Thanks Chli! Will have to get these all straightened out
ZooChat Big Year 2020
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
Thanks Chli! Will have to get these all straightened out
Birds
250. White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera
Luca Bronzi
Well-Known Member
A nice day in Astroni Crater, near Naples, gave me some common species.
Birds
34. Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
35. Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis (great views)
36. Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra
37. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Noteworthy were plenty of robins and a single kingfisher.
Birds
34. Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
35. Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis (great views)
36. Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra
37. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Noteworthy were plenty of robins and a single kingfisher.
Dannelboyz
Well-Known Member
@Yoshistar888 I'm gonna have to agree with chlidonias here... Organ Pipes is a really weird place to see Striated Fieldwren. They typically like salt bush and coastal grasslands with dense low vegetation. They're not often seen inland. You've also listed Brush Cuckoo and Black Falcon which are both moderately rare in the area and easily mistaken for the more common Fan-tailed Cuckoo and dark morph Brown Falcon respectively. I think it's really awesome that you're getting into birding and love that you're seeing new birds and improving but it's definitely a good idea to be really critical about your sightings! This is especially important for the more unusual observations. I can't say for sure that all of these are misidentifications but unfortunately making such bold claims regularly makes me doubt them and also hinders you from improving your identification skills!
Regarding Swamp Wallabies, they're really easy to see at Lysterfield Lake Park, Sherbrooke Forest, Bunyip State Park and anywhere along the coast down towards East Gippsland. Not sure of spots west of Melbourne but I've definitely seen them at the Western Treatment Plant so I assume they'd be all down the coast there too.
I’ve seen both Fan Tailed Cuckoos and Brown Falcons (Only dark morphs) before, it was very easy to spot the difference infact I saw both Black Falcon and multiple Brown Falcons there, the Black Falcon was darker in colour and noticeably larger. I haven’t seen a Fan Tailed Cuckoo since my venture in the Otways but I can definitely assure you that this wasn’t a Fan Tailed Cuckoo, the Brush Cuckoo was much slimmer and more grey, it also lacked the tinge of blue-grey found in Fan Tailed Cuckoos.
Regarding Striated Fieldwrens I originally had my doubts as well, but apart from there tendency to be near coastal areas, the rest of the habitat matches completely as it was seen up at the high-mid altitude range where the habitat is varied, there are spots of your typical Eucalyptus forests but also a plethora of brush and grasslands, like I said I was doubtful until I hit up the books and had a long think.
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Did some research with my trusty book and a very helpful website to identify two ubiquitous Port Phillip Bay baitfish species seen earlier in the year (and every year)
Fish
15. Blue Sprat (Spratelloides robustus)
16. Sandy Sprat (Hyperlophus vittatus)
For anyone wondering the latter, Sandy Sprat are usually the fish seen in large schools of piers such as Rosebud or Blairgowrie, they are also known as Glasseyes, White Pilchard and Whitebait.
Blue Sprats are less often seen on piers and more often in smaller schools (less than a 100) in shallow waters.
Birds - Gordon Rolfe Reserve
318. Shining bronze-cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus
319. Rufous whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
Invertebrates - Moonlit Sanctuary
27. Varied eggfly Hypolimnas bolina
I had been approaching 1,000 animals on my list of species seen in the wild, and have been keen to find out what it would be, frustrated as I am by COVID lockdowns. This morning I was at 998 and saw the butterfly this morning and the bronze-cuckoo on a late afternoon walk, so the bronze-cuckoo is the lucky bird. However when I went to enter the details on my spreadsheet I discovered that I had mucked up the counting column a bit. When I fixed that the total number of species jumped to 1004. So the shining bronze cuckoo was actually species 1003. Anyway it is my list so it remains the official, if not the actual 1000th species.
Some stats: There are 130 mammals, 744 birds, 47 reptiles, 8 amphibians, 23 fish, and 52 invertebrates on my list. 362 species have been observed in Australia, of these 261 are birds. You can see where my priorities are. This is not a life list, in that I started it after a visit to southern Africa in March 2018, although I have included about 100 species I know I saw prior to that.
318. Shining bronze-cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus
319. Rufous whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
Invertebrates - Moonlit Sanctuary
27. Varied eggfly Hypolimnas bolina
I had been approaching 1,000 animals on my list of species seen in the wild, and have been keen to find out what it would be, frustrated as I am by COVID lockdowns. This morning I was at 998 and saw the butterfly this morning and the bronze-cuckoo on a late afternoon walk, so the bronze-cuckoo is the lucky bird. However when I went to enter the details on my spreadsheet I discovered that I had mucked up the counting column a bit. When I fixed that the total number of species jumped to 1004. So the shining bronze cuckoo was actually species 1003. Anyway it is my list so it remains the official, if not the actual 1000th species.
Some stats: There are 130 mammals, 744 birds, 47 reptiles, 8 amphibians, 23 fish, and 52 invertebrates on my list. 362 species have been observed in Australia, of these 261 are birds. You can see where my priorities are. This is not a life list, in that I started it after a visit to southern Africa in March 2018, although I have included about 100 species I know I saw prior to that.
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Today I was mostly with the family although at my local park, I decided to do some spotlighting which went absurdly well with a myriad of moths, spiders, earwigs and even beetles seen. Here are the insects that I could identify at face value, the rest will have to wait.
155. Black Solider Fly (Hermetia illucens)
156. White Shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)
157. Southern Armyworm (Persectania ewingii)
Edit: more IDS
158. Pacific Damselbug (Nabis kinbergii)
159. Depressa striatipennis (Fly)
155. Black Solider Fly (Hermetia illucens)
156. White Shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)
157. Southern Armyworm (Persectania ewingii)
Edit: more IDS
158. Pacific Damselbug (Nabis kinbergii)
159. Depressa striatipennis (Fly)
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More invertebrate ids the first from Organ Pipes and the other two are from the local park.
160. Red Jewel Bug (Choerocoris paganus)
161. Common Carabid Beetle (Notonomous gravis)
162. Borowing Bug (Adrisa sepulchralis)
Invertebrates and an unidentified fish to come later, I’ll do the birds and fish first. Fisherman’s Bend (Fishing), Westgate Park (Bushwalking) and Princess Pier (fishing again). We didn’t catch a single fish however a lot of wildlife was seen including fish (in the water) and many inverts and birds. Also saw a possum which is cool.
NOTE: I have accidentally counted both New Holland Honeyeater and Little Pied Cormorant twice so prior to this I am officially on 123.
Birds
124. Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis)
125. Great Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Ardea (alba) modesta)
126. White Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
127. Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis)
Fish
17. Southern Bluespotted (Yank) Flathead (Platycephalus speculator)
Here are the marine inverts.
163. Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis)
164. Haeckals Jellyfish (Pseudorhiza haeckeli)
165. Lions Mane Jellyfish (Cyanea annaskala)
166. Granular Sea Star (Uniophora granifera)
167. Pacific Oyster (Magallana gigas)*
Terrestrial and Freshwater invertebrates
168. Vineyard Snail (Cernuella virgata)*
169. Wandering Percher (Diplacodes bipunctata)
170. Common Bluetail (Ischnura heterosticta)
171. Cup Ringtail (Austrolestes psyche)
172. Cherry Ballart Shield Bug (Commius elegans)
Finally done!
So...yeah I haven't been the most active on this thread, let alone the entirety of ZooChat. Trust me, there is a good reason.
Anyway, now that disclaimer is over, I have an update on the bird list. The first addition was actually caught through a non-birding walk, and it was actually quite a suprise. I never realised just how big these birds are.
57. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
The next two were found in a nature reserve. Wetland one, with a river flowing through it made for a very nice landscape, but I was again struck by my curse of seeing the same species over and over again. Saw 23 species yet only 2 were new...starting to get a bit annoying now.
58. Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
59. Green-Winged Teal (Anas carolinensis or Anas crecca carolinensis)
The next species was found in a reservoir. This reservoir is disused, and is now used for angling, boat-riding and, of course, birdwatching. There is a hide here but it was unfortunately closed due to the pandemic. However, the views were very good, and the sparkling water made finding wetland birds easier. It also merged with a forest, which gave me a nice bird. However....curse hit again.
60. Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
(Also, just wanted to add that I saw 19 Great Crested Grebes. Not a new bird, but thought that was pretty weird)
Finally, a trip up a hill of all places landed me 2 new birds over a total 5. Not the best birding trip, but to be fair I wasn't really focusing on birding. Plus, it was very foggy and windy. Yay...
60. Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
61. European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)
Anyway, now that disclaimer is over, I have an update on the bird list. The first addition was actually caught through a non-birding walk, and it was actually quite a suprise. I never realised just how big these birds are.
57. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
The next two were found in a nature reserve. Wetland one, with a river flowing through it made for a very nice landscape, but I was again struck by my curse of seeing the same species over and over again. Saw 23 species yet only 2 were new...starting to get a bit annoying now.
58. Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
59. Green-Winged Teal (Anas carolinensis or Anas crecca carolinensis)
The next species was found in a reservoir. This reservoir is disused, and is now used for angling, boat-riding and, of course, birdwatching. There is a hide here but it was unfortunately closed due to the pandemic. However, the views were very good, and the sparkling water made finding wetland birds easier. It also merged with a forest, which gave me a nice bird. However....curse hit again.
60. Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
(Also, just wanted to add that I saw 19 Great Crested Grebes. Not a new bird, but thought that was pretty weird)
Finally, a trip up a hill of all places landed me 2 new birds over a total 5. Not the best birding trip, but to be fair I wasn't really focusing on birding. Plus, it was very foggy and windy. Yay...
60. Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
61. European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)
Birds
251. Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens
Was this a twitch or did you find it yourself?
Found it myself. They're quite common in wetland nature reserves, especially the one I went to.
Then you should adapt the scientific name, to Anas crecca, as Anas carolinensis only occurs in the Americas and is a very rare vagrant to Europe
Sorry, scientific names and taxonomy are not one of my strong points. I never actually knew those names were based on range, I just thought it was perhaps an alternate scientific name.Then you should adapt the scientific name, to Anas crecca, as Anas carolinensis only occurs in the Americas and is a very rare vagrant to Europe
More inverts!
There are a couple moths that have been ID'ed but I currently don't acsess to the place they were ID'd in (Website), So i'll do those that I've ID'ed myself for now.
173. Lincolnia lucernina (true bug)
174. Syllitus rectus (beetle)
Dannelboyz
Well-Known Member
BIRDS
291 - Pacific Koel (Eudynamys orientalis)
292 - Square-tailed Kite (Lophoictinia isura)
--- Stubble Quail (Coturnix pectoralis) [heard]
293 - Turquoise Parrot (Neophema pulchella)
--- Common Cicadabird (Coracina tenuirostris) [heard]