ZooChat Big Year 2021

Vision said:
On monday evening news of Belgium's 5th (or perhaps 3rd) Spotted sandpiper broke in a super weird inland location (on a lake in the middle of the Wallonian forests, with no other waders at all),
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Inland on lakes is where Spotty likes to be. Couple pairs breed every year on a small mountain lake almost 6000 feet in elevation in my area. Seen them on most other smaller lakes in my area as well as the big ones and the river. They're frequently in spots other waders wouldn't be.
 
Mission Beach Qld. We found the local rainforest difficult with only a small number of species from two morning walks and a spotlighting evening. The house I am staying at is on top of the hill looking out towards Dunk Island and produces a continual flow of critters of the insect variety as well as the occasional bird. Arriving there was a cassowary and chick at the front door to greet us.

Mammals
7. Agile wallaby Macropus agilis
8. Red-legged pademelon Thylogale stigmatica
9. Musky rat-kangaroo Hypsiprymnodon moschatus (new Family)
10. Eastern tube-nosed bat Nyctimene robinsoni

Birds
69. Southern cassowary Casuarius casuarius
70. Orange-footed scrubfowl Megapodius reinwardt
71. Torresian imperial pigeon Ducula spilorrhoa
72. Wompoo pigeon Ptilinopus magnificus
73. Australian swiftlet Aerodramus terraereginae
74. Little kingfisher Ceyx pusillus
75. Brown falcon Falco berigora
76. White-bellied cuckooshrike Coracina papuensis
77. Little shrikethrush Colluricincla megarhyncha
78. Australasian figbird Sphecotheres vieilloti
79. White-breasted woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
80. Broad-billed flycatcher Myiagra ruficollis

Reptiles
1. Scrub python Simalia kinghorni
2. Asian house gecko Hemidactylus frenatus

Amphibians
1. Cane toad Rhinella marina

Invertebrates
20. Common albatross Appias paulina
21. Red-banded jezebel Delias mysis
22. Gumleaf katydid Torbia viridissima (new Family)
23. Northern St Andrews Cross spider Argiope picta
24. Brown huntsman Heteropoda jugulans
 
Najade said:
I reckon that might have been their way of checking if you were aware of the Nordmann’s Greenshank that’s been hanging out in Cairns atm and whether or not you looked for it?
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I see, of course. Probably if there was a group we are not targeting this trip it would be shorebirds, we did not bring a scope. The godwits were on a football field, we only stopped in Cairns for a late lunch and while we ate it on the foreshore the tide was in. Overall I am not a great one for chasing after rarities, I am a bit lazy for that and I tend to just like to see the birds I come across. I would like to see a beach thick-knee, though.
 
Najade said:
Did you stay at Lumholtz Lodge for the Tk encounter?

(If you need any advice for specific targets feel free to shoot me a PM. Though the area is probably so well documented that you won’t need the help.;))
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Funny you should say that. As it happens Lumholtz Lodge is closed for renovations. However we did visit as through miscommunication through a mutual friend we assumed Margit would be taking us out for a spotlighting session while Margit assumed we just wanted to meet a tree kangaroo. Anyway it turned out that Margit and my friend Graeme have a huge number of mutual friends and acquaintances, ranging from the late William Cooper to various German zoo luminaries. So we had a great dinner while the rain poured down outside and of course I got to meet Nelson. My wife, who has a low tolerance of trudging around damp and leech infested forests and so stayed back at Mission Beach, but likes a cute animal, was extremely jealous.
 
Vision said:
A bit more from the past 3 days! On monday evening news of Belgium's 5th (or perhaps 3rd) Spotted sandpiper broke in a super weird inland location (on a lake in the middle of the Wallonian forests, with no other waders at all), so I made my way down there as fast as possible and got great looks, which I combined with a lot of birding in the area (dipped Wallcreeper & Baikal teal), but ended off with a very nice eagle-owl. Yesterday and today were spent at the coast near Belgium's last crested lark stronghold.

BIRDS:
134) Spotted sandpiper, Actitis macularius
135) Caspian gull, Larus cachinnans
136) Lesser redpoll, Acanthis cabaret
137) Mistle thrush, Turdus viscivorus
138) Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
139) White-throated dipper, Cinclus cinclus
140) Eurasian eagle-owl, Bubo bubo
141) European serin, Serinus serinus
142) Crested lark, Galerida cristata
143) Yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis

(+9 heard only)

Heard only:
0) Eurasian bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
0) Marsh tit, Poecile palustris
0) Willow tit, Poecile montanus
0) Cetti's warbler, Cettia cetti
0) White wagtail, Motacilla alba

MAMMALS:
4) Eurasian red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris

INVERTS:
3) Asian ladybug, Harmonia axyridis
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Most Spotted Sandpipers spend their entire lives inland, they breed on inland lakes and winter on rivers such as the Amazon. They don't tend to associate with other shorebirds and are rare on larger bodies of water.
 
MRJ said:
I think you are referring to the Bar-tailed godwit, for which I entered the wrong scientific name, it should be Limosa lapponica. So thank you for the correction. But Limosa limosa can be found in the area so I'm not sure what all the questionmarks are about.
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Sorry. I follow the aussie twitching group on facebook. A Nordmann's greenshank has been spotted off the Esplanade in Cairns. I was waiting for it to appear on your list. That's why I wrote Nordmann's greenshank????
 
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MRJ said:
I see, of course. Probably if there was a group we are not targeting this trip it would be shorebirds, we did not bring a scope. The godwits were on a football field, we only stopped in Cairns for a late lunch and while we ate it on the foreshore the tide was in. Overall I am not a great one for chasing after rarities, I am a bit lazy for that and I tend to just like to see the birds I come across. I would like to see a beach thick-knee, though.
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This one should be easy to find by looking for heaps of birders milling about in one spot. I'm sure someone would let you look through their scope too ;)

Little Kingfisher and Musky Rat-kangaroo are nice finds^^
 
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Some species from here and there, mostly from a number of smaller trips to regional birding spots. The fox was a nice surprise: I saw it on a field when driving home from work.

Birds
102. Northern Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis
103. Common Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus
104. Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus
105. Water Pipit, Anthus spinoletta
106. Eurasian Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula

Mammals
05. Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes
06. European Roe Deer, Capriolus capriolus

Invertebrates
1. Silverfish, Lepisma sacharrina
2. Long-bodied Cellar Spider, Pholcus phalangioides
3. Rough Woodlouse, Porcellio scaber
4. Grey Silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudatum
 
BIRDS:

16. Pileated Woodpecker (Drypcopus pileatus)
17. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Mammals: 3
Birds: 17

Very surprised to see the woodpecker fly over the road while driving in the middle of town!
 
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After our early morning walk on the second day we headed towards the tablelands for our first overnight trip. We were headed up the Palmerston Highway and our first stop was to be the MAMU, an elevated rainforest walk. Seen on the drive:

Birds
81. Nankeen kestrel Falco cenchroides
82. Horsfield's bush lark Mirafra javanica
83. Australasian pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae

MAMU sounded a bit sus but is actually very well done, with an elevated walkway and tower, and great interpretation. Plus there are some wonderful views. We ended up spending over two hours there.

Birds
84. Graceful honeyeater Microptilotis gracilis
85. Mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum
86. White-eared monarch Carterornis leucotis
87. Pale-yellow robin Tregellasia capito

Invertebrates
25. Ulysses butterfly Papilio ulysses
26. Cairns birdwing Ornithoptera euphorion
More butterflies to come.

We drove on to Millaa Millaa for lunch. Graeme insisted we leave the engine on while having lunch to charge batteries. He said nobody in Millaa Millaa would steal the car. He was right nobody did. Seen on the road:

Birds
88. Torresian crow Corvus orru
89. White-headed pigeon Columba leucomela
90. Australian brush turkey Alectura lathami

Graeme was worried that we had not seen enough birds, which I must admit I was a bit worried about too, and so as rain was poring down he suggested we go directly to Hasties Swamp near Atherton. Hasties Swamp is famous for the immense numbers of birds and species that can be seen there very easily. Even the girl in the supermarket knew about it. We walked into the hide and there were a total of 10 birds in view. We began to feel that maybe this trip was doomed. A little hunting around found a few more birds but what a disappointment.

Birds
91. Bush stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius
92. Wandering whistling-duck Dendrocygna arcuata
93. Musk duck Biziura lobata

As dusk approached we visited the Tolga Scrub nearby for the flying fox colony. After this our planned spotlighting turned into a boozy dinner described above and we spent the night in Atherton.

Mammals
11. Little red flying-fox Pteropus scapulatus
12. Spectacled flying-fox Pteropus conspicillatus

Birds
94. Brown cuckoo-dove Macropygia unchall
 
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boof said:
Sorry. I follow the aussie twitching group on facebook. A Nordmann's greenshank has been spotted off the Esplanade in Cairns. I was waiting for it to appear on your list. That's why I wrote Nordmann's greenshank????
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No problems, I remember that now. As explained above we spent very little time in Cairns and are not really perusing shore birds. Might have been nice though.
 
Also seen at Hasties Swamp. How could I forget?

Birds
95. Hardhead Aythya australis
 
BIRDS:

18. American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
19. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
20. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Mammals: 3
Birds: 20
 
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A nice walk in a woodland got a few more species to my list.

10. Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
11. Lesser Black-Backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
12. Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
13. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
14. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
15. Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
16. Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
17. Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula)
 
5/2/2021

Spend a good time at my schools estate which is divided in several landscapes, and got a few nice yearticks and a whole one lifer!

Birds:
34) Eurasian nuthatch, Sitta europaea
* Great spotted woodpecker

Invertebrates:
2) European firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus
3) Common earwig, Forficula auricularia
4) Great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Added another couple of birds over the past few days. The first was a brief visit to the bird feeders in the midst of a large, travelling mixed flock. The second is a species I have heard several times over the past few days as they have been roosting on the floodwater behind the garden but have been arriving and departing under cover of darkness. Managed to see them leaving early this morning however:

39. Coal tit Periparus ater
40. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

Pretty good haul for January, considering I have only left the house once this month - looking back through my list I have seen 35 out of the 40 species from the house.
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Since my last update, I have seen another three bird species. All were observed as flyovers from my bedroom window. Particularly pleased with the red kite, as this is a species that is still not a reliable annual visitor to my area.

41. Mute swan Cygnus olor
42. Red kite Milvus milvus
43. Egyptian goose Alopochen aegyptiaca

I have also seen both the stock dove and song thrush in my garden; that means of my 43 total birds so far, only 3 (the lapwing, golden plover and meadow pipit) have not been seen from the house.

Finally, I have added a second invertebrate - over the past week or so, I have found two of these in the house.

2. Ichneumon wasp Ophion obscuratus
 
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