ZooChat Big Year 2018
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
First real rarity of this fall was found yesterday, so I had to go look... Lovely little animals! Also got great views of pied flycatchers, common redstarts and firecrests and an osprey, which was exciting.
BIRDS:
307) Greenish warbler, Phylloscopus trochiloides
BIRDS:
307) Greenish warbler, Phylloscopus trochiloides
Some surprising additions from the Dun Laoghaire pier in Dublin
333. Razorbill
334. Twite
Mammals:
55. Harbor porpoise
56. Norwegian rat
The porpoise has been an archnemesis when it comes to European mammals, so this was a very welcome and unsuspected surprise, especially as I had no binoculars with me. The two biggest misses on my European list are now Polecat and Beaver....
First addition of September during a mediocre birding session which became awesome because of said addition!
87 - European bee-eater, Meriops apiaster
297. Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna)
298. White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)
Amphibians:
4. Pearson's Tree Frog (Litoria pearsoniana)
Birds:
81. White-Browed Scrub Wren (Sericornis frontalis)
A very fun day of birding near the coast unfortunately didn't get me any new birds (though I did get excellent views of osprey, wryneck and purple heron), but did get me a few insects:
INVERTS:
67) Long-winged conehead, Conocephalus fuscus
68) Migrant hawker, Aeshna mixta
INVERTS:
67) Long-winged conehead, Conocephalus fuscus
68) Migrant hawker, Aeshna mixta
First addition of September during a mediocre birding session which became awesome because of said addition!
87 - European bee-eater, Meriops apiaster
While sorting back through my pictures, I noticed that one of the "Grey" wagtails I had pictured looked weird and after some research online and help from @Vision , I got to re-identify it as a Yellow wagtail in autumnal plumage; a species I've only seen once before!
88 - Yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava
Last set of updates from the trip, I'm back in Poland now.
New birds:
1048) Chestnut-capped Babbler
1049) Lineated Barbet
1050) Common Hoopoe
1051) Yellow-eyed Babbler
1052) Blue-tailed Bee-eater
1053) Indochinese Bushlark
1054) Green Bee-eater
1055) Brown Shrike
1056) Grey-breasted Prinia
1057) Green-eared Barbet
1058) Australasian Bushlark
1059) Spot-billed Pelican
1060) Pied Kingfisher
1061) Spotted Owlet
I've now finished updated my lifelists for wild birds and wild mammals with everything from the trip, and I thought it might be fun to post it here (until I get a full roundup post written for my travel blog).
My bird lifelist is now 1492 species following HBW/Birdlife taxonomy, or 1503 with some extra splits that I like.
My mammal lifelist is now 329 species following IUCN mammal taxonomy (including a few feral domestics which are not on the IUCN) which is very conservative with splits. It would be in the tens more if I went all out with splitting, especially if I fully adopted Groves and Grubb for ungulates (e.g. three hartebeests instead of one, three giraffes instead of one, several ungulates from one into two, and a few additional small carnivores not on IUCN)
My bird lifelist is now 1492 species following HBW/Birdlife taxonomy, or 1503 with some extra splits that I like.
My mammal lifelist is now 329 species following IUCN mammal taxonomy (including a few feral domestics which are not on the IUCN) which is very conservative with splits. It would be in the tens more if I went all out with splitting, especially if I fully adopted Groves and Grubb for ungulates (e.g. three hartebeests instead of one, three giraffes instead of one, several ungulates from one into two, and a few additional small carnivores not on IUCN)
I had no work today (as from this year, every Wednesday) and decided to go to a part of Oued Souss I hadn't visited yet that is only 10 minutes away by car and as usual, when birding near Souss Massa NP or Oued Souss, it was amazing!
9 additions for this year's list (of which nearly all were identified by @Vision , who I thank very much) including 5 lifers, my 2nd ever identified tern, some species I've always wanted to see etc...
Other highlights include some Ruddy shelducks, loads of Greater flamingos at two different spots (100+ at each spot), White storks, both Cattle and Little egrets, European spoonbills, Sanderlings and a lot of European bee-eaters too.
89 - European honey buzzard, Pernis apivorus
90 - Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
91 - Dunlin, Calidris alpina
92 - Black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus
93 - Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
94 - Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
95 - Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia
96 - Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
97 - Little tern, Sternula albifrons
All-in-all, a great day and I hope to return soon.
@LaughingDove of course the giraffe and some of those other splits are supported outside of Groves.
~Thylo
~Thylo
With the difference off course that Groves recognizes 8 species, whereas recent research indicates "only" 4 species should be recognized.
Yes, IUCN taxonomy is clearly too conservative (and generally very slow to update), although as far as I know there isn't a mammal checklist that includes a lot of the recent splits? Jon Hall's mammalwatching one still follows the IUCN very closely and doesn't split any of the G&G splits.
Another lifer-filled day today! Wood warblers truly are fantastic, probably my favorite of all Phylloscopus I've seen this year...
BIRDS:
308) Wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix
INVERTS:
69) Red underwing, Catocala nupta
70) White-streak grass-veneer, Agriphila latistria
BIRDS:
308) Wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix
INVERTS:
69) Red underwing, Catocala nupta
70) White-streak grass-veneer, Agriphila latistria
167. Australian King-parrot
168. Spotted Harrier
169. Crescent Honeyeater
170. Bassian Thrush
And another full day at the coast brought me another lifer! I've definitely grown to like pipits a lot, and this one was especially great. A very nice observation too, in which we saw and heard the species very well (together with a meadow pipit, so very easy for comparison). A very early one!
BIRDS:
309) Richard's pipit, Anthus richardi
INVERTS:
71) Silver Y, Autographa gamma
BIRDS:
309) Richard's pipit, Anthus richardi
INVERTS:
71) Silver Y, Autographa gamma
171. Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo