ZooChat Big Year 2018

Just realised I forgot to update my bird list after a trip to RSPB Old Hall Marshes on Wednesday. The extremely cold wind kept many birds down and forced us to leave after about an hour but I still managed to add nine new species to my list:

66. European golden plover Pluvialis apricaria
67. Dark-bellied brent goose Branta bernicla
68. Common redshank Tringa totanus
69. Common reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus
70. Eurasian skylark Alauda arvensis
71. Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus
72. Western marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus
73. Red knot Calidris canutus (NT)
74. Dunlin Calidris alpina

Added another new bird when I went on a trip to Cambridge yesterday:

75. Feral pigeon Columba livia

Frankly, I'm stunned it took me twenty days to see one.
 
A day trip to a large reservoir (Zegrze Reservoir) about 45 minutes drive away added lots of nice species thanks to having a scope:

34) White-tailed Sea-eagle (dozens winter around the reservoir - super cool)
35) Velvet Scoter
36) Long-tailed Duck
37) Smew (largest number of these I've ever seen - total of 6 males and 11 females seen)
38) Common Goldeneye
39) Red-breasted Merganser
40) Tufted Duck
41) Greater Black-backed Gull
42) Greater Scaup
43) Black-throated Diver
44) Eurasian Teal
45) Common Scoter
46) Green Woodpecker
47) Bean Goose
48) Eurasian Siskin
49) Twite
50) European Greenfinch
51) Red-throated Diver
52) Linnet
53) Common Redpoll
54) European Herring Gull
55) Common (Mew) Gull

My only bird of prey so far this year is dozens of sea eagles! Still no buzzards!

Today was spent in Kampinos National Park and I added a nice mix of common and some rarer species: (though I was hoping for a few more mammals and birds of prey)

56) Common Buzzard
57) Black Woodpecker
58) Common Crane
59) Crested Lark
60) Mistle Thrush
61) Bohemian Waxwing
62) European Crested Tit
63) Eurasian Treecreeper
64) Willow Tit
65) Rough-legged Buzzard

3) European Roe Deer
 
Birds:
40. Common Gull, Larus canus
41. European Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis
 
A quick pit stop at the always-excellent RSPB Fairburn Ings reserve this afternoon:

108. Willow Tit (Poecile montanus)
109. Great White Egret (Ardea alba)
110. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
 
Birds:
33. Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus)
34. White-Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
35. White-Brested Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus)
36. Black-Faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus)

Reptiles:
7. Dtella Gecko (Gehyra variegata)
8. Carpet Python (Morelia spilota)

Amphibians:
1. Cane Toad (Rhinella marina)
2. Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

Fish:
5. Blue Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)

Invertebrates:
2. St Andrew's Cross Spider (Argiope sp)
Birds:
37. Channel Billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae)

Reptiles:
9. Common Garden Skink (Lampropholis guichenoti)

Mammals:
4. House Mouse (Mus musculus)
 
Slightly unexpected addition among the gulls in Canterbury town centre today:
Birds
42. Little Egret, Egretta garzetta
 
A new bird, a new mammal and the first invertebrate of the year. This year I'll be listing inverts for the first time, so many of the lifers won't be entirely new to be, it is just that I properly identified them for the first time.

Birds
105. White stork [Ciconia ciconia]

Mammals
3. Red squirrel [sciurus vulgaris]

Invertebrates
1. Common earthworm [Lumbricus terrestris]
 
A quick pit stop at the always-excellent RSPB Fairburn Ings reserve this afternoon:

108. Willow Tit (Poecile montanus)
109. Great White Egret (Ardea alba)
110. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

Today's diversion on the return drive took me to Howden Reservoir in Derbyshire (thanks to Maguari for the intel):

111. Parrot Crossbill (Loxia pytyopsittacus)
 
Completely forgot to update my list but I haven't been birding anyway:

7 - Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
8 - Maghreb magpie, Pica mauritanica
9 - Common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
10 - Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
11 - House bunting, Emberiza sahari
12 - White wagtail, Motacilla alba subpersonata

13 - Laughing dove, Spilopelia senegalensis
14 - Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
 
Today was spent in Kampinos National Park and I added a nice mix of common and some rarer species: (though I was hoping for a few more mammals and birds of prey)

56) Common Buzzard
57) Black Woodpecker
58) Common Crane
59) Crested Lark
60) Mistle Thrush
61) Bohemian Waxwing
62) European Crested Tit
63) Eurasian Treecreeper
64) Willow Tit
65) Rough-legged Buzzard

3) European Roe Deer

66) European Goldfinch
 
Added another new bird when I went on a trip to Cambridge yesterday:

75. Feral pigeon Columba livia

Frankly, I'm stunned it took me twenty days to see one.

Went out early this morning to a local watchpoint that has been seeing all manner of interesting woodland birds. Struck very lucky here, with three new species one of which was a lifer (my first for the year):

76. Bohemian waxwing Bombycilla garrulus
77. Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes
78. Goldcrest Regulus regulus

This was followed by a brief walk at Heybridge gravel pits - the tide was out on this visit and allowed me to see two new waders plus a third bird on the pits themselves:

79. Black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa (NT)
80. Little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
81. Pied avocet Recurvirostra avosetta

Also gradually seeing more insects; my second species for my bee and wasp list came in through the window a couple of nights back and my first ladybird was seen earlier this afternoon:

2. Ichneumon wasp Ophion obscuratus

1. Seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata
 
The classic bonus-on-the-way-home-from-the-pub mammal has appeared tonight, making a welcome return to its traditional January position after atypically not appearing until March last year:

Mammals:
8. Red Fox - Vulpes vulpes

:)
 
I kicked the year off bouncing around Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California and racked up a good list though I didn't get to do nearly as much wildlife watching or birding as planned due to some personal complications and my trip to the Channel Islands being canceled the day before due to bad weather. I just got home today so I haven't begun going back through my IDs and will likely be posting them as I go along uploading my zoo and wildlife photos so bear with me!

Mammals
1) White-Tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus*
2) Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger
3) Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
4) Collared Peccary Pecari tajacu
5) Antelope Jackrabbit Lepus alleni
6) Desert Cottontail Sylvilagus audubonii
7) Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus
8) California Ground Squirrel Otospermophilus beecheyi
9) California Sea Lion Zalophus californianus
10) Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina
11) Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus
12) Grey Whale Eschrichtius robustus
13) Fin Whale Balaenoptera physalus
14) Northern Elephant Seal Mirounga angustirostris
15) Black-Tailed Jackrabbit Lepus californicus
16) Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis
17) Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus

Birds
1) Rock Pigeon Columba livia
2) Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
3) House Sparrow Passer domesticus
4) Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
5) American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
6) Ring-Billed Gull Larus delawarensis
7) Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
8) Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
9) American Robin Turdus migratorius
10) Great Egret Ardea alba
11) Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
12) Black-Bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
13) Red-Tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis**
14) Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
15) Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
16) Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
17) Snow Goose Anser caerulescens
18) White-Tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
19) Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
20) American White Ibis Eudocimus albus
21) Anhinga Anhinga anhinga
22) Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
23) Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
24) Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
25) Ladder-Backed Woodpecker Dryobates scalaris
26) Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata
27) Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis
28) Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
29) Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula
30) Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
31) Golden-Fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
32) Inca Dove Columbina inca
33) Common Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
34) Buff-Bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
35) White-Throated Swift Aeronautes saxatalis
36) Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii
37) Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
38) American Kestrel Falco sparverius
39) Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
40) Merlin Falco columbarius
41) Chihuahuan Raven Corvus cryptoleucus
42) Ruby-Crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
43) Clay-Colored Sparrow Spizella pallida
44) Common Merganser Mergus merganser
45) Bridled Titmouse Baeolophus wollweberi
46) Pyrrhyloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
47) Canada Goose Branta canadensis
48) American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus
49) Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
50) Northern Pintail Anas acuta
51) Black-Crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
52) Black-Necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
53) Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus
54) Great-Tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
55) California Towhee Melozone crissalis
56) Yellow-Rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
57) Cassin's Kingbird Tyrannus vociferans
58) Common Raven Corvus corax
59) North American Wood Duck Aix sponsa
60) American Black Oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani
61) Western Gull Larus occidentalis
62) Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
63) Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
64) Phainopepla Phainopepla nitens
65) White-Winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
66) Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans
67) Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

*I'll have seen both subspecies texanus and couesi

**Suspect I'll have seen multiple subspecies, though it seems the subspecies ranges in North America can get a bit muddled, though I should have definitely seen at least borealis and calurus.

As mentioned before, more species to come as I identify them.

~Thylo
 
I kicked the year off bouncing around Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California and racked up a good list though I didn't get to do nearly as much wildlife watching or birding as planned due to some personal complications and my trip to the Channel Islands being canceled the day before due to bad weather. I just got home today so I haven't begun going back through my IDs and will likely be posting them as I go along uploading my zoo and wildlife photos so bear with me!

Mammals
1) White-Tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus*
2) Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger
3) Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
4) Collared Peccary Pecari tajacu
5) Antelope Jackrabbit Lepus alleni
6) Desert Cottontail Sylvilagus audubonii
7) Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus
8) California Ground Squirrel Otospermophilus beecheyi
9) California Sea Lion Zalophus californianus
10) Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina
11) Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus
12) Grey Whale Eschrichtius robustus
13) Fin Whale Balaenoptera physalus
14) Northern Elephant Seal Mirounga angustirostris
15) Black-Tailed Jackrabbit Lepus californicus
16) Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis
17) Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus

Birds
1) Rock Pigeon Columba livia
2) Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
3) House Sparrow Passer domesticus
4) Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
5) American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
6) Ring-Billed Gull Larus delawarensis
7) Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
8) Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
9) American Robin Turdus migratorius
10) Great Egret Ardea alba
11) Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
12) Black-Bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
13) Red-Tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis**
14) Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
15) Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
16) Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
17) Snow Goose Anser caerulescens
18) White-Tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
19) Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
20) American White Ibis Eudocimus albus
21) Anhinga Anhinga anhinga
22) Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
23) Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
24) Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
25) Ladder-Backed Woodpecker Dryobates scalaris
26) Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata
27) Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis
28) Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
29) Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula
30) Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
31) Golden-Fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
32) Inca Dove Columbina inca
33) Common Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
34) Buff-Bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
35) White-Throated Swift Aeronautes saxatalis
36) Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii
37) Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
38) American Kestrel Falco sparverius
39) Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
40) Merlin Falco columbarius
41) Chihuahuan Raven Corvus cryptoleucus
42) Ruby-Crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
43) Clay-Colored Sparrow Spizella pallida
44) Common Merganser Mergus merganser
45) Bridled Titmouse Baeolophus wollweberi
46) Pyrrhyloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
47) Canada Goose Branta canadensis
48) American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus
49) Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
50) Northern Pintail Anas acuta
51) Black-Crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
52) Black-Necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
53) Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus
54) Great-Tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
55) California Towhee Melozone crissalis
56) Yellow-Rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
57) Cassin's Kingbird Tyrannus vociferans
58) Common Raven Corvus corax
59) North American Wood Duck Aix sponsa
60) American Black Oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani
61) Western Gull Larus occidentalis
62) Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
63) Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
64) Phainopepla Phainopepla nitens
65) White-Winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
66) Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans
67) Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

*I'll have seen both subspecies texanus and couesi

**Suspect I'll have seen multiple subspecies, though it seems the subspecies ranges in North America can get a bit muddled, though I should have definitely seen at least borealis and calurus.

As mentioned before, more species to come as I identify them.

~Thylo

A few more I know I saw but forgot to add last night:

Mammals
18) Mexican Rock Squirrel Otospermophilus variegatus

Birds
68) Gila Woodpecker Melanerpes uropygialis
69) Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

~Thylo
 
An addition seen in a bathroom today:

Inverts
1. Long-Bodied Cellar Spider Pholcus phalangioides

Do species seen caught in a live trap count? Because if they do, I have one more mammal.
Saw tons of these today (they like strawberries):

Inverts
2. Common Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster
 
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