ZooChat Big Year 2021

[carl the birder]

at a local natur preserve that i dont wisit to often

15-01-2021
46 common moorehen (Gallinula chloropus)
47 euroasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
48 northen goshawk Accipiter gentilis
49 common chatfinch (Fringilla coelebs)

went on wake in a are close to me but i dont go to often to
16-01-2021
50 european dipper (Cinclus cinclus) mist in 2020
51 little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
mammals
5. european roa dear (Capreolus capreolus)

twiching time
17-01-21
52 grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea not sean in sweden in 2020
53 eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope)


xxx. baikal teal Sibirionetta formosa
cunretly this is a cat d bird mening an ascepe cant be rulled out. but i got a hunch that they are moving it to cat A after one bird in demark and on in the uk have bean prove to be genuin vagrants do to istop analys. and also we now that movement ocure sense a mallard ringed in europe was has turned upp in some whare Asia .

 

[Great Argus]

Only one addition today.

Birds:

57. Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Couple warm weather species popping up again.

Reptiles:

3. Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)

Invertebrates:

5. Common Bluebottle Fly (Calliphora vomitoria)

Uncountable:

-- Belted Kingfisher (heard again)
-- unidentified beetle (same type as earlier)
-- unidentified wolf spider

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

A mostly quiet morning in my local patch produced a number of notable sightings and a few birds for the year list. There's still a fair number of uncommon but regular species to find there. I was a bit surprised by the lapwings. Despite it being a typical "farmland" bird in the Netherlands, the flock I saw choose a patch of grassland in a mostly forested rewilding area over the farmland around it.

Birds
72. Eurasian Siskin, Spinus spinus
73. Willow Tit, Poecile montanus
74. Northern Raven, Corvus corax
75. Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
76. Little Owl, Athene noctua

 

[Maguari]

Surprise addition on my lunchtime walk today with the year's first carnivoran - a species that's common locally but not often seen in daylight. Otherwise work has meant a fallow period lately but after Thursday I've got 10 days off - which will free me from having to keep my walks from home compatible with being back safely in time for the end of lunch, and thus will extend my possibilities a little.

Mammals:
4. Red Fox - Vulpes vulpes

 

[Mehdi]

A nice outing yesterday morning to Massa, particularly green after the recent rainfalls. 61 species on the day including 57 at the spot, some decent pictures of nice species (Little owl and Barbary ground squirrel notably) and a few additions to the year list made for it to be a very pleasant day:

17/01/2021 (Estuaire de l'Oued Massa, Morocco)
BIRDS:
86 - Eurasian hoopoe, Upupa epops
87 - Common house martin, Delichon urbicum
88 - Common crane, Grus grus
89 - Black-crowned tchagra, Tchagra senegalus
90 - Ruddy shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea
91 - Eurasian wigeon, Mareca penelope
92 - Barbary partridge, Alectoris barbara
93 - Little ringed plover, Charadrius dubius

Seeing cranes is always a delight, especially when they're as vocal as they were yesterday. Same can be said for the tchagra and the partridge, both common species that I always enjoy getting looks at. The duck diversity was neat with no less than 7 species including my second time ever seeing wigeons.

 

[birdsandbats]

LBBG is one the last normally occurring Wisconsin birds I hadn't seen yet, so I was hapy to run into two of them today. The creeper is from several days ago but I forgot to post it then.

Birds
48. Brown Creeper Certhia americana
48. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
49. Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa

Mammals
5. Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus

Birds
58. Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus

Birds
59. Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus

Mammals
6. Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger

 

[Birdlover]

Birds:
88. Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus
89. Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis
90. Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides

Mammals:
5. Coyote Canis latrans

 

[CMP]

The weather was a bit nicer today, so I decided to go on a walk. Couldn't identify any new birds, so I turned over some rocks and found these insects and inverts. There were some others, but being inverts they were hard to identify.

Insect/Invertebrates:
3. Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
4. Spotted lady beetle/ pink ladybug (Coleomegilla maculata)
5. Spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata)
6. Common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)
7. Grey garden slug (Deroceras reticulatum)

 

[d1am0ndback]

Pretty good birding the past few days in a variety of spots in North Texas. Most notable are a number of local rarities, such as Surf Scoter, Iceland Gull, and Grasshopper Sparrow (for this time of year). Also very notable would be the bizarre western birds hanging around which ordinarily do not exist in my region however this year can be found in surprisingly large flocks. These include Mountain Bluebird, Western Bluebird, Sage Thrasher, Ferruginous Hawk, and Sage Thrasher. Also notable is the Taiga subspecies of Merlin which is also quite rare for the area.

Birds

52. Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus
53. American Robin - Turdus migratorius
54. Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon
55. Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
56. Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
57. Hooded Merganser - Lophodytes cucullatus
58. Surf Scoter - Melanitta perspicillata
59. Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris
60. American Wigeon - Mareca americana
61. Ross's Goose - Anser rossii
62. Barred Owl - Strix varia
63. Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
64. Lesser Black-backed Gull - Larus fuscus
65. Iceland Gull - Larus glaucoides
66. Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla
67. Gadwall - Mareca strepera
68. Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis
69. Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia
70. White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys
71. Lark Bunting - Calamospiza melanocorys
72. Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla
73. Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis
74. Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus
75. Ferruginous Hawk - Buteo regalis
76. Northern Harrier - Circus hudsonius
77. Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus
78. Spotted Towhee - Pipilo maculatus
79. Grasshopper Sparrow - Ammodramus savannarum
80. Mountain Bluebird - Sialia currucoides
81. Western Bluebird - Sialia mexicana
82. Sage Thrasher - Oreoscoptes montanus
83. Bewick's Wren - Thryomanes bewickii
84. Merlin - Falco columbarius
85. House Wren - Troglodytes aedon

Some miscellaneous birds from the past week, and several from local birding today. Highlights include a shockingly out of season Yellow-breasted Chat, a locally rare Greater Scaup, and an out of season Anhinga.

Birds

86. Greater Scaup - Aythya marila
87. Yellow-breasted Chat - Icteria virens
88. House Finch - Haemorhous mexicanus
89. Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
90. Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula
91. Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus
92. Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris
93. Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura
94. Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor
95. Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus
96. Great Egret - Ardea alba
97. Anhinga - Anhinga anhinga
98. Forster's Tern - Sterna forsteri
99. Bonaparte's Gull - Chroicocephalus philadelphia

 

[CMP]

The weather was a bit nicer today, so I decided to go on a walk. Couldn't identify any new birds, so I turned over some rocks and found these insects and inverts. There were some others, but being inverts they were hard to identify.

Insect/Invertebrates:
3. Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
4. Spotted lady beetle/ pink ladybug (Coleomegilla maculata)
5. Spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata)
6. Common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)
7. Grey garden slug (Deroceras reticulatum)

I would like to adjust this to:
3. Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
4. Bean leaf beetle (Cerotoma trifurcata)
5. Common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)
6. Grey garden slug (Deroceras reticulatum)

What I saw was a bean leaf beetle, not a spotted lady beetle and spotted cucumber beetle

 

[Dannelboyz]

Clyde, Victoria...

BIRDS
201 - Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
202 - Australasian Shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis)

AMPHIBIANS
--- Southern Brown Tree Frog (Litoria ewingii) [heard only]

Bairnsdale-Lakes Entrance area, East Gippsland

BIRDS
203 - White-throated Gerygone (Gerygone olivacea)
204 - Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami)
205 - White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
206 - Spotless Crake (Zapornia tabuensis)
--- Lewin's Rail (Lewinia pectoralis) [heard]
207 - Australian Spotted Crake (Porzana fluminea)

 

[boof]

Bairnsdale-Lakes Entrance area, East Gippsland

BIRDS
203 - White-throated Gerygone (Gerygone olivacea)
204 - Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami)
205 - White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
206 - Spotless Crake (Zapornia tabuensis)
--- Lewin's Rail (Lewinia pectoralis) [heard]
207 - Australian Spotted Crake (Porzana fluminea)

Great list so early in the year. Are you doing a big year?

 

[red river hog]

Birds:

11. Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Mammals: 2
Birds: 11

 

[DesertRhino150]

I received some new bird feeders ready for lockdown and finally got round to putting them up. I have since seen two new species:

34. European goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
35. Eurasian collared dove Streptopelia decaocto

I have also seen three new mammals, the first one in the garden and the other two in the field behind the garden:

3. Reeve's muntjac Muntiacus reevesi
4. Eastern grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
5. Red fox Vulpes vulpes

Also, while I was moving the dustbin I store the birdfood in up the garden, I found my first invertebrate of the year hiding underneath it:

1. Brown centipede Lithobius forficatus

Since my last update, I have seen a further two bird species (both flyovers identified from my bedroom window) plus an extra mammal seen running over the garden patio.

36. Greylag goose Anser anser
37. European herring gull Larus argentatus

6. Bank vole Myodes glareolus

 

[Hipporex]

Total: 10 species
Birds Total: 8 species
Mammal Total: 2 species

Birds (Aves)
1) American kestrel (Falco sparverius)
2) Mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
3) Rock dove (Columba livia)
4) Surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
5) Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura)
6) Western gull (Larus occidentalis)
7) Wood duck (Aix sponsa)
8) Virginia rail (Rallus limicola)

Mammals (Mammalia)
1) Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
2) Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

 

[WalkingAgnatha]

Saw a bumblebee stuck in a spider's web which allowed me to get a proper id on it so that was cool. Also went for a walk to the beach at dusk and saw a pair of oystercatchers.

Birds

15. Variable Oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor)

Invertebrates

3. Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Happened to go to a random park whilst I was out with friends where I saw a grebe for the first time, which was cool. Also saw some common birds when I was on the bus, which I probably should've seen much earlier on in the year.

Birds

16. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
17. New Zealand Dabchick (Poliocephalus rufopectus)
18. White-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)

Invertebrates

4. Long-bodied Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides)
5. Lancer Dragonfly (Adversaeschna brevistyla)

 

[MRJ]

At Moonlit

Invertebrates
8. Caper white Belenois java
9. Yellow admiral Vanessa itea
10. (orbweaver) Eriophora biapicata

 

[Vision]

BIRDS:
96) Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
97) Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata
98) Common reed bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus

(+5 heard only)

Heard only:
0) Water rail, Rallus aquaticus
0) Lesser spotted woodpecker, Dryobates minor

MAMMALS:
2) European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus

Two more days of birding! One (99-102) was a second try at a vagrant female Black-throated thrush, that was absolutely nowhere to be found when I looked for it in December but was the first bird upon arrival when I saw it 2 days ago - It really gave excellent views, and was absolutely one of the best experiences with a thrush I've had.

Yesterday (102-117) I went to the local polders, mainly to try finally getting a White-tailed eagle, but like the 15-20 previous times I've gone looking for them in Belgium my attempts were futile - It's definitely becoming a bit of a nemesis bird here, even though I see them half of the times I visit the Netherlands! Did get some other nice ticks on both days though - Tawny owl, Smew, Tundra swan, Water pipit, Grey shrike, Hen harrier and Long-eared owl are all things I have to pay attention not to miss in normal years so it's good to get them out of the way.

BIRDS:
99) Rook, Corvus frugilegus
100) Northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis
101) Black-throated thrush, Turdus atrogularis
102) Tawny owl, Strix aluco
103) Ruff, Calidris pugnax
104) Common pochard, Aythya ferina
105) Smew, Mergellus albellus
106) Tundra swan, Cygnus columbianus
107) Western cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
108) Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta
109) Northern pintail, Anas acuta
110) Western marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus
111) Hen harrier, Circus cyaneus
112) Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
113) Pied avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
114) Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus
115) Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago
116) Great grey shrike, Lanius excubitor
117) Long-eared owl, Asio otus

(+7 heard only)

0) Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla
0) Eurasian skylark, Alauda arvensis

INVERTS:
2) Bathroom moth midge, Clogmia albipunctata

 

[birdsandbats]

Birds
59. Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus

Mammals
6. Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger

Birds
60. Barred Owl Strix varia

 

[Vision]

Two more days of birding! One (99-102) was a second try at a vagrant female Black-throated thrush, that was absolutely nowhere to be found when I looked for it in December but was the first bird upon arrival when I saw it 2 days ago - It really gave excellent views, and was absolutely one of the best experiences with a thrush I've had.

Yesterday (102-117) I went to the local polders, mainly to try finally getting a White-tailed eagle, but like the 15-20 previous times I've gone looking for them in Belgium my attempts were futile - It's definitely becoming a bit of a nemesis bird here, even though I see them half of the times I visit the Netherlands! Did get some other nice ticks on both days though - Tawny owl, Smew, Tundra swan, Water pipit, Grey shrike, Hen harrier and Long-eared owl are all things I have to pay attention not to miss in normal years so it's good to get them out of the way.

BIRDS:
99) Rook, Corvus frugilegus
100) Northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis
101) Black-throated thrush, Turdus atrogularis
102) Tawny owl, Strix aluco
103) Ruff, Calidris pugnax
104) Common pochard, Aythya ferina
105) Smew, Mergellus albellus
106) Tundra swan, Cygnus columbianus
107) Western cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
108) Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta
109) Northern pintail, Anas acuta
110) Western marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus
111) Hen harrier, Circus cyaneus
112) Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
113) Pied avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
114) Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus
115) Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago
116) Great grey shrike, Lanius excubitor
117) Long-eared owl, Asio otus

(+7 heard only)

0) Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla
0) Eurasian skylark, Alauda arvensis

INVERTS:
2) Bathroom moth midge, Clogmia albipunctata

The year's going well, so why not keep going while I have the time! This scarcity has been around for a while, so I finally went to look! A beautiful adult male, that I almost thought I missed until I checked the very last group of ducks on the pond.

BIRDS:
118) Ferruginous duck, Aythya nyroca

(+7 heard only)