We stayed at Wasile. Pre dawn drive for 2 hours to then travel onto a private site with a hide at a lek; at least 6-8 birds present. Also seen well roadside birding from Wasile the next day! I do not know the contact details for the lek, as it was organised by Andy Walker of Birding Ecotours, and we were transported by truck to the lek. All our sightings were uploaded to e-bird by Chuck Holliday. Weda has apparently been destroyed by mining, we only heard Ivory-breasted Pitta (3 calling at once) and Owlet-Nightjar; and not a sniff of Azure Dollarbird. However, it did mean we had a chance for Moluccan Megapode; a night canoe trip to a remote beach where we had exceptional views of one at its nest site. My bird of the trip! This was at Galela.
Zoochat Big Year 2022
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
The Standardwing Lek is at Foli.
Local Guide is Nurlin, of Malia tours.
I heard the same about the mining, good to get it confirmed even though it is very disappointing and another habitat destroyed.
Thanks for the information, it's good to know about the options. If it had not been for COVID I would have already been there.
I should be in the airport writing this report, but instead I'm in a hotel room. My flight got cancelled and I am now on another tomorrow night. Hmmm
I had today "off" so wanted to try a new habitat. LA is surrounded by mountains and the mountains to the north are especially high. I went to a location called Grassy Hollow, which is a picnic area not far past Wrightwood, which is a tiny ski resort off the 15 Freeway where it goes through a gap in the hills. Anybody who has travelled this freeway will know the area is desert. At Wrightwood, which is at 7000ft elevation, the vegetation changes abruptly from open desert to (reasonably tall) pine trees. The soil does not seem to change in quality, the ground cover is sparse and spindly while the pine trees are dotted around in a parklike manner. Not a rainforest. I'm guessing the snow provides enough moisture for the pines to grow and survive the dry summer.
The road though here is Route 2, the "Angel's Crest Highway". It is a two lane road which winds it's way scenically through the mountains and comes out 50 miles further on near Pasadena.
Mammals
17. Western grey squirrel Sciurus griseus
18. Lodgepole chipmunk Neotamias speciosus
Birds
Unsurprisingly there was a fair overlap with birds seen at the beginning of the trip in Seattle.
216. Common raven Corvus corax
217. Brewer's sparrow Spizella breweri
218. Black-throated grey warbler Setophaga nigrescens
219. Mountain chickadee Poecile gambeli
Reptiles
5. Common sagebush lizard Sceloporus graciosus
Invertebrates
40. Fontana grasshopper Trimerotropis fontana
I was at Grassy Hollow mid-afternoon on a hot day, not the best time for wildlife watching. I'd have loved to stay overnight up there, maybe something I can do in the future.
Two-year new species targets
Mammals 6/100
Birds 46/1000
Bonus ectotherms 44
I had today "off" so wanted to try a new habitat. LA is surrounded by mountains and the mountains to the north are especially high. I went to a location called Grassy Hollow, which is a picnic area not far past Wrightwood, which is a tiny ski resort off the 15 Freeway where it goes through a gap in the hills. Anybody who has travelled this freeway will know the area is desert. At Wrightwood, which is at 7000ft elevation, the vegetation changes abruptly from open desert to (reasonably tall) pine trees. The soil does not seem to change in quality, the ground cover is sparse and spindly while the pine trees are dotted around in a parklike manner. Not a rainforest. I'm guessing the snow provides enough moisture for the pines to grow and survive the dry summer.
The road though here is Route 2, the "Angel's Crest Highway". It is a two lane road which winds it's way scenically through the mountains and comes out 50 miles further on near Pasadena.
Mammals
17. Western grey squirrel Sciurus griseus
18. Lodgepole chipmunk Neotamias speciosus
Birds
Unsurprisingly there was a fair overlap with birds seen at the beginning of the trip in Seattle.
216. Common raven Corvus corax
217. Brewer's sparrow Spizella breweri
218. Black-throated grey warbler Setophaga nigrescens
219. Mountain chickadee Poecile gambeli
Reptiles
5. Common sagebush lizard Sceloporus graciosus
Invertebrates
40. Fontana grasshopper Trimerotropis fontana
I was at Grassy Hollow mid-afternoon on a hot day, not the best time for wildlife watching. I'd have loved to stay overnight up there, maybe something I can do in the future.
Two-year new species targets
Mammals 6/100
Birds 46/1000
Bonus ectotherms 44
The leftovers from a short stay in Cornwall:
Birds
109. Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe
110. Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
And probably the only fish I'll ever post on a Big year thread
:Fish
1. Basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus.
Compared to that, any other fish would be either medium or small!
Platypusboy
Well-Known Member
Birds
111. Red backed shrike, Lanius collurio 8/8/22
111. Red backed shrike, Lanius collurio 8/8/22
Haven't seen much these past few months, but there have been a few notable sightings.
Mammals
28. Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)
29. Coyote (Canis latrans)
30. Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
Birds
178. Barred Owl (Strix varia)
179. Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)
180. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
181. American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Amphibians
2. Wood Frog
Reptiles
17. Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
Mammals: 30
Birds: 181
Reptiles: 17
Amphibians: 2
Fish: 3
Invertebrates: 2
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Jealous jealous
Migration in full force in Regent's Park, before a visit to the zoo.
243. European pied flycatcher
244. Spotted flycatcher
245. Garden warbler
The mongoose in Hawaii is the Small Indian Mongoose U. auropunctata.
I'm home now but on my unexpected extra day due to my flight cancellation I visited a few museums. Outstanding was the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. If you go to LA you have to make this museum a priority. I wasn't carrying binoculars so nothing to add besides one mammal at another slightly less notable museum.
19. Fox squirrel Sciurus niger
19. Fox squirrel Sciurus niger
Bit of an improvised day today, but a remarkably successful one. Started out with an overdue early-morning visit to Padley Gorge where I was finally able to fill in one of my most frustrating missing passerines. This was quite quickly achieved, so a journey further afield became an option. After toying with heading south to Willington in hope of the Purple Heron that has been there the last few days, we settled on the slightly longer journey north to North Cave Wetlands, lured by an apparently showy and reliable crake, and the possibility of a lifer. The crake did indeed prove showy and reliable (by crake standards), with decent views in the scope. This meant that we still had hours to play with, which was spent at my nearby favourite haunt of Blacktoft Sands, where a couple of nice wader additions also played ball, and I got much better views of Bearded Reedling than my previous brief effort.
That said - I can't help but grieve for the symmetry my day would have achieved if the unusual sandpiper that rounded it off had been Actitis macularius rather than Calidris melanotos...
Birds:
204. Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata
205. Spotted Crake - Porzana porzana
206. Spotted Redshank - Tringa erythropus
207. Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
(UK: 180)
That said - I can't help but grieve for the symmetry my day would have achieved if the unusual sandpiper that rounded it off had been Actitis macularius rather than Calidris melanotos...
Birds:
204. Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata
205. Spotted Crake - Porzana porzana
206. Spotted Redshank - Tringa erythropus
207. Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
(UK: 180)
This, incidentally, seems to have been the correct decision, even disregarding the success we had on the northern option - there were no reports of the heron after it left the roost at dawn until another sighting at 8.30pm tonight - so we'd have likely dipped entirely.
I'm finally back from a trip. Pretty good haul. I narrowly missed my chance to see a coyote and I'm somewhat salty about that.
Aquatic birds are always great to see, they seem to show significantly less fear and they're bigger than songbirds, too! Makes it a lot easier to identify them.
Mammals
8. Raccoon Procyon lotor
9. European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
10. Californian Myotis Myotis californicus
11. Sea Otter Enhydra lutris
Birds
69. Chestnut-Backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens
70. Great Egret Ardea alba
71. Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
72. Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba
73. Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
Fish
3. Chub Mackerel Scomber japonicus
4. Jacksmelt Atherinopsis californiensis
Inverts
60. Rusty Tussock Moth Orgyia antiqua
61. Kelp Fly Fucellia rufitibia
62. Black Tegula Tegula funebralis
63. Eelgrass Isopod Pentidotea resecata
64. Red Turban Snail Pomaulax gibberosus
65. Hyaline Grass Bug Liorhyssus hyalinus
66. Button's Banana Slug Ariolimax buttoni
67. Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus
Aquatic birds are always great to see, they seem to show significantly less fear and they're bigger than songbirds, too! Makes it a lot easier to identify them.
Mammals
8. Raccoon Procyon lotor
9. European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
10. Californian Myotis Myotis californicus
11. Sea Otter Enhydra lutris
Birds
69. Chestnut-Backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens
70. Great Egret Ardea alba
71. Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
72. Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba
73. Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
Fish
3. Chub Mackerel Scomber japonicus
4. Jacksmelt Atherinopsis californiensis
Inverts
60. Rusty Tussock Moth Orgyia antiqua
61. Kelp Fly Fucellia rufitibia
62. Black Tegula Tegula funebralis
63. Eelgrass Isopod Pentidotea resecata
64. Red Turban Snail Pomaulax gibberosus
65. Hyaline Grass Bug Liorhyssus hyalinus
66. Button's Banana Slug Ariolimax buttoni
67. Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus
Herps
20. Pond Slider Trachemys scripta
The leftovers from a short stay in Cornwall:
Birds
109. Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe
110. Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
And probably the only fish I'll ever post on a Big year thread
Fish
1. Basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus.
A bit of birding in the South of France, helped by some recent downpours in the area:
111. Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus
112. Slender billed gull, Chroicocephalus genei
113. Spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata
114. Common nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
115. Rock sparrow, Petronia petronia
116. Little egret, Egretta garzetta
117. Great egret, Arden alba
Mammals.
7. Coypu, Myocastor coypus