ZooChat Big Year 2021

I have to be honest, today was a big disappointment when it comes to animals.
16. Trumpeter swan, is all I saw today in terms of new species. Wowww, So cool.......Awesome.....
Today I also finally photographed a Pileated woodpecker, but of course, the photo was terrible, Yayyyy.......
And one of the Big disappointment was not going to the zoo because all the tickets were sold out.....Awesome.............:rolleyes:
So instead We actually got to go to a state park, which sounded fun and I was excited to finish school and go straight to there.......Of course that excitement was not worth it at all. I saw as much wildlife there as me sitting in a concrete basement reading a magazine. Its sort of strange, don't you think, that I find more wildlife outside in my relatively small backyard in around 15 minutes than I do spending 2 and 1/2 hours at a state park that lays claim to having a bunch of common species in the wintertime. I spent an hour walking around the park looking in logs and found nothing, around 30 minutes looking for tracks, and found nothing. And the rest of the time sitting on a rock next to a flowing stream that typically has small mammals and birds that come to get a drink. Saw nothing. And all that effort to get there and nothing was found. Often on this thread I see "Today I just took a little fine and dandy walk around the neighborhood and saw like 5 mammal species and 25 bird species, Ya know, Just the norm". It really gets under my nerves, but theres nothing I can do about it.
Yayyyyyyy....................:cool:
 
CheeseChameleon2007 said:
I have to be honest, today was a big disappointment when it comes to animals.
16. Trumpeter swan, is all I saw today in terms of new species. Wowww, So cool.......Awesome.....
Today I also finally photographed a Pileated woodpecker, but of course, the photo was terrible, Yayyyy.......
And one of the Big disappointment was not going to the zoo because all the tickets were sold out.....Awesome.............:rolleyes:
So instead We actually got to go to a state park, which sounded fun and I was excited to finish school and go straight to there.......Of course that excitement was not worth it at all. I saw as much wildlife there as me sitting in a concrete basement reading a magazine. Its sort of strange, don't you think, that I find more wildlife outside in my relatively small backyard in around 15 minutes than I do spending 2 and 1/2 hours at a state park that lays claim to having a bunch of common species in the wintertime. I spent an hour walking around the park looking in logs and found nothing, around 30 minutes looking for tracks, and found nothing. And the rest of the time sitting on a rock next to a flowing stream that typically has small mammals and birds that come to get a drink. Saw nothing. And all that effort to get there and nothing was found. Often on this thread I see "Today I just took a little fine and dandy walk around the neighborhood and saw like 5 mammal species and 25 bird species, Ya know, Just the norm". It really gets under my nerves, but theres nothing I can do about it.
Yayyyyyyy....................:cool:
Click to expand...
Is the state park forested? If so there won't be many animals in winter. Your best chance of seeing animals is to look anywhere there is water that isn't frozen over.
 
CheeseChameleon2007 said:
So instead We actually got to go to a state park, which sounded fun and I was excited to finish school and go straight to there.......Of course that excitement was not worth it at all. I saw as much wildlife there as me sitting in a concrete basement reading a magazine. Its sort of strange, don't you think, that I find more wildlife outside in my relatively small backyard in around 15 minutes than I do spending 2 and 1/2 hours at a state park that lays claim to having a bunch of common species in the wintertime. I spent an hour walking around the park looking in logs and found nothing, around 30 minutes looking for tracks, and found nothing. And the rest of the time sitting on a rock next to a flowing stream that typically has small mammals and birds that come to get a drink. Saw nothing. And all that effort to get there and nothing was found. Often on this thread I see "Today I just took a little fine and dandy walk around the neighborhood and saw like 5 mammal species and 25 bird species, Ya know, Just the norm". It really gets under my nerves, but theres nothing I can do about it.
Yayyyyyyy....................:cool:
Click to expand...

Winter can be really hit or miss, and state parks can be good or bad. I hit my local state and national parks early before the crowds arrive, otherwise I don't see half as much wildlife. And sometimes we just strike out even with a lot of effort. Been there done that more than once.

And yeah some of us live in neighborhoods with a lot of wildlife (including myself), others not so much. It largely depends on where you live. My original neighborhood didn't get a whole lot, where I am now I get tons of stuff.
 
Spotted my first mammal after seeing tracks in the snow the last couple of nights.

Mammals:
1. Arctic Fox - Vulpes Lagopus

Birds:
2. Common Raven - Corvus Corax
 
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Birds
5) Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula eupatria
6) Indian Golden Oriole Oriolus kundoo
7) Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
You know it’s not going to be a good year of birding when people in the UK see parrots before you, sitting here and freezing in a supposedly tropical country...
 
5/1/2021
39. Little corella
40. Little friarbird
41. Australian ringneck
42. Rainbow lorikeet
43. Feral pigeon
6/1/2021
44. Australasian darter
45. Australian reed warbler
46. Eastern great egret
47. Little pied cormorant
48. Purple swamphen
49. Sacred kingfisher
50. Whistling kite
51. White-necked heron
52. White-winged chough
 
Pleistohorse said:
Spotted my first mammal after seeing tracks in the snow the last couple of nights.

Mammals:
1. Arctic Fox - Vulpes Lagopus

Birds:
1. Common Raven - Corvus Corax
Click to expand...

Sorry about the calculation error in my bird count.

1. Common Raven - Corvus Corax.

Unless I’m lucky to spot some Ptarmigan...I think my second bird will be the Rock Pigeon or Starling sometime after mid month.
 
CheeseChameleon2007 said:
I have to be honest, today was a big disappointment when it comes to animals.
16. Trumpeter swan, is all I saw today in terms of new species. Wowww, So cool.......Awesome.....
Today I also finally photographed a Pileated woodpecker, but of course, the photo was terrible, Yayyyy.......
And one of the Big disappointment was not going to the zoo because all the tickets were sold out.....Awesome.............:rolleyes:
So instead We actually got to go to a state park, which sounded fun and I was excited to finish school and go straight to there.......Of course that excitement was not worth it at all. I saw as much wildlife there as me sitting in a concrete basement reading a magazine. Its sort of strange, don't you think, that I find more wildlife outside in my relatively small backyard in around 15 minutes than I do spending 2 and 1/2 hours at a state park that lays claim to having a bunch of common species in the wintertime. I spent an hour walking around the park looking in logs and found nothing, around 30 minutes looking for tracks, and found nothing. And the rest of the time sitting on a rock next to a flowing stream that typically has small mammals and birds that come to get a drink. Saw nothing. And all that effort to get there and nothing was found. Often on this thread I see "Today I just took a little fine and dandy walk around the neighborhood and saw like 5 mammal species and 25 bird species, Ya know, Just the norm". It really gets under my nerves, but theres nothing I can do about it.
Yayyyyyyy....................:cool:
Click to expand...

From reading your posts it seems like you've started birding/wildlife-watching recently. Is that true? If so, don't forget many people that post their lists here have been birding for years and spend hundreds if not thousands of hours in the field. The knowledge, experience and skills these people have do not just appear overnight, they take time to develop. But if you keep birding you'll certainly improve and get a much better feeling when and where to expect certain species, and how to ID them. Also, don't forget everyone has quiet days, uneventful sessions or failed searches, no matter how "good" they are at birding. I get that it is very disappointing to go through a lot of trouble to get somewhere and you end up seeing very little, but believe me that happens to everyone.

I hope I got the tone of your post right, because that can be hard on online forums.
 
amur leopard said:
A slightly more modestly-numbered tally from me as always :D

Birds:

2. Common woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
3. Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
4. Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
5. Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
6. Greylag goose (Anser anser)
7. Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
8. Egyptian goose
9. Mallard
10. Common pochard
11. Greater scaup
12. Tufted duck
13. Little grebe
14. Eurasian moorhen
15. Eurasian coot
16. Black-headed gull
17. Mew gull
18. Herring gull
19. Rose-ringed parakeet
20. Gadwall
21. Great cormorant
22. Grey heron
23. Great tit
24. Eurasian wigeon
25. Common shelduck
26. Garganey

Mammals:

1. Brown rat

A decent start...
Click to expand...

A few more species from a couple of walks over the last few days and a mammal species I forgot to put on the earlier post:

Birds:

27. European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
28. Coal tit (Periparus ater)
29. Blue tit (Cyanistes caereleus)
30. European blackbird (Turdus merula)
31. House sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Mammals:

2. Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
 
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CheeseChameleon2007 said:
I have to be honest, today was a big disappointment when it comes to animals.
16. Trumpeter swan, is all I saw today in terms of new species. Wowww, So cool.......Awesome.....
Today I also finally photographed a Pileated woodpecker, but of course, the photo was terrible, Yayyyy.......
And one of the Big disappointment was not going to the zoo because all the tickets were sold out.....Awesome.............:rolleyes:
So instead We actually got to go to a state park, which sounded fun and I was excited to finish school and go straight to there.......Of course that excitement was not worth it at all. I saw as much wildlife there as me sitting in a concrete basement reading a magazine. Its sort of strange, don't you think, that I find more wildlife outside in my relatively small backyard in around 15 minutes than I do spending 2 and 1/2 hours at a state park that lays claim to having a bunch of common species in the wintertime. I spent an hour walking around the park looking in logs and found nothing, around 30 minutes looking for tracks, and found nothing. And the rest of the time sitting on a rock next to a flowing stream that typically has small mammals and birds that come to get a drink. Saw nothing. And all that effort to get there and nothing was found. Often on this thread I see "Today I just took a little fine and dandy walk around the neighborhood and saw like 5 mammal species and 25 bird species, Ya know, Just the norm". It really gets under my nerves, but theres nothing I can do about it.
Yayyyyyyy....................:cool:
Click to expand...

I have yet to see a trumpeter swan....
Every species is a little achievement to see, you build up knowledge, little steps.
Don't expect to just get 80 birds in a day when you just start wildlife watching.
The reason you probably did not see many birds is because you used your eyes. For birding you also gotta use your ears. This is where time comes into play. You don't just ''learn'' bird sounds. You gotta recognise their songs in the wild, and there are tools online that may help you, like learn a few basic bird songs from tapes on YouTube or something. Using only eyes is just useful for large pond birds, gulls, pigeons and the birds you see flying by super quick without any clue what it could be.

And as Mr.ZooTycooner said up above, plenty of us have more experience (I for the record don't and only am seriously getting into wildlife watching for a year or so) as well as more transportation options e.g. owning a car and being able to drive to 3 or 4 good hotspots with different birds in a day. So honestly, don't compare yourselves too much to the others here as it will drive you crazy and only will make you feel bad when in matter of fact, you just are inexperienced. If you want to get better, get more experience, go out more, as often as you can within your week schedules!
And maybe at the end of this year you also have a nice list!
 
Mattaki said:
Small coastal trip today provided me with less than I expected but at least not nothing!

Birds:

18. Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
19. Common redshank (Tringa totanus)
Click to expand...

Mammals:

1. European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
2. Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Birds:

20. Rock dove (Columba livia)
21. European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
22. Great tit (Parus major)
23. Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
24. Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
25. Common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
 
Ituri said:
BIRDS:
34. Snow Goose - Anser caerulescens
35. Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifrons
36. Common Merganser - Mergus merganser
37. Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis
38. Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
39. Herring Gull - Larus argentatus
40. American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
41. Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
42. Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon
43. American Kestrel - Falco sparverius
44. Gadwall - Mareca strepera
45. Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola
46. Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus
47. Northern Harrier - Circus hudsonius
48. Spotted Towhee - Pipilo maculatus
Click to expand...

BIRDS:
49. Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
 
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TZDugong said:
Birds:
19. Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon
20. Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Click to expand...
Mammals:
3. Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus

Birds:
21. White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
22. Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
23. Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus
24. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
25. Black-Capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus
26. Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus
27. Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens

I'm very surprised that I've now seen a Coyote and Muskrat before a Raccoon - definitely not complaining about it though:D.
 
amur leopard said:
A few more species from a couple of walks over the last few days and a mammal species I forgot to put on the earlier post:

Birds:

27. European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
28. Coal tit (Periparus ater)
29. Blue tit (Cyanistes caereleus)
30. European blackbird (Turdus merula)
31. House sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Mammals:

2. Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Click to expand...

Had a nice encounter with a Red Fox tonight. I often get foxes in my backyard, especially during the night, but saw one particularly well just now. I often hear a high-pitched squealing coming from behind the house, so this time I went down and out into the yard with a torch. I opened the door and turned on the torch and the fox was standing still about 3 metres away from me. I tried to take a photo with my camera but unfrotunately it isn't too easy to focus when you have a torch in one hand, so gave up. It was one of those really fat ones which I could imagine being quite a bright red during the day. We kind of stood there watching each other for about half a minute and then it turned and left over the wall.

Anyways: 3. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
 
amur leopard said:
Had a nice encounter with a Red Fox tonight. I often get foxes in my backyard, especially during the night, but saw one particularly well just now. I often hear a high-pitched squealing coming from behind the house, so this time I went down and out into the yard with a torch. I opened the door and turned on the torch and the fox was standing still about 3 metres away from me. I tried to take a photo with my camera but unfortunately it isn't too easy to focus when you have a torch in one hand, so gave up. It was one of those really fat ones which I could imagine being quite a bright red during the day. We kind of stood there watching each other for about half a minute and then it turned and left over the wall.

Anyways: 3. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure we have (or had) a fox in my backyard before, I caught a glimpse of one on our camera trap, I'm not sure if it was a Gray fox or Red fox, Our town has both around.
 
Figured to join this and post my whole list of this year so far:

01-01-2021:
1: - Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo
2: - Great Egret, Ardea alba
3: - Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea
4: - Barnacle Goose, Branta leucopsis
5: - Greater White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
6: - Greylag Goose, Anser anser
7: - Tundra Bean Goose, Anser serrirostris
8: - Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
9: - Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo
10: - Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus
11: - Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra
12: - Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
13: - Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
14: - European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
15: - Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
16: - Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes
17: - Dunnock, Prunella modularis
18: - Common Blackbird, Turdus merula
19: - Redwing , Turdus iliacus
20: - Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
21: - Great Tit , Parus major
22: - Eurasian Nuthatch, Sitta europaea
23: - Carrion Crow, Corvus corone
24: - Jackdaw, Corvus monedula
25: - Common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
26: - House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
27: - Common Reed Bunting , Emberiza schoeniclus

03-01-2021:
28: - European Robin, Erithacus rubecul
29: - European Magpie, Pica pica
30: - Goldcrest, Regulus regulus
31: - Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius
32: - Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula
33: - Common Pochard, Aythya ferina
34: - Eurasian Teal, Anas crecca
35: - Common Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna
36: - Bewick's Swan, Cygnus columbianus bewickii
37: - Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus
38: - Stock Dove, Columba oenas
39: - Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
40: - Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major

04-01-2021:
41: - Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus
42: - Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
43: - Red-necked Grebe, Podiceps grisegena
44: - Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiaca
45: - Common Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
46: - Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope
47: - Gadwall Mareca strepera
48: - Northern Pintail Anas acuta
49: - Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata
50: - Greater Scaup Aythya marila
51: - Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina
52: - Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
53: - Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
54: - Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
55: - Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
56: - Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
57: - Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis
58: - Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
59: - Common Merganser Mergus merganser
60: - Smew Mergellus albellus
61: - European Siskin Spinus spinus
62: - Eurasian Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
63: - European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
64: - Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
65: - Common Gull Larus canus
66: - Lesser Redpoll Acanthis flammea
67: - Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla
68: - Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla
69: - Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
70: - Willow Tit Poecile montanus

05-01-2021:
71: - Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
72: - Thick-billed Murre Uria lomvia
73: - Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
74: - Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis
75: - Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus
76: - Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
77: - Little Egret Egretta garzetta
78: - European Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis
79: - Common Scooter Melanitta nigra
80: - Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
81: - Brant Goose Branta bernicla (AND a rare ssp that the netherlands splits as a full species, nigricans, but isn't split worldwide so i won't split it here)
82: - Canada Goose Branta canadensis
83: - Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
84: - Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta
85: - Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus
86: - European Greenfinch Chloris chloris
87: - Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
88: - Common Eider Somateria mollissima
89: - Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
90: - Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima
91: - Velvet Scooter Melanitta fusca
92: - Sanderling Calidris alba
93: - Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata
94: - Black-throated Loon Gavia arctica
95: - Common Loon Gavia immer
96: - White-tailed Sea Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla
97: - Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
98: - Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
99: - Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
100: - Black-throated Thrush Turdus atrogularis
101: - Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola

06-01-2021:
102: - Little Owl Athene noctua


EDIT: I have 5 spaces between the english name and the latin name, but when i save its still one space so im sorry for that
 
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