Zoochat Big Year 2022

Birds
111 Whitethroat Sylvia communis
112 Skylark Alauda arvensis
113 Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis

Invertebrates
32 White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
33 Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus
34 Green-veined White Pieris napi
35 Large White Pieris brassica
 
biding easter continus
yesturaday i went birding at one of my best lockal spots fysingen nature reserve not ecpeking much just some easier species. then it hapend. i here two of birders taking about a bird they say is egret. i think i locks more like a crane. just to be shure i get in my scope an to my huge suprise i see that it is a white stork!!!!!!. i begin to shout at my birding firend to chek that bird just to be shure as i run to get the otter on site one the bird, unfortiently only 5 birders get to see it. white stork is a rarety in my province. we get like one record every year. this is the rarest bird i found i think( i now i was not the one who found it but i was the one who id it so think i can take a litle bit of cred) alos a hilge anticpade lifer one my part. tho i wish i saw it for longer. i only got to view it for one min or something like that
birds
107. common kestrel Falco tinnunculus
108. redshank Tringa totanus
109. grenn sandpiper Tringa ochropus
110. eurasian curlew Numenius arquata
111. white stork Ciconia ciconia
and from today
112 rook Corvus frugilegus

i also saw a osprey caching fish. i saw i carry two big northen pike and and at least one of then was alive couse i saw it trying to twich lose. i dont think i am counting manny fish this year but this was cool
1 northen pike Esox lucius
 
Finally back with a big day out. The first new bird was a roadside swallow on the drive up - then the main attraction was the regular spring visit to the seabird colony at Bempton - always worth a look even if you don't need species for a year list, but with kittiwake and puffin to find it was a surefire winner. There are huge numbers here of both species, plus guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and gannets on the cliffs. On top of which, after disappearing over winter, the long-staying Black-browed Albatross from last year reappeared earlier in the month, and was far more showy than when I saw him last year. It feels very odd to see that species sat on my year list unadorned with bold, like any other species. :D

After Bempton, we called at North Landing - often a migrant landing site - and found my first martin and whitethroat of the year, followed by Bridlington for lunch and to spot the local Purple Sandpipers, then on for another wander at North Cave Wetlands (which added two more warblers and all the below invertebrates). A quick stop at Hagg Lane Flash to spot a reported Garganey rounded off the day nicely (this is the same site I picked up the species at last year).

Great day and great birds!

Birds:
138. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
139. Black-legged Kittiwake - Rissa tridactyla
140. Atlantic Puffin - Fratercula arctica
141. Black-browed Albatross - Thalassarche melanophris
142. Sand Martin - Riparia riparia
143. Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis
144. Purple Sandpiper - Calidris maritima
145. Eurasian Blackcap - Sylvia atricapilla
146. Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti
147. Garganey - Spatula querquedula

Invertebrates:
14. Holly Blue - Celastrina argiolus
15. Green-veined White - Pieris napi
16. Alder Leaf Beetle - Agelastica alni
17. Orange Tip - Anthocharis cardamines
18. Giant Pond Snail - Lymnaea stagnalis
19. Common Pill Woodlouse - Armadillidium vulgare

:)
 
Najade said:
Tried all day yesterday for otter with no luck. Some nice consolation species including a close fly-by of a Marsh Harrier and a couple of shrews that have to probably stay un-IDed as usual (most likely Sorex araneus/coronatus so would be impossible to ID anyway).

Weerribben NP, NL

Mammals
12. Bank Vole (Myodes glareolus)
13. European Water Vole (Arvicola amphibius)*
14. Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)
15. Eurasian Harvest Mouse (Micromys minutus)

Reptiles
01. Grass Snake (Natrix natrix)

————
*(all black morph)
Click to expand...
After a bit of a longer drive I made it back to Helgoland again, where I’ve picked up the common spring seabirds over the last two days. Nothing too exciting in terms of migrating birds (yet :fingers crossed: ) but it’s a bit early in the season. Some improved views of European Shag, Ring Ouzel and Northern Gannet as well as nice views of Great Black-backed Gull, Common Guillemot and Razorbill etc. again.

Helgoland main island + Düne

Mammals
16. Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus)
17. Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Birds
26. Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
27. Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)
28. Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)
29. Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
 
Forgot to add
Birds
113.5 Eider - well known local hybrid with Shelduck that has been around for at least 13 years; first time I have seen it. A very striking bird!
 
An Easter visit to my sister's today. She lives in a rural area - not on a farm, but in a subdivision next to a farm and vineyard, so she gets lots of farmland birds around about.


BIRDS:

70) Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis
71) Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus


MAMMALS:

2) European Hare Lepus europaeus
3) European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
 
Last edited:
birdsandbats said:
Birds
116. Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
117. Ruby-crowned Kinglet Corthylio calendula

Herps
1. Wood Frog Lithobates sylvaticus
2. Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta
Click to expand...
Birds
118. Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
119. Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
120. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
121. Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis
122. Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
123. Great Egret Ardea alba
124. Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
125. Bonaparte's Gull Chroicocephalus philadelphia
126. Whooping Crane Grus americana
127. Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
 
Najade said:
After a bit of a longer drive I made it back to Helgoland again, where I’ve picked up the common spring seabirds over the last two days. Nothing too exciting in terms of migrating birds (yet :fingers crossed: ) but it’s a bit early in the season. Some improved views of European Shag, Ring Ouzel and Northern Gannet as well as nice views of Great Black-backed Gull, Common Guillemot and Razorbill etc. again.

Helgoland main island + Düne

Mammals
16. Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus)
17. Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Birds
26. Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
27. Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)
28. Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)
29. Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
Click to expand...
Went out spotlighting yesterday just to get something for the list:

Helgoland main island

Mammals
18. Western European House Mouse (Mus domesticus helgolandicus)
 
A few from an afternoon potter around yesterday, mainly from Thrybergh Country Park, where I was drawn by a report of three Black-necked Grebes (that actually turned into five by the time I arrived).

Birds:
148. Black-necked Grebe - Podiceps nigricollis
149. Red-legged Partridge - Alectoris rufa

Fishes:
3. Three-spined Stickleback - Gasterosteus aculeatus

Invertebrates:
20. Speckled Wood - Pararge aegeria

:)
 
Last week has been absolutely crazy for me. Thesis defense, graduating, multiple job interviews, a bat identification course, and much more. At the same time last week was absolutely phenomenal when it comes to wildlife. Sprinkled in between all the other stuff I had a few wildlife-related things planned.

First were two bird census counts. The most interesting of the two was a huge Woodlark count. The Woodlark is listed as a 'rare breeding bird' in the Netherlands, and as such the local bird conservation group was interested to know how many woodlark territories our area actually holds. To get a decent count, me and a friend cycled through the entire 3000 hectare reserve - the biggest connect nature area in our province! - on a single morning to count every single woodlark we heard singing. I still don't know how we pulled that off, but we managed in the end. Besides woodlarks, the place was absolutely filled with newly-arrived migrants. Of particular note was the presence of several Ring Ouzels, which are scarce migrants in my area, and a very neat weasel sighting next to the road.

I also went to a job interview in Wageningen last week, and after the interview I had a few hours off so I decided to visit the Blauw Kamer, a self-proclaimed "floodplain reserve" which hosts an impressive mixed colony of Great Cormorant, Grey Heron and Spoonbill. I really enjoyed my short stay there, even though the Cattle Egrets that have been hanging around the mixed colony were nowhere to be seen. Quite surprising was a fox crossing an area of open grassland in the middle of the day when the place was filled with people. That evening I had the bat identification course, and at the end of it we walked around to see if we could find any bats. Common Pipistrelles were everywhere and a few Serotine Bats showed very well.

Finally, when all the important things were done I was invited by a friend to visit the Biesbosch. It turned out to be a splendid visit. The dawn chorus in the marsh-fringed willow forests is always phenomenal, and while most of my local spots have been deserted by most waterfowl except grebes, mallards and coots, the Biesbosch still hosts impressive numbers given the time of year. Only the waders were not much in evidence, but it is only the start of their migration now so I didn't expect too much. In terms of rarity the best bird must have been a vagrant Green-winged Teal, a lifer for me, which we saw in a relatively new nature area just outside the more established reserve. But for me personally, the many great sightings of species like Sedge Warbler, Osprey, Mediterranean Gull, Godwit, Pintail and Avocet were even more appreciated.

What a week!

Birds
145. Eurasian Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla
146. Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis
147. Western Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava
148. European Sand Martin, Riparia riparia
149. Willow Warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus
150. Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
151. Northern Wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe
152. Ring Ouzel, Turdus torquatus
153. Common Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus
154. Eurasian Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
155. Common Tern, Sterna hirundo
156. Common Whitethroat, Curruca communis
157. Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephala
158. Sedge Warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
159. Cetti's Warbler, Cettia cetti
160. Common Nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
161. Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis

Butterflies
7. Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus
8. Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria
9. Small White, Pieris rapae

Mammals
09. Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes
10. Least Weasel, Mustela nivalis
11. Common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus
12. Serotine Bat, Eptesicus serontinus
 
ops i went birding again
birds
113 horned grebe Podiceps auritus
114 little ringed plover Charadrius dubius
115 european stonechat
116 Northern wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe

stonchat is rare in my provicne menaby 2-4 birds every year. but sundenly there was at least 3 indivduals 2 male and one female.(i only saw two tho) we are hoping they migth bred. this wodd be the furtherest north breding in sweaden ever. also this was at the same place i saw the stork at
 
Ituri said:
Haven't updated in a while and I've got quite a bit to catch up on. I had done some more birding around Wichita, where I picked up some seasonal arrivals, as well as a couple local rarities in the Surf Scoter and Western Grebe.

81 Fox Sparrow - Passerella iliaca
82 White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis
83 Spotted Towhee - Pipilo maculatus
84 Surf Scoter - Melanitta perspicillata
85 Western Grebe - Aechmophorus occidentalis
86 Wild Turkey - Meleagris gallopavo
87 Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe
88 Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis

Last week I ventured down to Arizona for a few days. Along the way I encountered both Chihuahuan and Common Ravens.

89 Chihuahuan Raven - Corvus cryptoleucus
90 Common Raven - Corvus corax

Once in Arizona, birding wasn't my primary purpose, but I did manage a trip to the Gilbert Riparian Preserve where I picked up a good number of birds including the elusive Least Bittern! Also picked up a couple mammals.

BIRDS
91 Cinnamon Teal - Spatula cyanoptera
92 Gambel's Quail - Callipepla gambelii
93 Inca Dove - Columbina inca
94 White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica
95 Anna's Hummingbird - Calypte anna
96 Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata
97 Black-necked Stilt - Himantopus mexicanus
98 American Avocet - Recurvirostra americana
99 Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla
100 Long-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus scolopaceus
101 Wilson's Snipe - Gallinago delicata
102 Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes
103 Neotropic Cormorant - Nannopterum brasilianum
104 Least Bittern - Ixobrychus exilis
105 Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
106 Green Heron - Butorides virescens
107 Gila Woodpecker - Melanerpes uropygialis
108 Black Phoebe - Sayornis nigricans
109 Verdin - Auriparus flaviceps
110 Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris
111 Curve-billed Thrasher - Toxostoma curvirostre
112 Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos
113 Abert's Towhee - Melozone aberti
114 Orange-crowned Warbler - Leiothlypis celata
115 Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas
116 Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia
117 Black-chinned Hummingbird - Archilochus alexandri
MAMMALS
5 Desert Cottontail - Sylvilagus audubonii
6 Rock Squirrel - Otospermophilus variegatus

The next day was spent in Tucson visiting the Reid Park Zoo and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. I found Reid Park to be excellent for birding. My wife saw her lifer Lucy's Warbler, but we couldn't get one of the many Vermilion Flycatchers that are said to inhabit the area.

118 Lucy's Warbler - Leiothlypis luciae
119 Broad-billed Hummingbird - Cynanthus latirostris

The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is always excellent for birding as well and I picked up a few more bird species and another squirrel. The only herp seen on the entire trip were the ubiquitous spiny-tailed iguanas of the desert museum. This hybrid population has been introduced to the area. Since they don't represent a true species, I'm choosing not to count them towards the ZooChat Big Year challenge.

BIRDS
120 Costa's Hummingbird - Calypte costae
121 Cactus Wren - Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
122 Phainopepla - Phainopepla nitens
123 Lesser Goldfinch - Spinus psaltria
MAMMALS
7 Harris's Antelope Squirrel - Ammospermophilus harrisii

The following day at the Phoenix Zoo I encountered more birds and the resident Round-tailed Ground Squirrels.

BIRDS
123 Great Egret - Ardea alba
124 Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
125 Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
126 Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Stelgidopteryx serripennis
MAMMALS
8 Round-tailed Ground Squirrel - Xerospermophilus tereticaudus

On the drive home, one final mammal species was kind enough to not run out in front of me on the highway.

9 Elk - Cervus canadensis

EDIT: Just found an unsubmitted eBird checklist from the Phoenix Zoo that added a few more species I had forgotten about
Click to expand...

Had some returning migrants I saw around town.
127 Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis
128 Blue-winged Teal - Spatula discors
129 Fish Crow - Corvus ossifragus
130 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Corthylio calendula
131 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea
132 Common Loon - Gavia immer
133 Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina

On Saturday, I participated in an Audubon trip down to Chataqua County, Kansas where I added a good number of year birds:

134 Franklin's Gull - Leucophaeus pipixcan
135 American Golden-Plover - Pluvialis dominica
136 Upland Sandpiper - Bartramia longicauda
137 Loggerhead Shrike - Lanius ludovicianus
138 Lark Sparrow - Chondestes grammacus
139 Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus
140 Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
141 Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor
142 Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
143 Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
144 Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus
145 Northern Parula - Setophaga americana
146 Louisiana Waterthrush - Parkesia motacilla
147 Red-headed Woodpecker - Melanerpes erythrocephalus
148 Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus
149 Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia
150 Broad-winged Hawk - Buteo platypterus
151 Black Vulture - Coragyps atratus
152 Baird's Sandpiper - Calidris bairdii
153 Swainson's Hawk - Buteo swainsoni
154 Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

Had a few herps around town now that its kinda warming up.

Reptiles:
1 Red-eared Slider - Trachemys scripta elegans
2 Ring-necked Snake - Diadophis punctatus
 
One more incoming migrant today gets the big 1-5-0 on the board.

Birds:
150. European House Martin - Delichon urbicum

:)
 
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