ZooChat Big Year 2020

Pertinax said:
I have tried to do that a number of times, but without including Hooded Crow. The one that usually fails me on such occassions is Jay.
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I wouldn't have got jay if I didn't go looking for red squirrel - I saw both at The Dingle NR in Llangefni. There are now 2-3 apparently permanent resident Hoodies around the retail park in Holyhead, presumably originating from the Irish population. They're pleasingly close to South Stack, which is exceptionally reliable for raven and chough, so the three 'harder' British crows in as little as half an hour is definitely possible!


Pertinax said:
Were the Black Guillemots in Holyhead Harbour again, end of 'Turkey-something' road?
I failed with them here as I didn't know exactly where to look.
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The best place for Black Guillemot is around Holyhead marina (LL65 1YA) - there were at least four birds there on this occasion. I also had one at Point Lynas and one at Moelfre. They turn up pretty much anywhere around Anglesey and the Menai Strait coast of Gywnedd, but the marina is by far the most reliable. I've tried Turkey Shore Road before without luck, but I know they are seen there.
 
Birds missed from previous Sri Lanka lists

252. Striated heron Butorides striata
253. Brown-headed barbet Megalaima zeylanica
254. Large cuckoo-shrike Coracina macei
255. Small minivet Pericrocotus cinamombus
256. Sri Lanka drongo Dicrurus lophorinus
257. Black-capped bulbul Pycnonotus melanicterus
258. Yellow-rumped flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia

Which makes 201 birds added to this years list from the trip. I also saw 3 species that were already on my list making a total of 204 species seen on the trip.
 
Invertebrates identified during the Sri Lanka trip

(Butterflies)

3. Three-spot grass yellow Eurema blanda
4. Plain tiger Danaus chrysippus
5. Common crow Euploea core
6. Brown king crow Euploea klugii
7. Ceylon tree nymph Idea iasonia
8. Blue crow Tirumala limniace
9. Common bluebottle Graphium sarpedon
10. Common rose Pachliopta aristolochiae
11. Crimson rose Pachliopta hector
12. Chequered swallowtail Papilio demoleus
13. Common birdwing Troides helena
14. Cerulean Jamides celeno

(Molluscs)

15. African giant snail Achatina fulica
 
Dannelboyz said:
162 and on are from the Western Treatment Plant today, while the pardalote and gang-gang are incidentals from earlier this week. Curious on thoughts regarding counting Orange-bellied Parrots for the ZooChat Big Year? I did count them last year as the birds were seen in their natural wintering grounds, but even this is debatable because at least two or three of the four turned out to be captive-born (the others I couldn't get band IDs on). This year I saw five birds all in Victoria when they would naturally be in Tasmania. I'm getting info on the bands now, but they're almost certainly captive-born for this reason. I only raise this because they seem to be a weird exception amongst birders here, where most people tick them despite the fact that the population is not self-sustaining. I'm inclined to count them because the experience of finding them is quite a thrill given their rarity, but I also recognise that it might offend the birding sticklers.

BIRDS
160 - Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus)
161 - Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum)
162 - Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
163 - Musk Duck (Biziura lobata)
164 - Singing Honeyeater (Lichenostomus virescens)
165 - Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes)
166 - Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
167 - Banded Stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus)
168 - Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
-- Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) [captive-born]
169 - Brolga (Grus rubicunda)
170 - Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
171 - White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
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From various spots between Bairnsdale and the Yarra Ranges... let me know if you want more exact locations on a particular species :)

MAMMALS
17 - Mountain Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus cunninghami)
-- Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australis) [heard]

BIRDS
173 - Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus)
174 - Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)
175 - Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis)
176 - Flame Robin (Petroica phoenica)
177 - Wonga Pigeon (Leucosarcia melanoleuca)
-- White-eared Honeyeater (Lichenostomus leucotis) [heard]
178 - Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor)
179 - Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana)

REPTILES
7 - Australian Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii)
8 - Lowlands Copperhead (Austrelaps superbus)
 
Hix said:
Birds
60. Yellow-rumped Thornbill
61. Varied Sittella
62. Gang-gang Cockatoo
63. Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
64. White-eared Honeyeater
65. Grey Shrike-thrush
66. Silver Gull
67. Great Cormorant
68. Pied Cormorant
69. Musk Lorikeet
70. Red Wattlebird
71. Scarlet Honeyeater
72. Eastern Whipbird
73. Golden Whistler

Mammals
5. Grey-headed Flying Fox
6. Swamp Wallaby
7. Echidna

Reptiles
3. Eastern Water Skink
4. White's Skink
5. Garden Skink

:p

Hix
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Birds
74. Australasian Figbird
75. Common (Eurasian) Blackbird
76. Sooty Oystercatcher
77. Ruddy Turnstone
78. Red-necked Stint
79. Grey-tailed Tattler
80. Crested Tern
81. Australian Brush-turkey
82. Galah
83. Australian King Parrot
84. Lewin's Honeyeater
85. Little Wattlebird
86. Brown Gerygone
87. Yellow Thornbill
88. Australasian Darter
89. White-throated Needletail

:p

Hix
 
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Mehdi said:
Some additions from passive birding in Spain:

16/02/2020 (Faunia, Madrid, Spain)
BIRDS:
63 - Eurasian magpie, Pica pica
64 - Rose-ringed parakeet, Psittacula krameri
65 - Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris
66 - Monk parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus
67 - Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos

22/02/2020 (AVE Madrid/Valencia, Spain)
BIRDS:
68 - Black kite, Milvus migrans

(Parc de Capçalera, Spain)
69 - European goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis
70 - Black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
71 - Greylag goose, Anser anser

(Bioparc Valencia, Spain)
72 - Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
73 - Long-tailed tit, Aegithalos caudatus

(Parc de Capçalera, Spain)
HERPS:
1 - Red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans
2 - Spanish pond turtle, Mauremys leprosa
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A 1h30 session at Oued Souss didn't yield much but it was the first time I used binos on the field (had to use my camera all the time before as I didn't have binos) so it was still very fun:

29/02/2020 (Oued Souss, Morocco)
BIRDS:
74 - Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
75 - Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
76 - Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia
77 - Eurasian whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus
 
Had a great day in Limburg looking for one of Europe's coolest exotics, an American duck and our biggest owls, and got lucky with all three. Only the second time I see the duck and owl, and both gave much better views than the first times!

BIRDS:
130) Common kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
131) Eurasian woodcock, Scolopax rusticola
132) Vinous-throated parrotbill, Sinosuthora webbiana
133) Smew, Mergellus albellus
134) Yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis
135) Blue-winged teal, Spatula discors
136) Eurasian eagle-owl, Bubo bubo

(Benelux: 133)
 
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animal_expert01 said:
How often are you on the Sunshine Coast? If you want I can send you some birding locations and perhaps we could even go birding sometime.


Birds:
85. Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
86. Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus)

Reptiles:
6. Elegant Snake Eyed Skink Cryptoblepharus pulcher)

The barn owl was a very exciting long overdue lifer seen on the power line while driving home a few nights ago. Also, I’m going to Thailand next week for the first time so has anyone got any good places for wildlife in Phuket?
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Birds:
87. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
89. Restless Flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta)
 
here is the rest of the bids from boreo. sory for weird order first few are from mount knabalu and most of the rest is from kinabatang river or from turtle island (selingaan)
114 speckled drongo
115 golden naped barbet
116 white throted fantail
117 scarlet minvet
118 hill blue flychatcher
119 flavescent bulbul maeybe a split into pale faced bulbul
120 ochraceous bulbul
121 grater crested tern
122 black naped tern
123 barred rail
124 philippine scrubfow
125 emerald dove
126 coppers sunbird
127 oriental dollarbird
128 blue throated bee eater
129 spotted dove
130 storms stork
131 lesser adjuant
132 yellow bittern
133 ashy drongo
134 plaintive cuckoo
135 staited heron
136 buffy fish owl
137 mossy net swift
138 stork biled kingfisher
139 collared kingfisher
140 blue eard kingfisher
141oriental dwarf kingfisher
142 white brested waterhen
143 crested serpent eagel
144 walace hawk eagle
145 lesser fish eagle
146 jerdons baza
147 brown barbet
148 white crowned hornbill
149 bushy- crested hornbill
150 wrinkled hornbill
151 rhinoceros hornbill
152 black hornbill
153 oriental pied hornbil
154 malasyian fantail
155 crested mynja
156 slender biled crow
157 comon hill myna
158 long billd spiderhunter
159 maroon woodpecker
160 black and yellow brodbill
161 black and red brodbill
162 black naped monarck
163 black capped white eye
 
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WhistlingKite24 said:
A few of the urban regulars.

Mammals
4. Common Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpecula
5. Grey-headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus
6. Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus
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I saw the rainbow bee-eaters in the same place I saw them last year (in a car park at a local shopping centre!)

Birds
94. Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus
 
animal_expert01 said:
Saw two great lifers from one of the windows at the Malaysian airport.

Birds:
90. Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus)
91. Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica)
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Where are you going in Malaysia?

Crested Mynahs failed in Malaysia and probably now only occur on Penang. You most likely saw White-vented Mynah A. grandis, or Javan Mynah A. javanicus (the latter is more common, but the former looks more like A. cristatellus).
 
Chlidonias said:
Where are you going in Malaysia?

Crested Mynahs failed in Malaysia and probably now only occur on Penang. You most likely saw White-vented Mynah A. grandis, or Javan Mynah A. javanicus (the latter is more common, but the former looks more like A. cristatellus).
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Thanks, Javan Mynah looks good. It had large white spots on its wings and a yellow bill. I’m actually just here as a stop over before flying to Phuket. On the way back from Phuket though I will get to spend seven hours in Malaysia.

Birds:
83. Large Billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
 
An unplanned afternoon walk to the very crowded Bourgoyen near Ghent got me one of the 'good' red-breasted geese, alongside an escapee. Ticking a wild bird walking around together with an escaped bird does feel a bit weird, but this was also the first time I was truly able to enjoy their striking appearance in the wild so I'm not going to let it bother me much!

BIRDS:
137) Red-breasted goose, Branta ruficollis
 
A few additions from this weekend, including one exciting one that means I'm not going to give the locations for most of these - it's a rare species and the individual is roosting somewhere that it is susceptible to disturbance and that does not currently appear to be mentioned online so I'd rather not make it googleable, just for safety. It was roosting in a hide, which had a sign saying a bat was roosting from time to time, saying to look if it was there and not to disturb it. It was actually sitting with the head fully visible and this is one of the few British bats that is distinctive enough that that's all you need to ID!

The duck I can talk about, as this was on the way back from Dudley and Wild ZP, on the lake in an urban park in Wolverhampton, and very showy. Fun weekend!

Birds:
126. Northern Goshawk - Accipiter gentilis
127. Ferruginous Duck - Aythya nyroca

Mammals:
9. European Fallow Deer - Dama dama
10. Western Barbastelle - Barbastella barbastellus

:)
 
animal_expert01 said:
Thanks, Javan Mynah looks good. It had large white spots on its wings and a yellow bill. I’m actually just here as a stop over before flying to Phuket. On the way back from Phuket though I will get to spend seven hours in Malaysia.

Birds:
83. Large Billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
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Birds:
84. Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata)
85. Red Whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
86. Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Also saw a green pigeon and same bee eaters that I was unable to identify. Hopefully I can see them again so I can get a better look.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
All seen from in and around the grounds of Australia Zoo except for the Saw-shelled Turtle who was crossing the road on a major highway! I have now reached my 2019 bird total of 93.:) I also saw a new species of reptile; a brave Eastern Water Skink in one of the zoo’s Tasmanian devil enclosures.

Mammals
3. Little Red Flying Fox Pteropus scapulatus

Birds
89. Scarlet Honeyeater Myzomela sanguinolenta
90. Peaceful Dove Geopelia placida
91. Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis
92. Great Egret Ardea alba
93. Australasian Grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae

Herptiles
7. Eastern Water Skink Eulamprus quoyii
8. Saw-shelled Turtle Myuchelys latisternum

Invertebrates
37. Three-banded Ladybird Harmonia octomaculata
38. Black House Spider Badumna insignis
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Brisbane is currently experiencing a population explosion of Blue Tiger Butterflies (the butterflies migrate from north Queensland). They are everywhere you look! Among the butterflies was another addition to the list.

Invertebrates
39. Evening Brown Melanitis leda
 
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