ZooChat Big Year 2020

First time birding at my local spot since the end of lockdown and I truly had a fantastic session after a rather slow start, embodied by my third Bonelli's eagle there in three straight years, an early tern and finally a lark lifer!

113 - Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica
114 - Bonelli's eagle, Aquila fasciata
115 - Common tern, Sterna hirundo
116 - Greater short-toed lark, Calandrella brachydactyla
117 - Barbary partridge, Alectoris barbara

My first real excursion to the Forêt de Mzar, a big eucalyptus forest just south of my local spot, provided to be way more fruitful than I thought it would be. 38 species observed (though some were seen at my actual local spot), 3 additions for the list including one species I've only see once before, and a subspecies lifer that happens to be my 2nd ever woodpecker species in Morocco!

All-in-all, a great day, post-lockdown birding has been going great so far.

24/06/2020 (Forêt de Mzar, Morocco)
BIRDS:
118 - Spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata
119 - Melodious warbler, Hippolais polyglotta
120 - Great spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopos major ssp. mauritanus
 
A very quick birding session in a local spot to have some distraction from college surprisingly produced a new year-bird. I'm a bit out of options now, though I guess Nightjar is still very doable. In fact I heard multiple of them singing during a nightjar-census, but I saw none. I did see another Beech Marten that night so that was cool.

Birds
196. Little Egret, Egretta garzetta

Invertebrates
74. Large Tabby, Aglossa pinguinalis

75. Cream-spot Ladybird, Calvia quatuordecimguttata
76. Marmalade Hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus
77. Azure Damselfly, Coenagrion puella
78. Eupeodes luniger
79. Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans
80. Common Carder Bee, Bombus pascuorum
81. Large White, Pieris brassicae
82. Eudonia lacustrata
83. Least Carpet, Idaea rusticata
84. Birch Catkin Bug, Kleidocerys resedae
85. Coccinella quinquepunctata

86. Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina
87. Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus
88. Blue Emperor, Anax imperator
89. Notocelia roborana
90. Silver Y, Autographa gamma
 
26/6/2020
128. Brown treecreeper
129. Diamond dove
130. Fan-tailed Cuckoo
131. Rufous songlark
132. Spotted Harrier
 
Birds
204. European Goldfinch
205. White-plumed Honeyeater
206. Hoary-headed Grebe
207. Cattle Egret
208. Long-billed Corella

Mammals
13. Red Fox
14. Black Rat

:p

Hix
Birds
209. Spotted Pardalote
210. Common Bronzewing
211. Rose Robin
212. White-naped Honeyeater
213. Black-chinned Honeyeater
214. White-cheeked Honeyeater
215. New Holland Honeyeater
216. Eastern Spinebill
217. Beautiful Firetail
218. Crescent Honeyeater
219. Superb Lyrebird
220. Australasian Shoveller

:p

Hix
 
Picked up a bird I hadn't previously seen in the state today, pushing my Victorian bird life list up to 345 species!

BIRDS

263 - Eurasian Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
BIRDS
264 - Red-browed Treecreeper (Climacteris erythrops)
265 - Brush Bronzewing (Phaps elegans)
 
Mammals
12. Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana
Updating the tallies, and I already had you on 13 mammals - so should you be on 14 now?



mammals
33 wild bore Sus scrofa
34
common nocktule Nyctalus noctul
mammals
36 european badger Meles meles
37 european beaver Castor fiber
You jumped over number 35 - so are you on 36 now or did you forget to add a species in?



Mammals:

1. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
You were already on one mammal...
 
Two more inverts I found in the house the past few days. Haven't been able to go birding this week yet, unfortunately!

INVERTS:
69) Two-spotted grass bug, Stenotus binotatus
70) Straw obscure, Oegoconia caradjai
 
Updating the tallies, and I already had you on 13 mammals - so should you be on 14 now?





You jumped over number 35 - so are you on 36 now or did you forget to add a species in?




You were already on one mammal...
I think I'm at 14? I look over my list again soon.
 
Black swans are common around Western Port and I often hear them flying overhead. However I think our wetland is a bit small for wild swans to feel secure especially when people are around so birds landing are rare. Likewise pelicans, and again I saw one on the wetland last week.

One interesting observation, is that there are large congregations of swans in areas with a lot of wetland and a lot of people as well for example Phillip Island Wildlife Park in the summer months (not really wetland), and Albert Park Lake during the F1 Grand Prix
 
One interesting observation, is that there are large congregations of swans in areas with a lot of wetland and a lot of people as well for example Phillip Island Wildlife Park in the summer months (not really wetland), and Albert Park Lake during the F1 Grand Prix
And of course both those wetlands are substantially larger than ours, indeed in the case of Albert Park Lake many times.
 
And of course both those wetlands are substantially larger than ours, indeed in the case of Albert Park Lake many times.

Yes but especially in Albert Park Lakes case they are also substantially busier in peak times.
 
Birds

24. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

25. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Passer montanus

I'm going to update the other checklists soon.
The "trip season" is starting!
 
MAMMALS
1 White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus
2 Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger
3 Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
4 Common Raccoon Procyon lotor
5 Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana
6 Common Muskrat Ondotra zibethicus

REPTILES
1 Pond Slider Trachemys scripta
2 Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta
3 Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina
4 Six-lined Racerunner Cnemidophorus sexlineatus
5 Plainbelly Water Snake Nerodia erythrogaster

AMPHIBIANS
1 Woodhouse's Toad Anaxyurus woodhousei
2 American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus
3 Blanchard's Cricket Frog Acris crepitans
4 Plains Leopard Frog Lithobates blairi
5 Boreal Chorus Frog Pseudacris maculata
 
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