ZooChat Big Year 2021

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

35 Common Wasp (Yellowjacket) Vespula vulgaris

 

[Maguari]

I can't help but notice a distinct lack of Walrus here...

There speaks a man who has never tried to drive long distance across Wales.

I would dearly love to visit the Walrus, but he's at Tenby in south-west Wales - a 6hr each-way drive from home, compared to 3hr for my lovely porpoises (thanks to the relatively speedy A55 North Wales Expressway - one of basically two good roads in Wales). It needs an overnight really, to have enough time in Tenby there to justify the journey and allow for Walrus searching if he's not on his ramp first time.

I double-checked and the direct drive is actually only about 4hr45. Hmmm. Kinda wish I hadn't looked that up...

Maybe if I wait a week it'll become 3hr and a no-brainer.

 

[Smaggledagle]

So like for the past month I have been documenting the past 55 pages of Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, and Invertebrates that all of you guys have made for a thread that should begin in May or June.

As I have been documenting each species, there has been a lot of either duplicate and unidentified/poorly identified creatures. This is what I will lay out in these 2 posts.

Duplicates

Dannelboyz
- Eurasian coot #51, #99 (p. 3)
- Ruddy turnstone #430, #456 (p. 22, 23)

red river hog
- Mallard #37, #278 (p. 2, 14)
- Common grackle #278, #770 (p. 14, 39)
- House sparrow #37, #856 (p. 2, 43)

amur leopard
- Great cormorant #60, #385 (p. 3, 20)

OstrichMania
- Eurasian blue tit #476, #517 (p. 24, 26)
- Song thrush #517, #662 (p. 26, 34)

MRJ
- White-bellied cuckooshrike #502, #523 (p. 26, 27)

TheChukaulorian
- Austral thrush #562, #562 (p. 29, 29)

Great Argus
- Paeromopus angusticeps (millipede) #318, #652 (p. 16, 33)
- Canvasback #301, #773 (p. 16, 39)
- Lesser scaup #301, #782 (p. 16, 40)

TZDugong
- Tundra swan #176, #771 (p. 9, 39)

Kazaa67
- Bewick's swan #477, #803 (p. 24, 41)
- Ruddy shelduck #1053, #1091 (p. 53, 55)

German Zoo World
- Black garden ant #720, #917 (p. 36, 46)

birdsandbats
- Rusty blackbird #814, #1026 (p. 41, 52)

 

[Smaggledagle]

Now for Unidentified creatures (these aren't as detailed you all have written it down here and in other posts).

Unidentifiable

boof
- "Australasian songlark"
- Bluebonnet sp.

carl the birder
- Baikal teal (you saw that in the wild you still don't want to count this one?).

Hix
- Bluebonnet sp.
- Echidna sp.

ParusMajor
- "Common Warneer"
- "Linieated Conninella"
- Snapper sp,
- Soldier (beetle) sp.
- Striped grass frog

Ursus
- "Common red"

CheeseChameleon2007 (Unsure if he's really out or not but there are some species it seemed he did not identify correctly.)
- Earthworm sp.
- Roundworm sp.
- Rove beetle sp.
- Water beetle sp.

Dannelboyz
- Feathertail glider sp.

Luca Bronzi
- Feral pigeon (you did see it but for some reason you didn't count it in your list. Do you just not really count it because it is feral?)

MizzB
- Ladybug sp.

German Zoo World
- Long-horned bee sp.
- Pochard sp.
- Wolf spider sp.

ChunkyMunky pengopus
- Pot worm sp.

d1am0ndback
- Toad sp.

 

[Great Argus]

Great Argus
- Paeromopus angusticeps (millipede) #318, #652 (p. 16, 33)
- Canvasback #301, #773 (p. 16, 39)
- Lesser scaup #301, #782 (p. 16, 40)

Whoops, the first scaup is Greater, not sure what happened there. I'll fix the numbers accordingly for my total next update.

that all of you guys have made for a thread that should begin in May or June.

Care to explain more about this since you're providing all these corrections and skepticism as well? Particularly since you're apparently basing it off all of us and what we're reporting?

 

[Smaggledagle]

Care to explain more about this since you're providing all these corrections and skepticism as well? Particularly since you're apparently basing it off all of us and what we're reporting?

Basically what I'm going to do is over in the summertime I am going to do a Fantasy zoo challenge by creating a zoo using only species that other zoochatters have seen with a set amount of species. I think it might be fun, especially since I will open up all the google spreadsheets for public use (note: they are all in alphabetical order).

 

[Great Argus]

Basically what I'm going to do is over in the summertime I am going to do a Fantasy zoo challenge by creating a zoo using only species that other zoochatters have seen with a set amount of species. I think it might be fun, especially since I will open up all the google spreadsheets for public use (note: they are all in alphabetical order).

Sounds interesting, are you only including species seen in 2021 big year? Because us Zoochatters as a whole are a decently traveled lot, and your wildlife list overall is enormous if counting all time, even just for currently active members.

 

[Smaggledagle]

Sounds interesting, are you only including species seen in 2021 big year? Because us Zoochatters as a whole are a decently traveled lot, and your wildlife list overall is enormous if counting all time, even just for currently active members.

Yes only for 2021, and the zoos can be as big and small as you want, but there are some major caps you have to pass

like each zoo has to for example include 30+ mammals 300+ birds etc

 

[WalkingAgnatha]

Think around a month back, I saw what I believe to be a fairy martin? But due to there only being like 16 records of them in NZ, it could have just been a weird welcome swallow. Also saw some sea birds during Easter, but they're uncountable as I couldn't get any ids on them. Saw, what could've been a petrel/shearwater/juvenile kelp gull and a pure white one which could've been a noody or a tern. Expected to see shelducks much earlier in the year, maybe they just went somewhere else during the summer? Also was able to see SIPO, alongside a few variables for comparison, and they look absolutely minuscule compared to them, (is this normal)?

Birds
23. Paradise Shelduck (Tadorna variegata)
24. South Island Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi)

Walked all the way to Wakaranga boardwalk, which I was quite disappointed in, as I had the expectation that it was a mangrove forest, really was just a few knee high mangroves leading out to the sea, and I got absolutely drenched by my great decision making of not bringing an umbrella when the sky was literally grey, but at least I saw a pied shag which I've only seen once before last year. Also saw a lot of bird species already on my list, so it might be a good spot for me to go to at the beginning of next year, or the rain could've just flushed them out.

25. Pied Shag (Phalacrocorax varius)

 

[akasha]

I have been so slack this year...

Birds:
1- Australasian Shoveler
2- Pacific Black Duck
3- Grey Teal
4- Chestnut Teal
5- Pink-eared Duck
6- Hardhead
7- Australasian Grebe
8- Spotted Dove
9- Crested Pigeon
10- Eurasian Coot
11- Little Pied Cormorant
12- Galah
13- Crimson Rosella
14- Red-rumped Parrot
15- Rainbow Lorikeet
16- Superb Fairywren
17- Australian Magpie
18- Willie Wagtail
19- Magpie-lark
20- Australian Reed Warbler
21- Welcome Swallow
22- Common Starling
23- House Sparrow
24- Laughing Kookaburra
25- White-throated Treecreeper
26- Red Wattlebird
27- White-browed Scrubwren
28- Brown Thornbill
29- White-throated Gerygone
30- Pied Currawong
31- Grey Fantail
32- Australian Wood Duck
33- Dusky Moorhen
34- Spotted Pardalote
35- Great Crested Grebe
36- Masked Lapwing
37- Silver Gull
38- Australasian Darter
39- Eastern Rosella
40- Yellow-faced Honeyeater
41- Noisy Miner
42- White-faced Heron
43- Common Blackbird
44- Nankeen Kestrel
45- Black-faced Cuckooshrike
46- Pied Buterbird
47- Australian Raven
48- Australian King-Parrot
49- White-plumed Honeyeater
50- Grey Shrikethush
51- Dusky Woodswallow

Mammals:
1- European Rabbit
2- House Mouse
3- Brown Rat
4- Brown Hare
5- Eastern Grey Kangaroo
6- Red-necked Wallaby
7- Sugar Glider

Herptiles:

1- Peron's Tree Frog
2- Eastern Brown Snake
3- Eastern Bearded Dragon
4- Eastern Water Skink
5- Australian Water Dragon
6- Delicate Garden Skink
7- Marsh Snake

 

[Great Argus]

Had nice weather the last several days, which has brought out more of the summer wildlife. With any luck should be over 100 birds by the end of the week. Unfortunately the calling Virginia Rail couldn't be found so I can't count it here.

Mammals:

6. Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
7. Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)

Birds:

94. Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
95. Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)
96. Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
97. Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)
98. Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)

Invertebrates:

21. Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus)
22. California Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa californica)
23. Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)

7-98-6-2-0-23

Migration has been rather slow this year, I'm still missing several species I should have by now.

Mammals:

8. California Vole (Microtus californicus)

Birds:

98. Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

Great Argus
- Paeromopus angusticeps (millipede) #318, #652 (p. 16, 33)
- Canvasback #301, #773 (p. 16, 39)
- Lesser scaup #301, #782 (p. 16, 40)

First listing of Lesser Scaup should have been Greater, I don't know what happened there. Millipede and Canvasback are accidental double-counts and numbers accordingly adjusted.

8-98-6-2-0-22

 

[MRJ]

Was at The Spit near Werribee this morning for a release of orange-bellied parrots. Only there for about an hour and mostly watching the release, however saw the following new birds for the year. Thanks to detective work by @Smaggledagle I have to drop a bird due to a previous duplicate.

178. Brolga Antigone rubicunda
179. Eastern great egret Ardea modesta
180. Little egret Egretta garzetta
181. White-headed stilt Himantopus leucocephalus
182. Sharp-tailed sandpiper Calidris acuminata
183. Little tern Sternula albifrons

My list shows that I have seen 185 bird species this year, so obviously I have missed two species. Looks like a bit of work ahead in finding the missing birds.

 

[MRJ]

I have been so slack this year...

7- Sugar Glider

Not sure where you are located, but presume you are aware that sugar gliders were split last year.

 

[akasha]

Not sure where you are located, but presume you are aware that sugar gliders were split last year.

Okay, so the one I saw had a big, fluffy tail. So maybe it was a Krefft's Glider? I saw it on the western side of the Great Dividing Range east of Bathurst, NSW.

 

[MRJ]

Okay, so the one I saw had a big, fluffy tail. So maybe it was a Krefft's Glider? I saw it on the western side of the Great Dividing Range east of Bathurst, NSW.

A big fluffy tail is almost certainly a squirrel glider. Otherwise on the west side of the Great Dividing Range it would be a Krefts.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

It needs an overnight really, to have enough time in Tenby there to justify the journey and allow for Walrus searching if he's not on his ramp first time.

Here's additional justification for the journey - in a few days the Welsh Owl Garden at Haverfordwest re-opens, and it is only 30 minutes from Tenby and as you know, it now has Saharan Striped Weasel.

I'd dearly love to see both the walrus and the weasel myself - but it is definitely infeasible for me!

 

[Maguari]

Here's additional justification for the journey - in a few days the Welsh Owl Garden at Haverfordwest re-opens, and it is only 30 minutes from Tenby and as you know, it now has Saharan Striped Weasel.

I'd dearly love to see both the walrus and the weasel myself - but it is definitely infeasible for me!

I like your thinking, but another 30 minutes each way in the wrong direction isn't the temptation you think it is.

I have noticed it would be easy to drive back via the Forest of Dean, though - and even if no time to stop that could also be mammal productive..!

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I like your thinking, but another 30 minutes each way in the wrong direction isn't the temptation you think it is.

I bet it would be had you not reached Plzen in time to see their weasels

 

[Maguari]

I bet it would be had you not reached Plzen in time to see their weasels

Maybe. But as it happened I did.

 

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

Invertebrates
36 Common Flat-back Millipede Polydesmus angustus
37 Non-biting Midge Chrironomus plumosus