Dannelboyz
Well-Known Member
MAMMALS
24 - Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)*
BIRDS
205 - Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)
206 - Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana)
207 - Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis)
ZooChat Big Year 2019
- Thread starter TeaLovingDave
- Start date
24 - Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)*
BIRDS
205 - Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)
206 - Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana)
207 - Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis)
Spent this morning with the bat group checking bat boxes in South Derbyshire - which yielded some excellent views of bats but only the two species I've already seen this year (Noctule and Soprano Pip). So it was left to the stop on the way home to bring the year additions, with the following from Attenborough NR:
Birds:
161. Red-crested Pochard - Netta rufina
162. Egyptian Goose - Alopochen aegypticus
163. Common Linnet - Linaria cannabina
(UK: 141)
Birds:
161. Red-crested Pochard - Netta rufina
162. Egyptian Goose - Alopochen aegypticus
163. Common Linnet - Linaria cannabina
(UK: 141)
It's been a while since I saw any new animals. But last few days I've had plenty!
The new species are noted with a underline.
INVERTEBRATES:
1. Green-veined white (Pieris napi)
2. Common brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
3. Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
4. European firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus)
5. Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
6. Grove snail (Cepaea nemoralis)
Honourable mention: unknown barklice species
FISH:
1. Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus)
2. European perch (Perca fluviatilis)
MAMMALS:
1. Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)
BIRDS:
1. Great Cormorant (Gulosus aristotelis)
2. Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
3. Great egret (Ardea alba)
4. Greylag goose (Anser anser)
5. Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
6. Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
7. Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)
8. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
9. Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
10. Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)
11. Eurasian moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
12. Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
13. Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
14. Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
15. Stock dove (Columba oenas)
16. Common blackbird (Turdus merula)
17. Great tit (Parus major)
18. Eurasian jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
19. Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius)
20. Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
21. Carrion crow (Corvus corone)
22. House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
23. Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
24. Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)
25. Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
26. Goldcrest (Regules regules)
27. European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
28. Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
29. Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
The new species are noted with a underline.
INVERTEBRATES:
1. Green-veined white (Pieris napi)
2. Common brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
3. Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
4. European firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus)
5. Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
6. Grove snail (Cepaea nemoralis)
Honourable mention: unknown barklice species
FISH:
1. Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus)
2. European perch (Perca fluviatilis)
MAMMALS:
1. Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)
BIRDS:
1. Great Cormorant (Gulosus aristotelis)
2. Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
3. Great egret (Ardea alba)
4. Greylag goose (Anser anser)
5. Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
6. Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
7. Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)
8. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
9. Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
10. Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)
11. Eurasian moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
12. Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
13. Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
14. Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
15. Stock dove (Columba oenas)
16. Common blackbird (Turdus merula)
17. Great tit (Parus major)
18. Eurasian jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
19. Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius)
20. Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
21. Carrion crow (Corvus corone)
22. House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
23. Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
24. Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)
25. Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
26. Goldcrest (Regules regules)
27. European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
28. Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
29. Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
Herpitiles
2. Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta
And from birding today:
Birds
79. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
80. Yellow-Rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
81. Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
82. Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
91. Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis)
I spend some time trying to ID the species of ''barklice'' which ended up not being a barklice at all but a alderfly. As well as seeing a species of bee that was quite easy to identify.
7. Alderfly (Sialis lutaria)
8. Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
30. European nutchatch (Sitta europaea)
I need to learn how to identify bees..
~Thylo
~Thylo
B. lapidarius is in no way impossible to tell apart from related species like B. rupestrus (which, for example, lacks hairs on its corbicula). Furthermore, lapidarius is very common and all its look-alikes are rare in the Netherlands.
@Ursus, if I were you I would check the shag and treecreeper, as the species you note are quite rare in the Netherlands, and they both have very common look-alikes. The alderfly is a very difficult one, as one needs to check either the heads of larvae or the genitalia of males to be absolutely certain. However, the past 15 years or so only S. lutaria has been confirmed in the Netherlands to the best of my knowledge.
I don't know about where @Ursus saw the bee in question, but in northern England for example B. lapidarius is the only 'red-tailed' bumblebee present.
I found something along those lines as well when I was googling for Dutch bees/bumblebee species and this appeared to be a more common species, hence why I went with it. I always try and check to make sure a species I note isn't extremely rare, cause then I'd probably be lying to myself by listing it.
The above goes as well for the shag which I already removed, it's actually a cormorant (I checked this with some more bird-knowledged friends of mine), it's just my poor knowledge on identifying birds, as I'm only recently starting to ''bird'', or wildlife watching in general. I don't know whether that treecreeper is the right species (as I found on google that there are supposedly two species of tree-creeper present in the Netherlands). But I did see a treecreeper. I looked them up on google and I'm a 100% sure it was one. I've seen this bird several times now, next time I see it I will try to make a photo of it so we can identify it for once and for all.
For the lutaria, I basically looked at Vogelcommando's media of a lutaria and I believe it's the same species as the one I saw, I uploaded a photo of the individual. Sialis lutaria - ZooChat
Well, I don't. I just took the one species that I think I saw. Would you rather have me list both as ''maybe it's this species, maybe it's this one, I don't know''? Just curious how things go around unsure species identification.
For the barklouse, well, I thought it was a barklouse cause they look alike, and I am no insect expert at all, far from it. I try to identify the species with the limited resources I have found on google. This one I happened to take from a photo by Vogelcommando Alderfly - Sialis lutaria - ZooChat
Underneath that photo you even mentioned this ''Lucky that you have only one species of these '' so yeah, that's why I went for this species, as it kinda gave me a form of confirmation I was on the right track.
I do not doubt you saw a treecreeper. Where did you see it if I may ask? The familiaris is rare and only occurs patchily in the extreme south and east of the Netherlands. The brachydactyla (short-toed) is a very common bird in just about every place with trees. They are extremely alike and best distinguised by song. For morphological features, a bold white eye-brow, short bill and a clear white belly are indicators for familiaris, but the brachydactyla can in theory have these features too. The wing pattern is your best bet to ID it from a picture, but in the field I suggest to use song if you suspect a familiaris.
I think most birders of wildlife enthusiasts simply don’t count unsure IDs. That’s what I do at least.
You’re probably save regarding the Sialis. Three species are known to have occured in the Netherlands in recent times, but the other two have not been identifed with certainty for the last 15 years or so. It’s one I struggle to decide whether to count or not.
Note that I merely want to help you. Birding can be hard, especially in the beginning but also after that. And inverts is even more challenging because of the dazzeling diversity and huge number of species. However, that’s also what makes it interesting!
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When in doubt, leave it out. Its easier said then done but its best to have correct ids. Take pictures when possible and ask for help. In this day of ebird etc, dodgy ids will get you a reputation of being unreliable and everything will get questioned. I say this to encourage newbies and not to discourage anyone.
While I feel I have a good handle to my regions vertebrates, invertebrates are a whole different ballgame. Especially now that I am trying to id everything for the challenge. I am only getting as far as genus level or between 2 species. Even finding out how many species in a group occur in an area is difficult here in the states. Europe particularly England seems to be much better at this than we are.
While I feel I have a good handle to my regions vertebrates, invertebrates are a whole different ballgame. Especially now that I am trying to id everything for the challenge. I am only getting as far as genus level or between 2 species. Even finding out how many species in a group occur in an area is difficult here in the states. Europe particularly England seems to be much better at this than we are.
First of all, I really would like to thank you for that. I genuinely appreciate any help regarding wildlife identification and that sorta stuff, so a big thanks!
I saw it in a park near Arnhem, which I think you could see as the east side of the country, but not the far east, it's more near the centre.
I'll definitely try to get a photo of the bird in question next time I see it, will aim for that wing pattern ID. I'll also listen their songs on google in case that would help.
As a couple of other people have said, if you aren't sure about an ID then it is best to not count it. Probably every birder or other animal-lister tries to force IDs onto animals when they are starting out in the hobby, because it is just human nature to want to identify the things they see. It is really difficult to simply leave something as unidentified. After a while we learn to accept that not everything will be able to be identified and that's okay.
Since my last update back in late February I have managed to add only three new birds, one new mammal and three invertebrates. The mammal and the first two invertebrates were all seen in the grounds of Colchester Zoo:
74. Little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
75. Common chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
76. Great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major
5. Brown rat Rattus norvegicus
8. Common brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni
9. Seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata
10. Large white butterfly Pieris brassicae
Heading off for a two-day visit to Minsmere tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be have swelled my list somewhat by Thursday evening.
Birds
83. Double-Crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus