ZooChat Big Year 2021

At Moonlit

Invertebrates
15. Klug's xenica Geitoneura klugii
16. Common grass-blue Zizina labradus
17. Australian yellow-winged grasshopper Gastrimargus musicus (new Order & Family)
 
As a result of the current lockdown in the UK I haven't been much further than a couple of miles from my house this year, hence the rather short list...

Mammals
  1. Eastern grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
  2. European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
  3. Roe deer Capreolus capreolus

Birds
  1. Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus
  2. Eurasian Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus
  3. Feral Pigeon Columba livia domestica
  4. Carrion Crow Corvus corone
  5. House Sparrow Passer domesticus
  6. Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
  7. Common Blackbird Turdus merula
  8. Eurasian Magpie Pica pica
  9. European Herring Gull Larus argentatus
  10. Dunnock Prunella modularis
  11. Coal Tit Periparus ater
  12. Great Tit Parus major
  13. Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
  14. Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
  15. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
  16. European Robin Erithacus rubecula
  17. Redwing Turdus iliacus
  18. Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
  19. Rook Corvus frugilegus
  20. Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
  21. Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
  22. Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
  23. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
  24. Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
  25. Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba
  26. Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
  27. Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa
  28. European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
  29. Greenfinch Chloris chloris
  30. Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus
  31. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
  32. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
 
TZDugong said:
Birds:
43. Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus

Undoubtedly the best animal I've seen this year, what an amazing species! They aren't too uncommon in my area, but for whatever reason I could never see any. Very nice views, including in flight which was incredible.
Click to expand...
44. White-Throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis
45. American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
46. Black-Crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
47. Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus

2 owl species in a month! Snowy Owls are not a species I'd usually associate with Toronto, and I never thought I'd actually see them! It took a few tries but I finally saw one today; good long view of a resting owl. Just an amazing, amazing species that I'm very fortunate to have seen in the wild.
 
The woodcock was the first time I have seen one in January. Got lots of nice pictures.

Birds:
98. American Woodcock Scolopax minor
99. Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
100. Wood Duck Aix sponsa
101. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
 
Boneo Park - Tootgarook Swamp

Birds
51. Black swan Cygnus atratus
52. Australian shelduck Tadorna tadornoides
53. White-faced heron Egretta novaehollandiae
54. Great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
55. Spotted harrier Circus assimilis
56. Little raven Corvus mellori
57. Golden-headed cisticola Cisticola exilis
58. Little grassbird Poodytes gramineus
59. Australian reed warbler Acrocephalus australis

Moonlit

Invertebrates
18. European wasp Vespula germanica
19. Garden snail Cornu aspersum (new Family)
 
Great Argus said:
Two species yesterday, and then only saw rabbit tracks in the snow this morning, no rabbits. Seeing a Phainopepla hanging around with some 4 inches of snow on the ground was rather odd though!

Birds:

60. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
61. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

4-61-3-2-0-6
Click to expand...

Two from yesterday, unfortunately nothing today.

Birds:

62. Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
63. Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)

4-63-3-2-0-6
 
Coelacanth18 said:
My birding so far this year has been rather piecemeal - I didn't even get out to bird the first two days because of the weather - so here's a two-week update on progress so far:

Birds
1. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
2. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
3. Bonaparte’s Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)
4. Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
5. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
6. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
7. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
8. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leuconocephalus)
9. Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
10. Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
11. European Starling (Sturna vulgaris)
12. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
13. Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoenicius)
14. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
15. Rock (Feral) Pigeon (Columba livia)
16. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
17. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
18. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
19. Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
20. Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
21. Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
22. Merlin (Falco columbarius)
23. Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
24. Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
25. Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
26. Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
27. Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
28. Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
29. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
30. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
31. American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
32. Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
33. Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
34. Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
35. Barrow’s Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica)
36. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Mammals
1. Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
2. Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
3. Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii)
Click to expand...

Biweekly update. Highlight is the Snowy Owl - my first ever and a beautiful, rare sight in these parts. A couple of other lifers the past two weeks as well. I ended up getting about 75% of the bird species I was targeting for the month of January, which was around my expectations; most of the remainder were seabirds or species mostly found a fair distance away.

37. Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegna)
38. Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)
39. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
40. Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
41. White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
42. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
43. Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)
44. Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)
45. California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
46. Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
47. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
48. Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
49. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
50. Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis)
51. Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
52. Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)
53. Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
54. Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus)

Mammals
4. North American Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus)
 
Birds
13) Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
14) Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
15) Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis
16) Grey Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii
17) White-spotted Fantail Rhipidura albogularis
Also one species awaiting ID and rather poor views of some swallows.
Reptiles
3) Peninsular Rock Agama Psammophilus dorsalis
 
A walk down some dog-walking sites proved to be a less than ideal place for birding. Only saw the common birds, but still an increase to my tally.

4. Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
5. European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
6. Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
7. Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
8. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
9. White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
 
Forgot to update for a while so here I go.

BIRDS:
07/01/20 (Stramproy, Limburg)
61) European goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis

10/01/20 (Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland)
62) Barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis
63) Eurasian teal, Anas crecca
64) Red-crested pochard, Netta rufina
65) Common merganser, Mergus merganser
66) Ferruginous duck, Aythya nyroca
67) Bewick's swan, Cygnus columbianus
68) Northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
69) Dunlin, Calidris alpina
70) Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
71) Horned grebe, Podiceps auritus
72) White-tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla
73) Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris
74) Redwing, Turdus iliacus
75) Greenfinch, Chloris chloris

17/01/2021 (Middelburg, Zeeland)
78) Common pheasant, Phasianus colchicus
79) Tundra bean goose, Anser serrirostris
80) Brant goose, Branta bernicla
81) Red-breasted merganser, Mergus serrator
82) Black-necked grebe, Podiceps nigricollis
83) Common loon, Gavia immer
84) Common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
85) Greater black-backed gull, Larus marinus
86) Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus
87) Mew gull, Larus canus
88) Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
89) Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
90) Common redshank, Tringa totanus
91) Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
92) Thick-billed murre, Uria lomvia
93) Little egret, Egretta garzetta
94) Green woodpecker, Picus viridis
95) Rook, Corvus frugilegus

22/01/21 (Stramproy, Limburg)
97) Eurasian siskin, Spinus spinus

23/01/21 (Leeuwarden, Friesland)
98) Short-toed treecreeper, Certhia brachydactyla
99) Common firecrest, Regulus ignicapilla
101) Western marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus

24/01/21 (Harlingen, Friesland)
102) Eider, Somateria mollissima
103) Ruff, Philomachus pugnax
104) Green sandpiper, Tringa ochropus
105) Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
106) Red knot, Calidris canutus
107) Sanderling, Calidris alba
108) Snow bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis

28/01/21 (Stramproy, Limburg)
109) Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
 
Mehdi said:
Forgot to list these last time:

17/01/2021 (Estuaire de l'Oued Massa, Morocco)
INVERTS:
1 - False batton blue, Pseudophilotes abencerragus
2 - Clouded yellow, Colias croceus
3 - Painted lady, Vanessa cardui

MAMMALS:
1 - Barbary ground squirrel, Atlantoxerus getulus

The blue is not that often seen in lower elevations (though Massa is known to boast a population of them) so I'm particularly happy about that one. It also marked my first time getting a decent shot of Barbary ground squirrel, by far the most common mammal here.

----

23/01/2021 (Embouchure de l'Oued Souss, Morocco)
BIRDS:
94 - Little stint, Calidris minuta
Click to expand...

31/01/2021 (Estuaire de l'Oued Massa, Morocco)
BIRDS:
95 - Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
96 - Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top