ZooChat Big Year 2015

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lintworm said:
118. Mandarin duck
119. Willow warbler
120. Common whitethroat.

Cetti warbler and grasshopper warbler remained heard only. Extra frustrating, as Cetti warbler would be a lifer....

Butterfly
6. European peacock

Fish.
4. European perch,
5. Western tubenose goby
6. European bitterling
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121. Marsh tit
122. Black redstart
123. Yellowhammer
124. House martin
125. European hobby

Heard only: european cuckoo & little owl

Mammals
11. Pigmy shrew

Herpetofauna
6. Viviparous lizard

Butterflies
7. Orange tip
8. Speckled wood
9. Comma
 
Evening stroll at Avenue Washlands yielded no new bird species but my best view in years of a semi-aquatic furry favourite:

15. Northern Water Vole - Arvicola terrestris

:)
 
Ituri said:
186 White-faced Ibis
187 Long-billed Dowitcher
188 Caspian Tern
189 Western Sandpiper
190 Franklin's Gull
191 Loggerhead Shrike
192 Chipping Sparrow
193 Lincoln's Sparrow
194 Western Kingbird
195 Lesser Yellowlegs
196 Common Yellowthroat
197 Violet-green Swallow
Click to expand...

198 Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria
199 Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla
200 Brewer's Sparrow - Spizella breweri
 
24. Northern Pintail
25. American Robin
26. Spruce Grouse

Mammals:
1. Northern Red-Backed Vole
2. Moose
3. Arctic Fox
4. Red Fox
5. Rocky Mountain Goat
6. Dall Sheep
7. Common Muskrat
8. North American Porcupine
9. Snowshoe Hare
10. Coyote
11. American Red Squirrel
 
Pleistohorse said:
24. Northern Pintail
25. American Robin
26. Spruce Grouse

Mammals:
1. Northern Red-Backed Vole
2. Moose
3. Arctic Fox
4. Red Fox
5. Rocky Mountain Goat
6. Dall Sheep
7. Common Muskrat
8. North American Porcupine
9. Snowshoe Hare
10. Coyote
11. American Red Squirrel
Click to expand...

Birds:

27. Bonaparte Gull
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Managed to find a second species of reptile, again in my back garden:

2) Viviparous lizard Zootoca vivipara
Click to expand...

Had a brilliant trip to Heybridge Basin today, which managed to add five new species of bird (one of which was a lifer) and a new species of mammal for the year list:

Birds:
111. Sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
112. Eurasian reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
113. Common cuckoo Cuculus canorus
114. Common tern Sterna hirundo
115. Cetti's warbler Cettia cetti

Mammals:
11. Northern water vole Arvicola amphibius
 
Hix said:
Birds
113. Australasian Gannet
114. Chestnut Teal
115. Bar-tailed Godwit
116. Little Corella

:p

Hix
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117. Cattle Egret

:p

Hix
 
April has ended in New Zealand, so here are the current totals:

BIRDS:
jbnbsn99 –319
LaughingDove – 234
mstickmanp – 213
Ituri – 200
Hevden – 190
robmv – 170
boof – 142
Maguari – 126
adrian1963 – 125
lintworm – 125
Hix – 117
DesertRhino150 – 115
zooboy28 – 99
nanoboy – 95
TeaLovingDave – 58
Chlidonias – 57
vogelcommando – 50
AverageWalrus – 29
Pleistohorse – 27
BeardsleyZooFan – 21
Javan Rhino – 19
ThylacineAlive – 15

MAMMALS:
LaughingDove – 37
jbnbsn99 – 23
Ituri – 21
Maguari – 15
lintworm – 11
Pleistohorse – 11
DesertRhino150 – 11
zooboy28 – 9
Hix – 6
ThylacineAlive – 4
AverageWalrus – 3
Chlidonias – 3
BeardsleyZooFan – 3
mstickmanp – 2

HERPTILES:
lintworm – 6 Herptiles total (4 Amphibians, 2 Reptiles)
Hix – 5 Herptiles total (0 Amphibians, 5 Reptiles)
AverageWalrus – 4 Herptiles total (0 Amphibians, 4 Reptiles)
LaughingDove – 3 Herptiles total (1 Amphibians, 2 Reptiles)
Maguari – 3 Herptiles total (3 Amphibians, 0 Reptiles)
Ituri – 3 Herptiles total (1 Amphibians, 2 Reptiles)
DesertRhino150 – 3 Herptiles total (1 Amphibians, 2 Reptiles)

FISH:
lintworm – 6
LaughingDove – 4
AverageWalrus – 3

BUTTERFLIES:
lintworm – 9
 
lintworm said:
@Chlidonias, one small correction, I have 3 reptiles and 3 amphibians ;).
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I appear to have issues with telling amphibians and reptiles apart! :p

Just to save me looking back through the thread, which species do you have?
 
Grass snake
Wall lizard
Viviparous lizard

Common toad
Common frog
Alpine newt
(+ the non countable edible frog hybrid)
 
lintworm said:
Grass snake
Wall lizard
Viviparous lizard

Common toad
Common frog
Alpine newt
(+ the non countable edible frog hybrid)
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oh yeah, I know what I did then. I had counted edible frog in your total so you had four amphibians, and then I thought the total of six you gave with vivparous lizard meant there were just two reptiles.
 
I'd be inclined to say Edible Frog counts, as it is a natural hybrid which has undergone selection, is morphologically distinct and uniform (unlike other hybrid taxa which can vary in how much they look like one or the other progenitor) and is self-perpetuating.

It's a very grey area of course - I am sure no one would refuse to count Stump-tailed Macaque or Clymene Dolphin despite the fact that they are also hybrid taxa, merely ones which have existed longer :p
 
TeaLovingDave said:
I'd be inclined to say Edible Frog counts, as it is a natural hybrid which has undergone selection, is morphologically distinct and uniform (unlike other hybrid taxa which can vary in how much they look like one or the other progenitor) and is self-perpetuating.
Click to expand...

edible frog are all but uniform! The length of their hindlegs, size + shape of their metatarsus, color of belly, color of vocal sac and color of their back do show large variations between different edible frogs and a real pool frog or marsh frog can only be distinguished if all these are correct. They are indeed morphologically distinct, but that is only because they have a certain mix of characteristics from pool and marsh frogs in changing quantities. The major selection going on in edible frog seems to be (according to wikipedia....) that edible frog x edible frog has a lower fitness than an edible frog x marsh frog or a edible frog x pool frog.

For me they will remain non-countable as they are really hybrids, although ones with an interesting story. For me that is a totally different story then ancient hybridisation, something that is widely accepted to be a way to "create" new species...
 
I am visiting the Biebrza marshes this weekend (3 day weekend with public holiday) with the sole purpose of birding
Drive there:
Common crane - I saw a pair of them from the car quite nearby doing the full dance thing. Unfortunately I couldn't stop to photograph them. I saw many more though in the marshes

First day:
235) Redshank
236) Godwit
237) Common tern
238) Ruff
239) Green sandpiper
240) Whiskered tern - one of my target species and I saw quite a big group!
241) Barnacle Goose
242) Curlew

There were also over 100 white storks there were three of four in practically every field and nests on every few lamp posts. Even a few in my accommodation.

Also, much thanks to the book "birding in Poland" which I got off NHBS recently, it's like a lonely planet book but for birding with all the best sites and observation towers with information about them. I wouldn't have seen half the birds I did without it; definitely recommended for anyone doing any birding in Poland.

And I hope for a few more tomorrow :)
 
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DesertRhino150 said:
Had a brilliant trip to Heybridge Basin today, which managed to add five new species of bird (one of which was a lifer) and a new species of mammal for the year list:

Birds:
111. Sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
112. Eurasian reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
113. Common cuckoo Cuculus canorus
114. Common tern Sterna hirundo
115. Cetti's warbler Cettia cetti

Mammals:
11. Northern water vole Arvicola amphibius
Click to expand...

On today's visit to Colchester Zoo, I managed to see my first two species of fish for the year, on the nature reserve adjacent to the zoo's grounds:

1. European minnow Phoxinus phoxinus
2. Spined loach Coebitis taenia
 
lintworm said:
121. Marsh tit
122. Black redstart
123. Yellowhammer
124. House martin
125. European hobby

Heard only: european cuckoo & little owl

Mammals
11. Pigmy shrew

Herpetofauna
6. Viviparous lizard

Butterflies
7. Orange tip
8. Speckled wood
9. Comma
Click to expand...


The first new bird for me since I moved to Switzerland 2 days ago:

126. European canary

This is actually only the second time I saw this species (first time 2013 in Croatia), however I saw it in the garden next to my appartment, so it won't be the last time I will see and here them ;)
 
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