96 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
97 Purple Martin Progne subis
98 Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
99 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Zoochat Big Year 2023
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
96 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
97 Purple Martin Progne subis
98 Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
99 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Lota lota
Well-Known Member
Had a pretty nice day at lake Fysingen north of Stockholm.Didn't see anything too crazy,but it was a nice day with about 50 species.
Birds:
85 Eurasian marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
86 Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons)
87 Northern pintail (Anas acuta)
88 Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
90 Eurasian teal (Anas crecca)
Fish:
1 Northern pike (Esox lucius)
Birds:
85 Eurasian marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
86 Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons)
87 Northern pintail (Anas acuta)
88 Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
90 Eurasian teal (Anas crecca)
Fish:
1 Northern pike (Esox lucius)
Went out to the Mangere WTP yesterday, just to test out the new binoculars I got, as well as hoping to tick some birds off which would be rather embarrassing to still not have on my list before I took off to the South Island [Writing this on the plane
]. Arrived there at high-tide just too look for shorbs, (priority target was the tattler/s that seems to have stuck around at the site for a quite while), but as it happened it started raining catastrophically when I arrived so I had to shelter in the Bird Hide. Which actually had birds roosting for once! So I had a good while to fiddle with my new binoculars, and I believe I’ve gotten the hang of them. It was just a huge flock of pied-stilts but I did eventually find some other shore-birds whilst scanning through them, including what I believe was a knot, and pretty sure some godwit sp. in breeding-plumage, unfortunately even with more magnification the bird still wasn’t that high ‘resolution’, as well as it not taking off for me to check it’s armpits, (although it was being mobbed by a few bar-tailed godwits, [light underwing]).I moved out after the rain, with the full glow of the late-afternoon sun in full force, scouting radio-mast peninsula and finally saw skylark for the year. Was worried because I saw a few song-thrushes about which could be confused from the distance I was at, but clearly saw a pair, who would rise, maybe a metre, giving out a sharp-metallic trill, before I'd see them zoom off.
After that I head off to the WTP, where after quickly picking up grey teal (finally!), and a nice drake shoveller, I decided to head fully down the main waste-water pond, as a little-grebe had been reported here (I believe they’re also migrant/vagrant in Auckland?), but I regret it, heading down the path, it was a wet-muddy slick, where it’s very hard to not remind yourself that you’re next to a wastewater pond! And to top it off at the end I found a rotting tabby cat. Of course I didn’t get the grebe, it was already low-light by then, and the wind had really started to pick up. I saw a few grebe silhouettes but they were most likely dabchicks.
Heading back was a bit gruelish-(the trash at the canals are horrendous! I think I saw a mass of organs??dumped on the road side), considering it was already sunset by the time I’d caught a bus, and I had to wake up for my flight at 3.. But I managed : ) (South Island travel-thread to be posted by the end of today?)
[Wasp was seen when I dipped on quail at my local spot]
Birds:
74. Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
75. Grey Teal (Anas gracilis)
INVERTS TALLY: 35
Insects:
27. Ctenochares bicolorus (Parasitoid-Wasp)
There you go, mammal of the trip. How difficult was it to see?
OboeKade
Member
Goodness, it's been a while. I've gone out to the golf course trails every day since this post, and I have quite a few new species. It's crazy how familiar I am with the birds in my area now, even after just three weeks.
43. Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida)
44. Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata)
45. Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)
46. House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
47. Purple Martin (Progne subis)
48. Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)
49. Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)
50. Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus)
51. White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
52. Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
53. American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
54. Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
55. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus)
56. American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
57. Inca Dove (Columbina inca)
58. Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
59. Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
60. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
61. Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)
62. White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
63. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
64. Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)
65. Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
66. Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)
67. American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)
68. Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
69. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerula)
70. Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)
71. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
72. Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
73. Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
74. Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
75. Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)
76. White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)
77. Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)
78. Spotted Towhee (Piplio maculatus)
79. Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)
80. Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre)
81. Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
82. Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)
Also, I'm not sure if these species count since they technically aren't native, yet they do have established populations:
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Eurasian Collared-dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Feral Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Lota lota
Well-Known Member
Yes, established introduced species count. Egyptian Goose and Indian Peafowl would also be countable in your area, if you've seen them.
Mammals
15. Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel Ictidomys tridecemlineatus
Fishes
1. Johnny Darter Etheostoma nigrum
Platypusboy
Well-Known Member
Birds
36. Fieldflare, Turdus pilaris 12/4/2023
37. White wagtail, Motacilla alba 12/4/2023
36. Fieldflare, Turdus pilaris 12/4/2023
37. White wagtail, Motacilla alba 12/4/2023
Update time! First, the non-birds:
Mammals
9) House Mouse Mus musculus
10) Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
11) American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Reptiles
6) Eastern Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta
This past weekend I finally had both mornings free to go birding. My initial plan was to make another attempt for the elusive Ruffed Grouse at Aton Forest Saturday morning and then visit Hammonasset Beach on Sunday to try and find passing Red-Necked Grebe and pick up some early shorebirds.
As I believe I've touched on before, Aton Forest is a privately-owned land trust of pristine pine forests which is intended to be kept as absent of human presence as possible. This preserve is also surrounded by a couple other areas of privately owned forest with few residents living along the few roads that run between them. This remote area is an excellent place to find some birds and mammals otherwise rare or absent throughout the rest of the State. These include the grouse, crossbills, creeper, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, porcupine, and red squirrel. Oddly, Sandhill Cranes are semi-regularly attracted to the few open spaces here. Access into the forest itself is by permission only. In the past, the organization running the forest hosted events to search for porcupine, owls, grouse, etc. a few times per year. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like they've continued that this year, and their last grouse search was quite some years ago now. Despite having spoken to some representatives of the forest and having been given permission earlier in the year to visit, I've suddenly found them to be difficult to contact now that it's the time to actually visit... As I said, though, there are roads which run through the forest from which some lucky few have encountered grouse before. In the end, I chose to spend both Saturday and Sunday on a grouse hunt (I learned the grebe only pass through CT for a couple of weeks, and by April they're pretty much all gone, with no sightings reported to eBird since mid-March). I managed to hear multiple grouse booming across both days, but despite my best efforts I could not actually find one. I hope to still manage to find one at some point, though with April being the best season for them in this region, I'm not holding out much hope. The two days were not a total bust, however, as I did find myself surrounded by a plethora of birds. Many of the birds I saw were ones I've picked up already this year, though some, such as the aforementioned nuthatch and Golden-Crowned Kinglet, would have been lifers for me any other year.
152) Purple Finch, Haemorhous purpureus
153) Winter Wren, Troglodytes hiemalis
Yesterday I had a little more success with picking up some new species. I hit up three spots briefly yesterday after work, all nearby one another. The first was a small pond along a road through a large farm. Oddly enough, this single small pond seems to be good at attracting shorebirds. Pectoral Sandpiper was among those reported yesterday, however it seems it moved elsewhere before I arrived. My second stop was at Milford Point, the State's top spot for migratory shorebirds. It's still early in migration, but I was still met with hundreds of Dunlins and Sanderlings, about a dozen oystercatcher, breeding displays of Piping Plovers, and a single lifer and seasonal rarity. The final stop was a nearby pond behind some office space that serves as an impressive roost for dozens of night-herons. I visited this spot earlier in the year when both natives were first reported (southwestern CT is the northernmost extent of Yellow-Crowned), but I only managed Black-Crowned. This time, I came upon an impressive flock of about two dozen Yellow-Crowned as well.
154) American Kestrel Falco sparverius
155) Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
156) Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
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157) American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
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158) Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
Tomorrow I begin my journey to a (mostly) new portion of the country for me accompanied by a couple fellow ZooChatters. Fingers crossed I come back with a good update for y'all!
~Thylo
A walk at lunch in Regents Park gets another small tick for the year. No common redstart or wheatear yet, though.
Birds
135. Willow warbler
Trip-report, in the travel thread,Went out to the Mangere WTP yesterday, just to test out the new binoculars I got, as well as hoping to tick some birds off which would be rather embarrassing to still not have on my list before I took off to the South Island [Writing this on the plane
I moved out after the rain, with the full glow of the late-afternoon sun in full force, scouting radio-mast peninsula and finally saw skylark for the year. Was worried because I saw a few song-thrushes about which could be confused from the distance I was at, but clearly saw a pair, who would rise, maybe a metre, giving out a sharp-metallic trill, before I'd see them zoom off.
After that I head off to the WTP, where after quickly picking up grey teal (finally!), and a nice drake shoveller, I decided to head fully down the main waste-water pond, as a little-grebe had been reported here (I believe they’re also migrant/vagrant in Auckland?), but I regret it, heading down the path, it was a wet-muddy slick, where it’s very hard to not remind yourself that you’re next to a wastewater pond! And to top it off at the end I found a rotting tabby cat. Of course I didn’t get the grebe, it was already low-light by then, and the wind had really started to pick up. I saw a few grebe silhouettes but they were most likely dabchicks.
Heading back was a bit gruelish-(the trash at the canals are horrendous! I think I saw a mass of organs??dumped on the road side), considering it was already sunset by the time I’d caught a bus, and I had to wake up for my flight at 3.. But I managed : ) (South Island travel-thread to be posted by the end of today?)
[Wasp was seen when I dipped on quail at my local spot]
Birds:
74. Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
75. Grey Teal (Anas gracilis)
INVERTS TALLY: 35
Insects:
27. Ctenochares bicolorus (Parasitoid-Wasp)
Mammals:
3. Dusky Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus)
4. NZ Fur-Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri)
Birds:
76. Red-Necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
77. Ring-Necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
78. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
79. Cape Pigeon (Daption capense)
80. Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli)
81. Black-fronted Tern (Chlidonias albostriatus)
82. Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)
83. Northern Royal-Albatross (Diomedea sanfordi)
84. Salvin's Mollymawk (Thalassarche salvini)
85.White-Capped Mollymawk (Thalassarche cauta steadi)
86. Westland Petrel (Procellaria westlandica)
87. White-Chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis)
88. Short-Tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris)
89. Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea)
90. Southern Royal-Albatross (Diomedea epomophora)
91. Buller's Albatross !! #100 (Thalassarche bulleri)
92. Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus)
INVERTS TALLY: 36
Insects:
28. Blue-Damselfly (Austrolestes colensonis)
Birds
127. Great Egret Ardea alba
128. Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
129. Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Herps
4. Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta
Recent sightings in the last week
Butterflies
1 Red Admiral
2 Brimstone
3 Peacock
4 Orange Tip
Birds
103 Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
104 Blackcap Sylvia atricapillata
105 Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
106 Linnet Linaria cannabina
107 Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
108 Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
109 Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus
110 Black Grouse Lyrurus tetrix
111 Red Kite Milvus milvus
112 Sand Martin Riparia riparia
113 Scaup Aythya marila
114 Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
115 Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla
Butterflies
1 Red Admiral
2 Brimstone
3 Peacock
4 Orange Tip
Birds
103 Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
104 Blackcap Sylvia atricapillata
105 Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
106 Linnet Linaria cannabina
107 Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
108 Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
109 Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus
110 Black Grouse Lyrurus tetrix
111 Red Kite Milvus milvus
112 Sand Martin Riparia riparia
113 Scaup Aythya marila
114 Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
115 Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla
Went out with the guides at 6pm. Sat around till 8pm waiting for it to get dark. Traipsed around the forest. They found it. Home by 9:30pm.*
*(Which I wasn’t too happy about cause we could have used the time to look for other stuff. But I guess you pay per animal per night. Cause the next night we dipped on the Hutia which meant I had to reschedule a bunch of stuff to free up the following night. And I think that could have easily been avoided if we’d tried to get both the first night…)
11.04. - morning chaos, herping in a canyon around Mencia, quick dash up Alcoa road to finally get good views of the Pigeon, spotlighting around Mencia for Hutia (dipped)
Birds (non-passerines)
136. White-crowned Pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala)
Reptiles
30. Baoruco Long-snouted Anole (Anolis bahorucoensis)
————————
+another Anole (seems to be difficult to ID in the area, waiting for the experts opinion)
12.04. - marsh area at Cabo Rojo, Cabo Rojo, midday chaos, spotlighting around Mencia again
Mammals
09. Hispaniolan Hutia (Plagiodontia aedium)
Birds (non-passerines)
137. Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)
13.04. - night drive to Banì, Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, Zoo (waste of time), Mata Los Indios wetland, airport
Birds (non-passerines)
138. West Indian Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna arborea)
139. Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus)
140. Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa)
—————————
And that’s the final tally for birds for this trip. Mammals and herps will get finalised as soon as it happens.