Zoochat Big Year 2023

New families (wild):
Anguidae (glass lizards and allies)
Dactyloidae (anoles)
Leiocephalidae (curlytail lizards)
Sphaerodactylidae

Tropidophiidae (dwarf boas)

Eleutherodactylidae (robber frogs)


Solenodontidae (solenodons)
Capromyidae (hutias)
Noctilionidae (bulldog bats)


Todidae (todies)
Spindalidae (spindalises)
Dulidae (palmchat)
Calyptophilidae (chat tanagers)
Phaenicophilidae (Hispaniolan tanagers)
Nyctibiidae (potoos)
Phaethontidae (tropicbirds)

————————

New families (captive):
Kinosternidae (mud & musk turtles)
Xantusiidae (night lizards)
Leptodactylidae (Southern frogs)
(all at Frankfurt Zoo)

———————

Not seen that would have been possible:
Amphisbaenidae (tropical worm lizards)
Leptotyphlopidae (slender blind snakes)
Dermochelyidae (leatherback sea turtle)

Mormoopidae (moustached bats and ghost-faced bats)
Natalidae (funnel-eared bats)

————————

Biggest dips:
Stygian Owl (not found the one night I looked for it)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (you don’t find raptors, they find you and this one didn’t)
Leatherback Turtle (never even got to look for it cause of the Hutia mess)
Some other herps like the second Tropidophis species, couple of frogs (dipped)
 
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76) Little Blue Penguin Eudyptula minor

It's getting dark earlier now that winter is approaching, so yesterday I walked home from work along the waterfront in order to have a look out for penguins as dusk fell. They are easy enough to hear amongst the rocks, but not necessarily to see because they come ashore individually and sneakily. However I did manage to see one pretty quickly. I hung around for a bit to see if any more showed up, but then I got bored and went home.
 
Chlidonias said:
76) Little Blue Penguin Eudyptula minor

It's getting dark earlier now that winter is approaching, so yesterday I walked home from work along the waterfront in order to have a look out for penguins as dusk fell. They are easy enough to hear amongst the rocks, but not necessarily to see because they come ashore individually and sneakily. However I did manage to see one pretty quickly. I hung around for a bit to see if any more showed up, but then I got bored and went home.
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What! You don't have a parade?
 
MRJ said:
What! You don't have a parade?
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As in the penguins coming ashore together in big groups?

NZ Little Blues tend to come ashore singly. Australian Little Blues (including the ones in Otago in NZ's South Island) tend to come ashore in groups. My guess is that it's because there aren't really any native land-based predators in NZ so they don't need a safety group. The Little Blues in Otago are recent colonists from Australia (a few hundred years ago) and they retain the group-landing behaviour.
 
Chlidonias said:
As in the penguins coming ashore together in big groups?

NZ Little Blues tend to come ashore singly. Australian Little Blues (including the ones in Otago in NZ's South Island) tend to come ashore in groups. My guess is that it's because there aren't really any native land-based predators in NZ so they don't need a safety group. The Little Blues in Otago are recent colonists from Australia (a few hundred years ago) and they retain the group-landing behaviour.
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It was of course a joke, but I did not know that and it is quite interesting. It would seem to support the recent split.
 
Bisonblake said:
Haven't updated this in while. I was in the Dallas/Fort Worth area a little more than a month ago. While I didn't do any wildlife searching, I was able to add one lifer to my list of birds.

Birds:
3/5/23
17. Great-tailed grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
18. Ring-billed gull Larus delawarensis
3/7/23
19. Eurasian collared dove Streptopelia decaocto
20. Blue jay Cyanocitta cristata
3/8/23
21. European starling Sturnus vulgaris
3/15/23
22. Mourning dove Zenaida macroura
4/5/23
23. Eastern phoebe Sayornis phoebe
4/6/23
24. Common grackle Quiscalus quiscula
4/9/23
25. Wild turkey Meleagris gallopavo

Mammals:
3/13/23
6. Eastern chipmunk Tamias striatus
4/9/23
7. Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus

Reptiles:
3/6/23
1. Painted turtle Chrysemys picta

Total Species: 33
Birds: 25
Mammals: 7
Reptiles: 1
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4/13/2023
Birds:
26. House finch Haemorhous mexicanus
27. American goldfinch Spinus tristis

Herptiles:
2. American toad Anaxyrus americanus
3. Green frog Rana clamitans

Total Species: 37
Birds: 27
Mammals: 7
Herptiles: 3
 
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Kakapo said:
Today I had a nice day gardening a bit, with a new jumping spider and two new moths for the year, besides carpenter bees busy pollinating the jasmine, a hummingbird hawk moth, a blackbird, wood pigeons and some other usual species. Later, I went for a walk along the river shore, passing by the cattle egret roosting place, I saw three rabbits in the same urban rotonda where I saw the last one, saw mallards, little egrets, night herons, yellow-legged gulls, and the best, swifts finally arrived to the city and are interested in checking their usual nesting areas under a stone bridge.

BIRDS:

49. Common swift (Apus apus)
50. Blue tit (Parus caeruleus)

INVERTEBRATES:

120. Icius hamatus
121. Chrysodeixis chalcites
122. Noctua pronuba
123. Synema globosum
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Today a couple of common insects but new for the year appeared in my parents's garden.

INVERTEBRATES:

124. Macrosiphum rosae
125. Megachile centuncularis
 
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Had a nice day at Skansen zoo today.Despite me getting home at late noon,I still decided to do some birding ,and for the first time this year, visit a feeder that often has Bank voles.Didn't see any voles or new birds at the feeder,but I was still rewarded with some new species for my yearlist.
Lota lota said:
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)
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91 Black-throated loon (Gavia arctica)
92 Song thrush (Turdus philomelos)
93 Redwing (Turdus iliacus)
 
Bisonblake said:
4/13/2023
Birds:
26. House finch Haemorhous mexicanus
27. American goldfinch Spinus tristis

Herptiles:
2. American toad Anaxyrus americanus
3. Green frog Rana clamitans

Total Species: 37
Birds: 27
Mammals: 7
Herptiles: 3
Click to expand...
I went on a birding adventure today to find a wood duck. While a lot of you may see these often, I have only seen them once before. I also live in a busy college town that doesn't have a lot of wildlife. White-tailed deer are even a rare sight. There is a forest that borders the river that runs through campus. I normally don't have the opportunity to explore this area, but Ebird said someone saw one two days ago, so I decided to search myself. I was thankfully successful and found a beautiful male near the end of my search.

4/14/2023
Birds:
28. Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
29. Tufted titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
30. Red-bellied woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
31. Wood duck Aix sponsa

Total Species: 41
Birds: 31
Mammals: 7
Herptiles: 3
 
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ThylacineAlive said:
Reptiles
6) Eastern Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta
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I only have you on 4 herptiles. Did I miss one or is this a typo?

This is the only other post I can see with reptiles:
ThylacineAlive said:
Reptiles
1) American Alligator Alligator mississipiensis
2) Pond Slider Trachemys scripta
3) Peninsula Cooter Pseudemys peninsularis
4) Florida Softshell Turtle Apalone ferox
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boof said:
11/4/2023
183. Bell miner
12/4/2023
184. Australian brush turkey
185. Buff-banded rail
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We had bell miners literally in some bush next door as long as I've been here. In the last 12 to 18 months they seem to have disappeared. Strange.
 
Kakapo said:
Today a couple of common insects but new for the year appeared in my parents's garden.

INVERTEBRATES:

124. Macrosiphum rosae
125. Megachile centuncularis
Click to expand...


Two new ones today, even when both are nuisances of house and garden respectively.

INVERTEBRATES:

126. Anthrenus verbasci
127. Autographa gamma
 
OboeKade said:
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)
Click to expand...
I'll go ahead and add these non-native naturalized species:
83. European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
84. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
85. Eurasian Collared-dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
86. Feral Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

And then here are the results of the past few days, a walk at dusk yesterday provided a decent amount of new species (my first-ever Common Nighthawk!), a really cool encounter with Yellow-crowned Night-herons, and a hunting pair of Cooper's Hawks.
87. Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida)
88. Yellow-crowned Night-heron (Nyctanessa violacea)
89. Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)
90. Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
 
Bisonblake said:
I went on a birding adventure today to find a wood duck. While a lot of you may see these often, I have only seen them once before. I also live in a busy college town that doesn't have a lot of wildlife. White-tailed deer are even a rare sight. There is a forest that borders the river that runs through campus. I normally don't have the opportunity to explore this area, but Ebird said someone saw one two days ago, so I decided to search myself. I was thankfully successful and found a beautiful male near the end of my search.

4/14/2023
Birds:
28. Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
29. Tufted titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
30. Red-bellied woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
31. Wood duck Aix sponsa

Total Species: 41
Birds: 31
Mammals: 7
Herptiles: 3
Click to expand...
4/15/2023
Birds:
Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus

Total Species: 42
Birds: 32
Mammals: 7
Herptiles: 3
 
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MRJ said:
We had bell miners literally in some bush next door as long as I've been here. In the last 12 to 18 months they seem to have disappeared. Strange.
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I grew up in Wollongong and now live in central NSW, so it’s a bird I don’t get to see ( or hear) often but when I do get to their area I love hearing them.
 
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