Feel free to disgorge the minutia, I’m always interested.
Zoochat Big Year 2022
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
Sure! For yourself and anybody whose interested in how I went about things, I did a write-up a couple weeks back:
I decided to hit Living Desert on Friday instead of Saturday, to see what species I could pick off early and because I thought the zoo might be a tad less crowded (spoiler: it was still fairly busy). I was able to see countless Verdin and Costa’s Hummingbirds, along with a male Gambel’s Quail calling out from inside a bush. While circling around a particular spot looking for Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, my calls brought in Abert’s Towhee and Bell’s Vireo... but no gnatcatchers. We’ll call that a decent trade. No sign of the Black-crowned Night Herons I saw three years ago, maybe unsurprising since the captive heron was moved to a different aviary. On top of the new birds, I’ve confirmed this is indeed Year of the Roadrunner; I saw the species running around on trails and across paths a few times, and even saw it picking at some food left over in the wolf pen!
Saturday was the big birding day; I headed for a nearby riparian preserve where brilliantly colored Vermilion Flycatchers were in abundance and a Great Horned Owl nest had been confirmed. Some early scouting in the parking lot was enough to get me the Vermilion Flycatcher within a few minutes, as well as Lawrence’s Goldfinch. An hour of further strolling netted Hooded Orioles, a White-winged Dove, a Yellow Warbler, and a small flock of Cedar Waxwings. Meanwhile, I’m over 95% sure a Cooper’s Hawk passed me by twice, but frustratingly I never got a good enough look or heard a noise to call it. I got some fantastic views and photos of the Great Horned Owl pair; their chick is currently at the “Star Wars puppet” phase, so it’s a bizarre-looking creature. Hopefully it’ll be a big impressive night hunter like its ‘rents some day though!
From there I headed out to my beach campsite on the Salton Sea, where I finally got a positive ID on a California Gull. A Snowy Plover was also seen scurrying along the beach amongst the miniature Western Sandpipers, lone Black-necked Stilt, and a horde of Eared Grebes. I also saw a pair of terns fly overhead, but unfortunately they went too fast and my photos are too shoddy to make the determination between three local and very similar-looking species.
I was walking back to the campsite at dusk when I heard hoots – suspiciously like Great Horned Owl hoots. I thought, “Nah, I’m still a ways off and have them on my mind; it’s probably just a dove.” But I was wrong; sitting in a bush and a palm tree across the parking lot from each other were that day’s fourth and fifth Great Horned Owls. It was just light enough for a while that I got some great shots of the one in the palm tree, which was crying out softly to the other; just as it started becoming dark and shadowy, the two birds alighted to the same tree and began vocalizing together. I’d seen wild GHOs before, but this was the first time I was treated to a pair hooting like this.
From there I headed out to my beach campsite on the Salton Sea, where I finally got a positive ID on a California Gull. A Snowy Plover was also seen scurrying along the beach amongst the miniature Western Sandpipers, lone Black-necked Stilt, and a horde of Eared Grebes. I also saw a pair of terns fly overhead, but unfortunately they went too fast and my photos are too shoddy to make the determination between three local and very similar-looking species.
I was walking back to the campsite at dusk when I heard hoots – suspiciously like Great Horned Owl hoots. I thought, “Nah, I’m still a ways off and have them on my mind; it’s probably just a dove.” But I was wrong; sitting in a bush and a palm tree across the parking lot from each other were that day’s fourth and fifth Great Horned Owls. It was just light enough for a while that I got some great shots of the one in the palm tree, which was crying out softly to the other; just as it started becoming dark and shadowy, the two birds alighted to the same tree and began vocalizing together. I’d seen wild GHOs before, but this was the first time I was treated to a pair hooting like this.
I had planned on staying and doing more beach-birding at Salton Sea in the morning, but when I walked up and down the beach I found there were even fewer birds than there had been in the evening, and the same half-dozen or so species (also, the Salton Sea smells awful). With that, I decided on a different path: redemption on Cooper’s Hawk and Black-crowned Night Heron. There was a botanic garden along my Sunday drive route back to the coast where the former was regularly seen, along with a handful of warblers. Having gotten a taste of the warbler fever with the chance Yellow I saw the previous day, I decided it was worth it to see if I could pick up whatever I could during spring migration.
My first couple hours at the gardens were a test of determination. I went to the area where several warbler species had been seen and only got a single brief look at a Townsend’s Warbler, with none of the other reported species heard or seen; meanwhile, no sign of a Cooper’s Hawk (though a close-knit pair of Red-shouldered Hawks were making a good racket). I also managed to confirm a Nuttall’s Woodpecker, an unusually late addition. I was about to call it quits when I saw another raptor swoop by quickly, followed a moment later by an unmistakable chattering of a Cooper’s Hawk. I chattered back, and so the bird and I entered into a game of chicken (or should we call it hawk?): it bouncing back and forth between trees chattering, me chattering back and following the direction for a visual. Finally, it settled itself quietly on a dead branch and I was able to confirm it visually and get some nice shots. So much effort for what is nominally a very common bird... but after having somehow missing Bushtit all of last year I’m not leaving common ones up to chance anymore! (Edit: I saw a Cooper's Hawk fly over the road at work the next week. C'est la vie.)
After that I made my way to some settling ponds in a coastal town that was my destination for Sunday evening. Here several Black-crowned Night Herons had been seen recently; I was coming to this site pretty cold info-wise, hoping that they were in clear view and I’d just easily find one. This turned out to be exactly the case; a handful of Black-crowned Night Herons were roosting on an overgrown island out in the middle of the pond, along with a Great Blue Heron and Snowy Egret. Not having looked at anything else that was around really, I was surprised to also add a flock of Gadwall to this year’s total, as well as a single Common Gallinule floating amidst a group of American Coots. With the pond’s edges thick with reeds, I took a stroll along the perimeter in hopes of stirring up a Sora, even though it was half past five in the evening at this point. It was a good thing I did; I’d only spent fifteen or twenty minutes peeking around bends in the reedbeds before a plump little Sora burst out, quickly sped into a dark tangle of vegetation, and angrily shouted at me. I suppose I was being rather rude, peering into its home...
My first couple hours at the gardens were a test of determination. I went to the area where several warbler species had been seen and only got a single brief look at a Townsend’s Warbler, with none of the other reported species heard or seen; meanwhile, no sign of a Cooper’s Hawk (though a close-knit pair of Red-shouldered Hawks were making a good racket). I also managed to confirm a Nuttall’s Woodpecker, an unusually late addition. I was about to call it quits when I saw another raptor swoop by quickly, followed a moment later by an unmistakable chattering of a Cooper’s Hawk. I chattered back, and so the bird and I entered into a game of chicken (or should we call it hawk?): it bouncing back and forth between trees chattering, me chattering back and following the direction for a visual. Finally, it settled itself quietly on a dead branch and I was able to confirm it visually and get some nice shots. So much effort for what is nominally a very common bird... but after having somehow missing Bushtit all of last year I’m not leaving common ones up to chance anymore! (Edit: I saw a Cooper's Hawk fly over the road at work the next week. C'est la vie.)
After that I made my way to some settling ponds in a coastal town that was my destination for Sunday evening. Here several Black-crowned Night Herons had been seen recently; I was coming to this site pretty cold info-wise, hoping that they were in clear view and I’d just easily find one. This turned out to be exactly the case; a handful of Black-crowned Night Herons were roosting on an overgrown island out in the middle of the pond, along with a Great Blue Heron and Snowy Egret. Not having looked at anything else that was around really, I was surprised to also add a flock of Gadwall to this year’s total, as well as a single Common Gallinule floating amidst a group of American Coots. With the pond’s edges thick with reeds, I took a stroll along the perimeter in hopes of stirring up a Sora, even though it was half past five in the evening at this point. It was a good thing I did; I’d only spent fifteen or twenty minutes peeking around bends in the reedbeds before a plump little Sora burst out, quickly sped into a dark tangle of vegetation, and angrily shouted at me. I suppose I was being rather rude, peering into its home...
Also an update from just the past hour: after a few failed attempts at glimpsing one, I finally got a good look in a nearby nest box and saw my first two wild Barn Owls. Owls and roadrunners, this is shaping up to be a good birding year!
Birds
153. Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Thanks, I love reading about how and where people see stuff.
Same, especially when it's people from different continents with completely different species lineups. Not being Australian or European, I have no idea how rare it is to see a Forest Kingfisher or where one goes for a Zitting Cisticola. Oftentimes I have to look up what some of these animals even are
73) Black-fronted Dotterel Elseyornis melanops
Just a single addition today, with a stop at the Otaki Sewage Ponds on the way to my sister's place. Black-fronted Dotterels self-introduced themselves to New Zealand from Australia in the 1950s, and are now distributed patchily around the country. At the Otaki sewage ponds they mainly stick to the concrete edges of the ponds, right at the waterline, so can only be seen when you and they are in the right places, but it is still the most convenient spot for them local to Wellington.
Just a single addition today, with a stop at the Otaki Sewage Ponds on the way to my sister's place. Black-fronted Dotterels self-introduced themselves to New Zealand from Australia in the 1950s, and are now distributed patchily around the country. At the Otaki sewage ponds they mainly stick to the concrete edges of the ponds, right at the waterline, so can only be seen when you and they are in the right places, but it is still the most convenient spot for them local to Wellington.
New additions, mainly from the returning pre-pandemic activity of joining a local bat group box check at Lea Wood this morning - always great fun. As is most usually the case, the bulk of the bats found were Soprano Pips but we did come across one quite frisky Brown Long-eared as well. The exception is the mouse, which was at Chester Zoo yesterday, as zoo visiting remains by far the most reliable way to see the species.
Mammals:
19. House Mouse - Mus musculus
20. Soprano Pipistrelle - Pipistrellus pygmaeus
21. Brown Long-eared Bat - Plecotus auritus
Amphibians:
3. Common Frog - Rana temporaria
Mammals:
19. House Mouse - Mus musculus
20. Soprano Pipistrelle - Pipistrellus pygmaeus
21. Brown Long-eared Bat - Plecotus auritus
Amphibians:
3. Common Frog - Rana temporaria
Haven't birded since that day in March but managed to get two quick additions while in Issen:
BIRDS:
15/04/2022 (Issen, Morocco [138-139])
138 - European turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur
139 - Greater short-toed lark, Calandrella brachydactyla
fysinge nature reserve
124 great egret Ardea alba
125 little gull Hydrocoloeus minutus
126 caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia
127 barn swallow Hirundo rustica
128 house martin Delichon urbicum
129 redwing Turdus iliacus
124 great egret Ardea alba
125 little gull Hydrocoloeus minutus
126 caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia
127 barn swallow Hirundo rustica
128 house martin Delichon urbicum
129 redwing Turdus iliacus
Birds
116 Mediterranean Gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
116 Mediterranean Gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Just in case you are unaware, Barn Owls were split some time ago into three species (T. alba in Eurasia, T. javanica in southeast Asia and Australasia, and T. furcata in the Americas). I think most authorities follow this now, although a quick look shows that the AOU doesn't appear to (the IOC does).
It may be that it isn't split in whichever checklist you follow, or you just don't want to split them, but I thought I'd mention it in case you hadn't known about it already.
I've yet to see this split widely accepted, the AOU and the ABA do not recognize it, nor does the slow-moving IUCN. Looks like it may be pending on Birds of the World. I'd almost forgotten they were split actually.
I looked at this recently and from what I read it seemed that this was a split that was not going to hold. But time will tell.
Clements does not accept the Barn Owl split atm.
Birds
131. Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
132. Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus
133. Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
134. Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla
135. Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia
136. Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina
137. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Thanks for the headsup. I'd actually been wondering to myself this evening (when I went to see them again) if Tyto had been split yet, and I'm now remembering someone listing a North American Barn Owl as T. furcata in the past. I haven't looked at the research myself yet, so I feel ambiguous as to whether it's alba or furcata. For now at least it's the only one of those three potential species I've seen wild, and probably captive too.
Platypusboy
Well-Known Member
Birds
35. Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris 24/4/22
35. Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris 24/4/22
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My most productive weekend and day of birding yet, including 12 (!) lifers. Spring is in full swing, and the warblers are here! Most of these additions were seen at Busey Woods and the adjacent Crystal Lake Park, which are hotspots for spring migratory birds. The low-lying shrubs are perfect for warblers, which have finally arrived in large numbers. Oh, and I've passed 100 birds, which took me until December last year to see.
Mammal:
A common mammal regularly seen at Busey Woods, so it was about time I picked it up.
9. Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
Birds:
Seen in my backyard. It's about time, there are usually a couple of thrushes that visit every April.
80. Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
On Friday, I went to Kaufman Lake and picked up a surprising Sora lifer across a stream hiding in the bank, along with the first warbler of many.
81. Sora (Porzana carolina) (Lifer)
82. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)
83. Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
I knew I had to make it over to Busey Woods on Saturday, and I'm sure glad I drove over there. The number of lifers, and fairly uncommon ones in my area at that, was staggering. Had I tried this last year, due to inexperience I would have missed out on a good number of them. The Chat, in particular, was surprising. I saw a small bird in the bushes and thought it was the Titmouse that was calling, but upon looking through the viewfinder of my camera, I recognized the distinctive face and yellow chest of the Chat deep in the brambles. Reading through my bird guide paid off, as it also did with the Broad-winged Hawk flyby which I would have dismissed as 'just another red-tailed' a year ago.
84. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
85. Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) (Lifer)
86. Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
87. House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
88. Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) (Lifer)
89. Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)
90. Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) (Lifer)
91. Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) (Lifer)
92. Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)
93. Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) (Lifer)
After success in the woods, and getting a taste of warbler fever, I decided to try out the shrubbery along the saline branch. Suffice to say, I'm glad I did, as many of the warblers I picked up like the Hooded and Praire are fairly rare in my county. New World Warblers have to be one of my favorite little things, they are so brightly colored, always hopping around, and these ones were even sallying out right in front of my face to catch insects. All six of these as well as a kinglet, some more gnatcatchers, Yellow-rumped, and Palm warblers, for a total of ten little insect-catching species of passerines, were all flying about a 400ft stretch of thicket next to a clearing on the side of the creek. I've never experienced this level of spring migration activity, so it really left an impression on me.
94. Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina) (Lifer)
95. Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) (Lifer)
96. Black-throated Green Warbler (Lifer)
97. Black-and-white Warbler (Lifer)
98. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
99. Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) (Lifer)
These final two additions that pushed past the 100 bird mark were seen out and about and while driving. The swallow is another one that I would have missed if I didn't learn to listen to their calls for identification.
100. Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
101. Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) (Lifer)
Insect/Invertebrate:
More spring inverts, seen at home and in the woods.
31. Eastern calligrapher (Toxomerus geminatus)
32. Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)
33. Asiastic wall jumping spider (Attulus fasciger)
34. White-margined burrower bug (Sehirus cinctus)
35. Six-spotted green tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)
36. Eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica)
37. Odd beetle (Thylodrias contractus) (Lifer)
38. Brown-belted bumble bee (Bombus griseocollis)
39. Metric paper wasp (Polistes metricus)
40. American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)
Platypusboy
Well-Known Member
Mammals:
5. Bank vole, Myodes glareolus 26/4/22
Birds:
36. Common redshank, Tringa totanus 26/4/22
37. Gadwall, Mareca strepera 26/4/22
38. Common goldeneye, Bucephala clangula 26/4/22
5. Bank vole, Myodes glareolus 26/4/22
Birds:
36. Common redshank, Tringa totanus 26/4/22
37. Gadwall, Mareca strepera 26/4/22
38. Common goldeneye, Bucephala clangula 26/4/22