellied bustard
152)Bronze mannikin
153) White stork
155) Coqui francolin
156) White-backed vulture

28) Yellow-spotted rock-hyrax

157) Brown parrot
158) Sandpiper
159) Pied Kingfisher
160) Blacksmith plover
161) Saddlebilled stork - the other highlight species of the trip for me
162) Grey-headed kingfisher
163) Abyssinian roller

29) Common zebra
30) Unstriped ground squirrel

164) White-browned coucal
165) Brown snake-eagle
166) Yellow-billed oxpecker

31) Olive baboon

167) Ruppell's griffon vulture
 
After the safari, I was doing community service and experiencing the culture of the area. However, each day I had an hour of free-time in the morning and evening which I used for birding on camp.

18th Feb:

168) Streaky seedeater
169) Olive sunbird - only sunbird of the whole trip :(

19th Feb:

170) Long-tailed cormorant
171) Squacco heron
172) Blue-capped cordon-bleu

20th Feb:

173) African harrier-hawk
174) Spur-winged goose
175) African rook

21st Feb

176) Nubian woodpecker- the third highlight species of the trip, I've always wanted to see a tropical woodpecker and this is my new favourite woodpecker species
177) Grey crowned-crane
178) White-breasted blackfinch
 
Hix said:
Not found in that part of Tanzania. However, Ochre Bush Squirrel appears fairly common around Arusha.

:p

Hix
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I was just told that it was a bush squirrel and not the particular species so thanks for correcting me
:)
 
Just a little update.

136 Cinnamon Teal - Anas cyanoptera
137 Plain Chachalaca - Ortalis vetula
138 Least Grebe - Tachybaptus dominicus
139 Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
140 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - Nyctanassa violacea
141 Common Pauraque - Nyctidromus albicollis
142 Green Kingfisher - Chloroceryle americana
143 Golden-fronted Woodpecker - Melanerpes aurifrons
144 Vermilion Flycatcher - Pyrocephalus rubinus
145 Great Kiskadee - Pitangus sulphuratus
146 Couch's Kingbird - Tyrannus couchii
147 Green Jay - Cyanocorax yncas
148 Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Stelgidopteryx serripennis
149 Purple Martin - Progne subis
150 Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor
151 Cave Swallow - Petrochelidon fulva Estero Llano
152 Black-crested Titmouse - Baeolophus atricristatus
153 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea
154 Clay-colored Thrush - Turdus grayi
155 Curve-billed Thrasher - Toxostoma curvirostre
156 Long-billed Thrasher - Toxostoma longirostre
157 Orchard Oriole - Icterus spurius
158 Osprey - Pandion haliaetus
159 White-tipped Dove - Leptotila verreauxi
160 Hooded Oriole - Icterus cucullatus
161 Altamira Oriole - Icterus gularis
162 Audubon's Oriole - Icterus graduacauda
163 Harris's Hawk - Parabuteo unicinctus
164 Pyrrhuloxia - Cardinalis sinuatus
165 Greater Roadrunner - Geococcyx californianus
166 Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon
167 Olive Sparrow - Arremonops rufivirgatus
168 Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
169 Tricolored Heron - Egretta tricolor
170 Sora - Porzana carolina
171 Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes
172 Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator
173 Clapper Rail - Rallus crepitans
174 Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus
175 Gull-billed Tern - Gelochelidon nilotica
176 Chihuahuan Raven - Corvus cryptoleucus
177 Inca Dove - Columbina inca
178 Buff-bellied Hummingbird - Amazilia yucatanensis
179 Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia
180 Gray-crowned Yellowthroat - Geothlypis poliocephala ABA rare bird
181 Tropical Parula - Setophaga pitiayumi
182 Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina
183 Clay-colored Sparrow - Spizella pallida
184 Dickcissel - Spiza americana
185 Lesser Goldfinch - Spinus psaltria

And with that, I believe I'm in the lead now.
 
The last few things from my Tanzania trip to be added:

Birds:
179) Black-throated barbet
180) African grey flycatcher

Mammals:
32) Bohor reedbuck

Reptiles:
1) Nile monitor
2) Kilimanjaro two-horned chameleon

Fish:
2) Tilapia
 
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I'm already on more birds than I saw in the whole of last year! And last year I went to three continents when I've only been (and will go) to two this year. Actually looking for birds really helps :p
 
Hix said:
Birds
69. Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
70. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
71. Common Bronzewing


Mammals:
3. Koala

:p

Hix
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Birds
72. White-throated Needletail
73. Red Wattlebird
74. White-cheeked Honeyeater
75. New Holland Honeyeater
76. Spotted Pardalote
77. Pied Currawong
78. Feral Pigeon (Rock Pigeon)

Mammals
4. Grey-headed Fruit Bat

Reptiles
1. Eastern Water Skink
2. Red-belly Black Snake
 
Four things to add and one thing to take away (african pied hornbill) from my Tanzania trip, some just identified and some written in my notes but missed off this list:

180) Red-eyed dove
181) Ring-necked dove
182) Rufous-tailed weaver
183) White-browed robin-chat
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Had a pleasing new bird arriving in the garden today. The first and last time I saw one was a very brief (couple of seconds) view of one flying away, so to see a flock of no less than ten is very nice:

95. Lesser redpoll Acanthis cabaret
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Had another pleasant trip to Heybridge Basin this morning. I managed to see over forty species of birds, but only two of them were new for the year.

96. Red knot Calidris canutus
97. Bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica
 
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