ZooChat Big Year 2020

[Mehdi]

A really fun day today at Tifnit beach today provided nothing new to the list bird-wise but was a nice outing nonetheless.

The highlight of the day was definitely four Bonelli's eagles on the way back home including two that provided great photographic opportunities!

23/07/2020 (Tifnit, Morocco)
INVERTEBRATES:
13 - Mediterranean green crab, Carcinus aestuarii

Bonelli's eagle - (Forêt d'El Mzar)

• Mehdi
• 23 Jul 2020

Finally.

26/07/2020 (Embouchure de l'Oued Tamri)
BIRDS:
128 - African reed warbler, Acrocephalus baeticatus
129 - Purple heron, Ardea purpurea
130 - Western swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio
131 - Marbled teal, Marmaronetta angustirostris ( )

MAMMALS:
2 - African savanna hare, Lepus victoriae

Today couldn't have been better. Out of the 35 bird species observed in a bit more than an hour spent at Tamri, one of them is a really nice passerine lifer that I was eager to see, and the other two non-lifer species were both species I had only seen once before and that I particularly affectionate.

The true highlight of this whole day of course was my nemesis species: the Marbled teal! After looking a dozen times or so for it in good spots or in spots they've been reported at, I've finally seen two of them far away. What a sight!

The cherry on the cake is one of the mammals I was looking for the most to see as well, having missed it twice in the past while my relatives had seen it. A certainly unexpected and welcome addition!

 

[Vision]

First of all, some more casual additions from Belgium in early July:

BIRDS:
225) Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybrida
226) Eurasian whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus

INVERTS:
78) Hornet mimic hoverfly, Volucella zonaria
79) Clancy’s rustic, Caradrina kadenii
80) Fourteen-spotted ladybug, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata


And starting the 11th of July until today, I went on a family boat/road trip through France, Germany and Czechia - while doing our best to social distance of course! Not many new birds, but a few fun insects and some really good herps!

BIRDS:
227) Montagu’s harrier, Circus pygargus
228) European serin, Serinus serinus
229) Black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax

MAMMALS:
14) Nutria, Myocastor coypus

HERPS:
4) Barred grass snake, Natrix helvetica
5) Alpine newt, Ichthyosaura alpestris
6) Fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra

INVERTS:
81) Banded demoiselle, Calopteryx splendens
82) Common grey, Scoparia ambigualis
83) Musk beetle, Aromia moschata
84) Asian mud-dauber wasp, Sceliphron curvatum
85) Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus
86) Tortoise bug, Eurygaster testudinaria
87) Violet carpenter bee, Xylocopa violacea
88) European hornet, Vespa crabro
89) Straw-barred pearl, Pyrausta despicata
90) Dock bug, Coreus marginatus
91) Asian ladybug, Harmonia axyridis
92) Thirteen-spotted ladybug, Hippodamia tredecimpunctata
93) Marbled green, Nyctobrya muralis
94) Twenty-two-spotted ladybug, Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata
95) Jersey tiger, Euplagia quadripunctaria
96) White-letter hairstreak, Satyrium w-album

 

[carl the birder]

birds
263. sand martin

 

[Mehdi]

MAMMALS:
2 - African savanna hare, Lepus victoriae

I had read a study a few months ago analyzing the hares in Morocco that found out that all hares in Morocco seem to be African savanna hare (and that we have no Cape, the other species supposedly found here).

Well it turns out I had totally misread the study, as it was only focusing on the Western Sahara region while in the northern regions of Morocco (where I saw my hare), Cape hare is by far the most common here.

A few point of identification on the field (notably the lack of a rufous collar) as well as the range have me re-identify what I saw:

26/07/2020 (Embouchure de l'Oued Tamri)
MAMMALS:
2 - Cape hare, Lepus capensis

 

[Vision]

Yesterday evening I tried for a roseate tern that unfortunately didn't show up, but did get 2 migrating shorebirds I still needed. Today I attempted chasing a booted eagle that was found yesterday, and after quite the emotional rollercoaster I managed to relocate it! I had already seen them in France and Spain in 2018, but they're very rare here in Belgium!

BIRDS:
230) Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica
231) Grey plover, Pluvialis squatarola
232) Booted eagle, Hieraaetus pennatus

INVERTS:
97) Large yellow underwing, Noctua pronuba
98) Narrow hoverfly, Fagisyrphus cinctus

 

[Luca Bronzi]

A week in Maremma Natural Park brought me some species.

Birds

28. Common Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis

29. Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis

30. European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster

Invertebrates

5. Barrel Jellyfish, Rhizostoma pulmo

 

[lintworm]

Went to the Beaver place twice in the past days to show them to other people, the Beavers were very obliging and we could observe them for prolonged times, sometimes only at 1 meter distance... On the way back on one of the evenings I saw a new bat species for the year:

19. Serotine

I went to Apenheul last weekend and it proved again to be the easiest place for zoonerds to see Grass Snakes. There is a large population living in the moats around most of the islands, especially around the Bonobo and Gorilla islands. Apenheul is also a good place for most of the commoner forest birds and has a variety of dragonflies too.

161. Spotted Flycatcher

4. Grass Snake

27. Broad-bodied Chaser
28. Azure Damselfly
29. Hairy Dragonfly
30. Brown Hawker
31. Emperor Dragonfly


And finally another nice bird which hangs around in the heathland areas this time of year and a butterfly that showed up in the garden.

162. Red-backed Shrike

32. Large Skipper

I haven't given an update in quite a while and with covid-19 measures relaxed I spent quite some time on the road. The start was a short weekend break to the Millingerwaard, a nice nature reserve on the Dutch-German border

162. Black tern
163. Eurasian Hobby
164. Green Sandpiper

Invertebrates

33. Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

The first foreign trip end of June was back to work in Frankfurt and visits to Eastern German zoos:

165. Red Kite
166. Black Kite
167. European Crane
168. Hooded Crow
169. European Serin
170. Red Crossbill
171. Yellowhammer

Invertebrates

34. Marbled White (Melanargia galathe)
35. Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

Then I spent 2 weeks in the Swiss Alps hiking, which also gave a lot of satisfying sightings. Most happy about finally seeing a Hazel Grouse (a group of 5), this is a species I have kept missing both in the wild and in zoos. Also nice were very good views of two Stoats playing on the rocks at 2 meters distance and a living European Mole running on the path (only my second living sighting). I also finally looked at butterflies again, for which the area we stayed was quite good, with a total of ~60 caught. This is not so much compared to previous trips to the French Alps and the Pyrenees, but we stayed above 1400 meters the whole time, which limits the number of low-altitude species considerably.

172. Golden Eagle
173. Hazel Grouse
174. Eurasian Crag Martin
175. Grey Wagtail
176. Alpine Accentor
177. Ring Ouzel
178. Yellow-billed Chough
179. Spotted Nutcracker
180. Yellow-legged Gull
181. Snowfinch
182. Citril Finsh
183. Lesser Redpoll

Mammals

20. Alpine Marmot
21. Alpine Ibex
22. Alpine Chamois
23. European Mole
24. Daubenton's Bat (on the Lac Leman, not in the Alps)

Herps

5. Alpine Salamander (Salamandra alpina)
6. Common Wall Lizard

Invertebrates

36. Apollo (Parnassius apollo)
37. Phoebus Apollo (Parnassius phoebus)
38. Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)
39. Lofty Bath White (Pontia callidice)
40. Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone)
41. Pale Clouded Yellow (Colias hyale)
42. Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus)
43. Wood White (Leptidea sinapsis)
44. Scarce Copper (Lycaena virgaureae)
45. Purple-edged Copper (Lycaena hippothoe)
46. Small Blue (Cupido minimus)
47. Large Blue (Phengaris arion)
48. Idas Blue (Plebejus idas)
49. Geranium Argus (Aricia eumedon)
50. Brown Argus (Aricia agestis)
51. Alpine Argus (Plebejus orbitulus)
52. Arctic Blue (Plebejus glandon)
53. Mazarine Blue (Cyaniris semiargus)
54. Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus coridon)
55. Eros Blue (Polyomattus eros)
56. Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros)
57. Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)
58. Dark-green Fritillary (Speyeria aglaja)
59. High-brown Fritillary (Fabriciana adippe)
60. Niobe Fritillary (Argynnis niobe)
61. Shepherd's Fritillary (Boloria pales)
62. Mountain Fritillary (Boloria napaea)
63. Titania's Fritillary (Boloria titania)
64. Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne)
65. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene)
66. Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe)
67. False Heath Fritillary (Melitaea diamina)
68. Heath Fritillary (Melitaea athalia)
69. Nickerl's Fritillary (Melitaea aurelia)
70. Cynthia's Fritillary (Euphydryas cynthia)
71. Arran Brown (Erebia ligea)
72. Large Ringlet (Erebia euryale)
73. Eriphyle Ringlet (Erebia eriphyle)
74. Lesser Mountain Ringlet (Erebia melampus)
75. Blind Ringlet (Erebia pharte)
76. Scotch Argus (Erebia aethiops)
77. Silky Ringlet (Erebia gorge)
78. Swiss Brassy Ringlet (Erebia tyndarus)
79. Common Brassy Ringlet (Erebia cassioides)
80. Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
81. Alpine Heath (Coenonympha gardetta)
82. Large Wall Brown (Lasiommata maera)
83. Warren's Skipper (Pyrgus warrenensis)
84. Olive Skipper (Pyrgus serratulae)
85. Carline Skipper (Pyrgus carlinae)
86. Chequered Skipper (Carterocephalus palaemon)
87. Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola)
88. Silver-spotted Skipper (Hysperia comma)

 

[Vision]

Common snipe, a species I normally get very early on in the year and regularly encounter on my trips to local wetlands managed to elude me until today, as my third snipe species of the year! The shrew was also a fun addition, only the second time I see those.

BIRDS:
233) Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago

MAMMALS:
15) Greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula

INVERTS:
99) Copper underwing, Amphipyra pyramidea

 

[boof]

1/8/2020
163. musk lorikeet

 

[birdsandbats]

Birds
225. Dickcissel Spiza americana

Birds
226. Mute Swan Cygnus olor

 

[Hix]

Birds
233. Striated Thornbill
234. Grey Currawong
235. Brown-headed Honeyeater

Mammals
15. Wombat

Amphibians
2. Cogger's Frog
3. Jungguy Frog





Hix

Birds
236. Olive-backed Oriole
237. Black-shouldered Kite
238. Fan-tailed Cuckoo



Hix

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

@lintworm, very impressive butterfly list! I'm also quite jealous of your sightings of Alpine Salamander and Hazel Grouse.

I had a last-minute chance to go to Italy this summer. It was not a wildlife-focussed trip, so basically everything was seen in and around the town we stayed in, though I did visit a nature reserve one morning. During the five hours of walking in the reserve we only saw three individual vertebrates in total, but at least I found my main target: Alpine Chamois. On the way back I had a lot of fun photographing and identifying butterflies. I've only recently started to seriously look at butterflies so it was a nice chance to see a few good species.

Birds
201. Eurasian Crag Martin, Ptyonoprogne rupestris
202. Italian Sparrow, Passer italiae
203. Black Kite, Milvus migrans
204. European Serin, Serinus serinus
205. Golden Eagle, Aquila chyrsaetos

Herptiles
10. Common Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis

Mammals
16. Alpine Chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra
17. Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes

Invertebrates
106. Single-spotted Wave, Idaea dimidiata
107. Great Green Bush Cricket, Tettigonia viridissima
108. Blue-winged Grasshopper, Oedipoda caerulescens
109. Brown Hairstreak, Thecla betulae
110. Woodland Greyling, Hipparchia fagi
111. Scarce Swallowtail, Iphiclides podalirius*
112. Southern Skimmer, Orthetrum brunneum
113. Black-tailed Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum
114. Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus
115. Scotch Argus, Erebia aethiops
116. Wood White, Leptidea sinapis
117. Large Wall Brown, Lasiommata maera
118. Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera
119. Marbled White, Melanargia galathea
120. Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus
121. Silver-washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia
122. High Brown Fritillary, Fabriciana adippe
123. Scarlet Tiger Moth, Callimorpha dominula
124. Geranium Bronze, Cacyreus marshalli
125. Box Tree Moth, Cydalima perspectalis
126. Iron Prominent, Notodonta dromedarius

* I thought I already had Scarce Swallowtail in the Pyrenees two years back, but it appears that the subspecies to which those individuals belong (feisthamelii) is currently recognised as a separate species.

 

[carl the birder]

nice full day birding yesterday
264 rook
265 artic skua
267 european honey buzzard
268 grey plover
269 curlew sandpiper
270 red knot
271 little stint
even tho the stint was a lifer for me. the bird of the day for me was the skua. aslo saw three smew wich is rare in the summer here. also grey plover was a swedish lifer for me

 

[Maguari]

Quick catch-up post for the last couple of weeks, including voling at Cromford, a post-The Deep outing to Kilnsea Wetlands and a trip today to Rutland to go osprey-spotting.

Birds:
185. Red-necked Phalarope - Phalaropus lobatus
186. Sandwich Tern - Thalasseus sandvicensis
187. Caspian Gull - Larus cachinnans
188. Western Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

Mammals:
22. Northern Water Vole - Arvicola amphibius

 

[Vision]

Spent all day seawatching today, mainly with Balearic shearwater as a target. Did see a very distant shearwater that almost had to be one, but unfortunately just bad enough to call for sure... Other than that we did get some nice species, definitely the Caspian tern was a major highlight. In the evening we briefly tried for a rosy starling, but without success.

BIRDS:
234) Common scoter, Melanitta nigra
235) Northern gannet, Morus bassanus
236) Caspian tern, Hydroprogne caspia
237) Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
238) Arctic tern, Sterna paradisaea

MAMMALS:
16) Grey seal, Halichoerus grypus
17) Harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena

INVERTS:
100) Great green bush-cricket, Tettigonia viridissima
101) Grayling, Hipparchia semele
102) Blue-winged grasshopper, Oedipoda caerulescens
103) Oak eggar, Lasiocampa quercus
104) Long-legged tabby, Synaphe punctalis

 

[Coelacanth18]

My main nemesis bird right now is the pileated woodpecker (...) I haven't gotten close to any at sites that eBird says should have them... even after someone else spotted them a week earlier!

I made use of the warm spell by making a last push for the Pileated Woodpecker. Alas: I found no less than four woodpeckers, no more than zero of which were Pileated.

Another day of searching for the Pileated Woodpecker to no avail. I admit defeat; you win, my feathery friend (...) this will likely be my last haul for the year.

In other news, my efforts to see Pileated Woodpecker have continued into the new year and remain as discouraging as before.

Birds
55. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

 

[Ituri]

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

Skunk

I did a better accounting of my mammals.

1 Western Fox Squirrel
2 White-tailed Deer
3 Common Muskrat
4 Virginia Opossum
5 Northern Raccoon
6 Red Fox
7 Black-tailed Prairie-Dog
8 Eastern Cottontail
9 Eastern Gray Squirrel
10 White-tailed Prairie-Dog
11 Least Chipmunk
12 Pronghorn
13 Mule Deer
14 Yellow Pine Chipmunk
15 Snowshoe Hare

More to come later in the week!

 

[Ituri]

Birds:

195 Red-headed Woodpecker - Melanerpes erythrocephalus
196 Green Heron - Butorides virescens
197 Snowy Plover - Charadrius nivosus
198 Forster's Tern - Sterna forsteri
199 White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica
200 King Rail - Rallus elegans
201 Henslow's Sparrow - Centronyx henslowii
202 California Quail - Callipepla californica
203 Swainson's Hawk - Buteo swainsoni
204 Common Raven - Corvus corax
205 Black-chinned Hummingbird - Archilochus alexandri
206 Bank Swallow - Riparia riparia
207 Lazuli Bunting - Passerina amoena
208 Mountain Chickadee - Poecile gambeli
209 Rock Wren - Salpinctes obsoletus
210 Western Wood-Pewee - Contopus sordidulus
211 Say's Phoebe - Sayornis saya
212 Bewick's Wren - Thryomanes bewickii
213 Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus
214 Lesser Goldfinch - Spinus psaltria
215 Bullock's Oriole - Icterus bullockii
216 Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana

 

[Vision]

In the evening we briefly tried for a rosy starling, but without success.

Got it this morning! Absolutely one of the best birds out there.

BIRDS:
239) Rosy starling, Pastor roseus

 

[Ituri]

I did a better accounting of my mammals.

1 Western Fox Squirrel
2 White-tailed Deer
3 Common Muskrat
4 Virginia Opossum
5 Northern Raccoon
6 Red Fox
7 Black-tailed Prairie-Dog
8 Eastern Cottontail
9 Eastern Gray Squirrel
10 White-tailed Prairie-Dog
11 Least Chipmunk
12 Pronghorn
13 Mule Deer
14 Yellow Pine Chipmunk
15 Snowshoe Hare

More to come later in the week!

16 Coyote