ZooChat Big Year 2019

The BRBC ended up not accepting the ring-necked duck I saw in May because there was no photographic evidence of the absence of a band around its leg... Just like last year's ring-necked duck, the bird annoyingly only stayed for one day and could not be photographed well enough. That's a minus one, but today I got an addition so I can't complain! Still one to go.

BIRDS:
699) Velvet scoter, Melanitta fusca

(Benelux: 249)

INVERTS:
105) Winter moth, Operophtera brumata
 
i dident thik i wood get any more mammals this year but durig a wake today i met a small mouse. it was wood mouse or a yellow necked mouse. loking at the phots i got it is a yellow neced mouse a lifer for me
39 yellow neced mouse Apodemus flavicollis
on more and i am at 40 but the only one i can thik of that i am mising is wild boar
 
akasha said:
9. Western Grey Kangaroo
10. Red Kangaroo
11. Feral goat
12. Feral pig
13. Feral cat
14. Red Fox

5. Shingleback
6. Central Bearded Dragon
7. Gidgee Skink
8. Mallee Military Dragon
9. Eastern Brown Snake

208. Australian Ringneck
209. Yellow-throated Miner
210. White-winged Fairywren
211. Rufous Fieldwren
212. Chirruping Wedgebill
213. Singing Honeyeater
214. Crested Bellbird
215. Masked Woodswallow
216. Little Woodswallow
217. Australian Owlet-nightjar
218. Brown Falcon
219. Black-faced Woodswallow
220. Red-browed Pardalote
221. Chestnut-crowned Babbler
222. Bourke's Parrot
223. Mulga Parrot
224. Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
225. Blue-winged Parrot
226. Red-backed Kingfisher
227. Crimson Chat
228. Tree Martin
229. Black-breasted Buzzard
230. White-backed Swallow
231. Budgerigar
232. Eyrean Grasswren
233. Cockatiel
234. Orange Chat
235. White-breasted Woodswallow
236. Little Crow
237. Splendid Fairywren
238. Chestnut Quail-thrush
239. Gilbert's Whistler
240. White-fronted Chat
241. Banded Lapwing
242. Australian Shelduck
243. Black-tailed Nativehen
244. Australian Spotted Crake
245. Baillon's Crake
246. Red-necked Avocet
247. Caspian Tern
248. Whiskered Tern
249. Glossy Ibis
250. Rufous Songlark
251. Western Gerygone
Click to expand...

252. Southern Boobook
253. Nankeen Night-Heron
254. Channel-billed Cuckoo
255. Short-tailed Shearwater
256. Australasian Gannett
257. Whimbrel
258. White-bellied Sea-Eagle
259. Sooty Oystercatcher
 
Birds:
139. Golden Whistler
140. Olive Backed Oriole

Reptiles:
19. Yellow Faced Whip Snake

In recent weeks I’ve also seen a bush stone curlew, plenty of channel billed cuckoo and a green catbird.
 
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It was a good morning today. I spend a couple of hours scanning meadows not too far from home. I found harriers, partridges and a Peregrine Falcon, but I wasn't there for them. After a long search and a bit of help from a fellow birder, I noticed a bold yellow eye staring at me from a patch of long grass. I had finally found one of my great nemesis birds: a Short-Eared Owl. In total I saw 4 this morning, but there may have been twice as many.

Birds
243. Short-Eared Owl, Asio flammeus

Invertebrates
183. Woodlouse, Porcellio spinicornis

If my numbers seem off, I noticed I counted Long-Tailed Tit twice (they are worth a double count, but that would be cheating!). Also for some reason I skipped some numbers in my invert list, but that is all corrected now.
 
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animal_expert01 said:
Birds:
139. Golden Whistler
140. Olive Backed Oriole

Reptiles:
19. Yellow Faced Whip Snake

In recent weeks I’ve also seen a bush stone curlew, plenty of channel billed cuckoo and a green catbird.
Click to expand...
Yesterday was an absolutely fantastic day for me. I saw a male jabiru in the same place I saw the pair earlier this year. It was feeding in a pond and then it wandered into a nearby paddock and began to hunt in the tall grass. Then to my added delight while I was watching the jabiru a pair of painted snipes flew up out of the grass in front of me and disappeared into the nearby sugar cane. I’ve seen a bird that looks like male painted snipe early this year on two occasions at the same location but I haven’t been entirely confident that it was a painted snipe so I didn’t add it to the list.

Then later when it was dark I was spotlighting off the back deck looking for nocturnal wildlife when a powerful owl flew right through my spotlight! I have always wanted to see one and one flew past just metres from me! I only saw saw it for less then a second as it flew out of the light and then disappeared down the gully but I immediately knew what it was.
The striated Heron is another exciting lifer from several weeks ago, I just forgot to add it to the list.

Birds:
141. Striated Heron (Butorides striata)
142. Painted Snipe (Rostratula australis)
143. Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)
 
so i doble counted eurasian colled dove but i forgot that i have seen lots of white wagtails this year so
297 white wagtail
 
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Guys, I'm done with this year.
For the next one I want to improve in the identification of the animals I see.
I won't do many trips like this year, but since January I'm going to visit a natural reserve and a botanical garden, where many birds are present (some of them would be lifer for me!)
See you in 2020!
 
Since I joined zoochat in June I haven’t participated this year but Ill start next year.

In this month alone I’ve had almost 20 lifers, the rest of the year about 6 or 7. Almost all have been birds but a mammal too.

Looking forward to start posting big year posts next year
 
Najade said:
Bali
Bali Bird Park, Sacred Monkey Forest

Mammals
87. Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

Birds
115. Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
116. White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
117. Javan Munia (Lonchura leucogastroides)

Reptiles
108. Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata)
Click to expand...

Back in Germany

Mammals
88. Eurasian Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Birds
118. Rock Dove (Columba livia)
119. Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)
120. Common Blackbird (Turdus merula)
121. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
122. Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
123. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
124. Great Tit (Parus major)
125. European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
 
so i doble couted two more specis but i forgot to include two so i am on the nuberer
the new once are redd wabler wicht that i forgot that i allso saw and linnet
 
Najade said:
Back in Germany

Mammals
88. Eurasian Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Birds
118. Rock Dove (Columba livia)
119. Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)
120. Common Blackbird (Turdus merula)
121. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
122. Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
123. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
124. Great Tit (Parus major)
125. European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Click to expand...

Birds
126. Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
127. Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
128. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
129. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
130. Western Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
131. Rook (Corvus frugilegus)
132. Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
133. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
 
Najade said:
Birds
126. Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
127. Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
128. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
129. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
130. Western Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
131. Rook (Corvus frugilegus)
132. Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
133. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Click to expand...

First crack with the thermal while walking the dog. Also had a couple of rodents but couldn’t be sure about ID. Need to buy a field guide soon. Anyone have recommendations?

Mammals
89. Beech Marten (Martes foina)
 
animal_expert01 said:
Yesterday was an absolutely fantastic day for me. I saw a male jabiru in the same place I saw the pair earlier this year. It was feeding in a pond and then it wandered into a nearby paddock and began to hunt in the tall grass. Then to my added delight while I was watching the jabiru a pair of painted snipes flew up out of the grass in front of me and disappeared into the nearby sugar cane. I’ve seen a bird that looks like male painted snipe early this year on two occasions at the same location but I haven’t been entirely confident that it was a painted snipe so I didn’t add it to the list.

Then later when it was dark I was spotlighting off the back deck looking for nocturnal wildlife when a powerful owl flew right through my spotlight! I have always wanted to see one and one flew past just metres from me! I only saw saw it for less then a second as it flew out of the light and then disappeared down the gully but I immediately knew what it was.
The striated Heron is another exciting lifer from several weeks ago, I just forgot to add it to the list.

Birds:
141. Striated Heron (Butorides striata)
142. Painted Snipe (Rostratula australis)
143. Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)
Click to expand...
Turns out the snipes I saw along with the Jabiru were actually Latham’s Snipes. I got the whole thing on video and in the video you can hear the snipes call before they take off and they are clearly Latham’s Snipes. I’m however keeping painted snipe on my list due to the male I’ve seen several times mentioned in my last post. The Jabiru is still hanging around and I’ve seen it twice more now in the last few days. The Emerald Dove was seen the other day which is nice as I haven’t seen one in a couple of years. I also saw a pair of rose crowned fruit doves today which was very cool. I’m nearly at my goal of 150!

Birds:
144. Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps longirostris)
145. Latham’s Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
 
Najade said:
First crack with the thermal while walking the dog. Also had a couple of rodents but couldn’t be sure about ID. Need to buy a field guide soon. Anyone have recommendations?

Mammals
89. Beech Marten (Martes foina)
Click to expand...

Birds
134. Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
135. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Birds
86. Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides
87. White-necked Heron Ardea pacifica
88. Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus
89. Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae
Click to expand...
I just saw a magnificent bird! It was feeding in one of the large fig trees at Wildlife HQ (local zoo).
Birds
90. Wompoo Fruit Dove Ptilinopus magnificus
 
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A spot of birding near home around the Mornington Peninsula this afternoon.

Birds

382. Black-shouldered kite Elanus axillaris
383. Whistling kite Haliastur sphenurus
384. Grey currawong Strepera versicolor
385. Grey shrike-thrush Colluricincla harmonica
386. Jacky winter Microeca fascinans

Reptiles

19. Eastern long-neck turtle Chelodina longicollis

Invertebrates

8. Small white Pieris rapae
 
Najade said:
First crack with the thermal while walking the dog. Also had a couple of rodents but couldn’t be sure about ID. Need to buy a field guide soon. Anyone have recommendations?

Mammals
89. Beech Marten (Martes foina)
Click to expand...
for mammas the best one is mammals of europe north afrika and middle east.
for birds the best one by far is just cald bird guide. it has all of western paleartic in it
 
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