ZooChat Big Year 2015

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Yes, if a UK birder just says 'Scaup' it will almost always mean Greater. Lessers occur as rare vagrants, but even UK field guides habitually call the two 'Scaup' and 'Lesser Scaup'.

I, on the other hand, am a hateful little pedant and would put the full name every time if I intend one species in particular! :D

EDIT: Of course, I'd need to actually see (and identify) one of the little so-and-so's first...
 
Firstly, an omission from a couple of weeks ago:

150. Garganey (Anas querquedula)

This weekend felt like the start of Spring with some migrants starting to appear and resident species beginning their breeding displays:

151. Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)
152. Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)
153. Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
154. Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix)
155. Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)
156. Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
157. Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
158. Woodlark (Lullula arborea)
159. Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)

I also bagged another mammal first today courtesy of two female Wild Boar and their accompanying army of striped young.
 
Went on an evening mission to try to see Barn Owls. We failed, but in a pleasing way!

116. Little Owl - Athene noctua

12. Common Pipistrelle - Pipistrellus pipistrellus


(very glad I thought to take my detector - far more bats active than I'd been expecting - all pips - about 50% unconfirmable species and 50% solid Common)
 
lintworm said:
I forgot to include a species, which I have seen every day the last week and I thought I would have seen it before...

96. European oystercatcher

@Maguari, sure you have not seen Microtus agrestis?
Click to expand...


I spent the easter weekend in the southwestern part of the Netherlands, although I mostly worked in the garden, I had some spare time for birding.

97. European spoonbill
98. Black-tailed godwit
99. Curlew
100. Common shellduck
101. Barnacle goose
102. Common redshank
103. Common ringed plover
104. Meadow pipit
105. Sanderling
106. Lesser-black backed gull
107. Pied avocet
108. Dunlin

And while working in the garden I found a new amphibian species for this year:

Herpetofauna

3. Alpine newt


Only 3,5 weeks left in the Netherlands and then I will move to my new home country. So these are busy weeks with not much time for birding. But fortunately I will visit a new country at the end of May.
 
Although no time for real birding now, if new bird species are flying past your office, the list will continue to grow ;)

109. Barn swallow

It is my first swallow this year and a sign spring has really started ;).
 
After hearing them for several days, I have finally seen one of the earlier spring migrants:

104. Common chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
 
Seen inside Dvur Kralove Zoo (Czech Rep.) today:

220) Bullfinch- Never seen one before and always wanted to, I think they might be the most beautiful birds in Europe (the males, I saw a pair)
221) Marsh Tit
222) Grey Wagtail
 
DesertRhino150 said:
After hearing them for several days, I have finally seen one of the earlier spring migrants:

104. Common chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Click to expand...

A good visit to Abberton Reservoir today turned up three new species for the year list and got a fourth species later in the day back at home:

105. Little ringed plover Charadrius dubius
106. Yellow wagtail Motacilla flava
107. Common linnet Carduelis cannabina
108. Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

Abberton also gave me my first amphibian of the year:

1. Smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris
 
Jumping on the swallow bandwagon, they're also back at the farmyard they favour near my work.

117. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica


:)
 
East Yorkshire today, with calls at Bempton Cliffs, Flamborough Head and The Deep.

118. Northern Gannet - Morus bassanus
119. Black-legged Kittiwake - Rissa tridactyla
120. Atlantic Puffin - Fratercula arctica

13. Grey Seal - Halichoerus grypus


Also saw my first UK Roe Deer for the year on the way up. Rather a windy day so a lot of the birds hunkered down (I could only locate one puffin, but there have been far more around). As I arrived at Flamborough a bird looking very swift-like nearly collided with my car window before swinging away - once I'd parked up I looked and looked but couldn't relocate it. On checking I found that Alpine Swift has been reported from there several times in the last couple of days, so it may be that's what it was, but I didn't see it anywhere near to well enough to be sure. A near miss in more ways than one!
 
280 Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
281 Swainson's Hawk - Buteo swainsoni
 
vogelcommando said:
Sofar not done much birding but even so a lifer ! Relative short list but hope it will become longer during the year :
1) Great crested grebe http://www.zoochat.com/706/great-crested-grebe-398729/
2) Black-necked grebe - a lifer ! http://www.zoochat.com/706/black-necked-grebes-404837/
3) Great cormorant
4) Great white egret
5) Grey heron
6) Spoonbill
7) Mute swan http://www.zoochat.com/706/mute-swan-404765/
8) Greylag goose
9) Canada goose http://www.zoochat.com/706/canada-goose-404761/
10) Common shelduck http://www.zoochat.com/706/common-shelducks-404757/
11) Egyptian goose
12) Gadwall
13) Common teal
14) Mallard
15) Northern shoveler http://www.zoochat.com/706/northern-shoveler-404759/
16) Tufted duck
17) Red-breasted merganser
18) European sparrowhawk
19) Common buzzard
20) Common kestrel
21) Common pheasant
22) Moorhen
23) Common coot
24) Oystercatcher
25) Avocet http://www.zoochat.com/706/avocets-404836/
26) Lapwing http://www.zoochat.com/706/lapwing-404839/
27) Black-headed gull
28) Herring gull
29) Wood pigeon
30) Collared dove
31) Pied wagtail
32) Wren
33) Hedge accentor http://www.zoochat.com/706/hedge-accentor-404766/
34) Robin http://www.zoochat.com/706/robin-404838/
35) Blackbird
36) Blue tit
37) Great tit
38) Magpie
39) Jackdaw
40) Carrion crow
41) Common starling
42) House sparrow
43) Chaffinch
44) Goldfinch

Esp. happy with the small group of Black-necked grebes of 6 animals I discovered closely to the place I work. For me it was a lifer and they are relative rare in the Netherlands ( around 2010 a population of about 450 - 550 pairs )
Click to expand...

Still not done much birding - most of the birds are seen on my way to my work - but even so some new ones for 2015 :
45) Little ringed plover
46) Mediterranean gull
47) Barn swallow
48) Eurasian jay
49) Greenfinch
50) Great spotted woodpecker http://www.zoochat.com/706/great-spotted-woodpecker-406398/
 
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