Zoochat Big Year 2023

With most birds seen and the weather completely unsuited to find butterflies, moths or dragonflies, additions to the year list are scarce now. Nonetheless a recent trip to the Biesbosch resulted in three new species!

Birds
210. Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata
211. Curlew Sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea

Bees
12. Pantaloon Bee, Dasypoda hirtipes
 
amur leopard said:
Bits and bobs of progress after a walk up Hallasan and some nice evening birding at Seogwipo on Jeju:

57. Large-billed crow, Corvus macrorhynchos
58. Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus
59. Japanese tit, Parus minor
60. Varied tit, Sittiparus varius
61. Black-tailed gull, Larus crassirostris
62. Mandarin duck, Aix galericulata

Plus a couple of intriguing issues - first is was a Japanese paradise flycatcher heard only in the Hallasan forests and second was a small Muscicapidae sp. individual in the same place which I can't seem to identify at all as it doesn't seem to match any extant Korean birds, but likely just an omission on my part.
Might upload to the forum and if so help much appreciated. Additions in the coming days unlikely, but who knows?
Click to expand...

Scratch that about new additions, here's a few. The bird and the reptile are IDs made today of species seen yesterday, with the bird ID all thanks to @Coelacanth18 :). The mammal is a really nice species I saw at Halla Arboretum on the Northern side of Jeju Island. The population within the forest is fairly unbothered by humans so made it easier to get better views of the deer. As an aside it's nice to have seen both the Eastern roe deer and its Western counterpart, both very beautiful species. The keelback was really nice to see as it is a rare example of an animal that is both poisonous and venomous.

Mammals

1. Eastern roe deer, Capreolus pygargus

Birds

63. Blue and white flycatcher, Cyanoptila cyanomelana

Reptiles

3. Tiger keelback, Rhabdophis tigrinus.
 
WalkingAgnatha said:
Went out to Tiritiri a week back to finally catch up with some targets, and a very successful trip it was I must say, first thing getting off the wharf, were a few basking eagle-rays, netting a lifer at the very start of the day. I saw all regular landbirds on my stay (excluding spotless-crake, pond levels are all too high methinks and ruru), including seeing hihi fantastically well on the Kawerau Track. Another highlight of the first day was stalking around the flax and finally coming across a beautiful adult moko skink (although digibinning a lizard felt bizzare!), as well as the local takahe family being very obliging allowing for some neat photos. The night was fantastic, upon making my way down to the Hobb's Track, randomly came across a kiwi just on the concrete ramp at the wharf! Also finally ticked off tuatara, although it's a bit tricky with them, as they're basically right on their burrows/cover so you'll have one chance to see them when they first move, before they fully slunk out of view. Although some of them, at least on their tails, had a pale faint ochre banding pattern scheme going on which I'd never seen before. Heard petrel vocalizing but see them I did not, at least I found kokopu on the Kawerau Track but not much else. Thus, I headed back to a spot which I'd heard was a good place for another of my targets, Duvaucel's Gecko, our largest remaining species(which like quite a few of our species were reduced to tiny island refugia after invasive mammals, but have been reintroduced to Tiritiri around when I was born funnily enough) , and one I find incredibly interesting as well as having never found a native gecko before I really wanted to try find one. Hence heeding another person's advice, I very slowly made my way up the track, taking a step, stop, scan, step, repeat. I was quite tired by then and was just giving up, when of course I nearly walk right into one, just at eye-level on an overhanging branch on the side of the path!! Stood there and admired it for a few minutes, there were't any gecko-mites on it which I was kind of expecting, so that was kind of interesting. Then I headed back to the bunk, nothing much for the second day, couldn't refind any of the herps during the day, and no wetapunga (apparently haven't been seen during the day for ~a week or so). Tracked down a calling fernbird, and saw a few tree wetas in an actually occupied weta-hotel (they're nearly always empty), before I headed back.


Birds:
110. Little-Spotted Kiwi (Apteryx owenii)

REPTILES TALLY: 4
Squamates:
2. Moko Skink (Oligosoma moco)
3. DUVAUCEL'S GECKO (Hoplodactylus duvaucelii)
Rhynchocephalians:
1. Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

"FISH" TALLY: 4
Ray-finned Fish:
3. Banded Kokopu (Galaxias fasciatus)
Elasmobranchs:
1. NZ Eagle-Ray (Myliobatis tenuicaudatus)

INVERT TALLY: 40
Insects:
29. Brachaspis collinus (Alpine-grasshopper) [Late ID from Arthur's Pass]
30. Gisborne Cockroach (Drymaplaneta semivitta) [House]
31. Auckland Tree-Weta (Hemideina thoracica) [Tiritiri]
Click to expand...
Went out to Motutapu a month or so back in search of Shore Plover, but I dipped, although I didn't get any new year things, did finally succeed in seeing a buff-banded rail in the mangroves, which was quite cooperative, dashing in and out of the mangrove 'scrub', every 5 minutes or so, so still quite a nice trip.

Week or so after that, I headed out to Tiri-tiri Matangi again, (third time this year i know :p), again in search of petrels and whatever dastardly creatures of the night I could find. First day wasn't too eventful, most of it was searching for Auckland Green Geckos (if you haven't hear dof these, search them up!!), which have definitely been established/released recently?-ish, but I didn't know anything about locales, so I just spent the day slowly scanning manuka/kanuka shrubs as that's what they're found on usually (as although mainly insectivorous, they'll also feed on nectar, which these shrubs provide). So I basically just did that to pass the time, until night finally came, yet once again I'm still cursed with petrels.. (May've seen like 2? really fast and brief silhouettes, but no clear sightings). Although there was a lot of little-penguins that came ashore onto the beach, and thus would be in your path as you walked around, sprinting off into the surf, entirely hunched backs, like little goblin rockets. Stumbled across a few tuatara, but most of them were still too fast to dash off into their burrows so no real good views sadly : (. Highlight of the night was coming across a kiwi foraging super close to me on the Wattle-Track, unfortunately I was only in position to see it's posterior as it foraged, and when i shifted to the side, to try see it's face better, I got one good look as it realised I was there, before shooting up the small slope and into the ferns.
large.jpg

Next morning, had a small side quest in mind, to try see all the takahes on the island (there's only six, two pairs with a chick each), as I'd already seen the ones by the Lighthouse real well, so I thought I'd give a shot if I could see the ones on the East Coast Track/the north of the island as well. Here I saw my two fernbirds of the trip, seemed to have pretty good luck with them just by the lighthouse 'early' in the morning, you hear them and see them quite well as they'll crawl around in the bushes, dopily, yet hurriedly flying form one patch to the next. Thus, walked my way to the very tip of the island, (a Maori pa site? Well it was signed as such but I saw no trace, just a nice view on a cliff to the sea beyond). And on my way back had a run in with the other takahe family so that was that done.
original.jpg

super obliging!
After that did mostly the same as the previous day, just methodically searching for green geckos, didn't stumble into any, but did manage as a very nice surprise to come upon a male (assuming from lack of visible ovipositor) Wetapunga! Although I've heard they're usually not all that concealed, this one was nestled very deeply into the manuka branches, so it was quite hard to get good views of it and would not have came across it unless I was searching for geckos I don't think, so that was a nice bonus. Also located a pair of titipounamu through their cheeping right by the toilet-blocks just before the ferry came, which was great as they're always fun to see.

No real story behind the barbary doves, I'd simply walked down to the beach right by where I live, and was a bit shocked to see a flock of 5 of them milling around. I spent quite a bit of time deliberating between whether I should tick them off or not, (although they are established here, I still just felt weird about their provenance, not from observing them, but rather just because it felt weird to see them so close to where I live). Eventually tough I decided to count them, as I've seen them before in this area, (and I think they're sometimes recorded on eBird), as well as them showing no traits of previous captivity (eg. rings, heavy wearing to feathers, etc), as far as I could tell.

Birds:
111. Barbary Dove (Streptopelia risoria)

INVERT TALLY: 41
Insects:
32. Wetapunga (Deinacrida heteracantha)
 
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After a long break from birdwatching, I went back to Laajalahti to see the first round of migratory birds. The trip was quite successful and I am now only four birds away from a new personal record.

Birds

116. Great black-backed gull, Larus marinus 3/8/23
117. Stock dove, Columba oenas 3/8/23
118. Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago 3/8/23
119. Wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola 3/8/23

Reptiles

3. Viviparous lizard, Zootoca vivipara 3/8/23
 
BerdNerd said:
6/7/23

13. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
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BerdNerd said:
7/29/23

9. Common Five-Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)
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BerdNerd said:
7/28/23

7. Golden Orb-Weaver (Trichonephila clavipes)
8. Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
9. Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes)
10. American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana)
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8/3/23
Topeka, Kansas


Mammals:

14. Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)


Reptiles:

10. Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus)


Invertebrates:

11. Tiger Bee Fly (Xenox tigrinus)


Total:

Mammals: 14
Birds: 112
Reptiles: 10
Amphibians: 6
Invertebrates: 11
 
Latest round-up of totals.

I was trying to work out who has seen the most species of birds this year but the maths was too difficult.


BIRDS:

MRJ – 718
Mehdi – 448
ThylacineAlive – 442
Tetzoo Quizzer – 300
Najade – 295
birdsandbats – 233
Hix – 220
ChunkyMunky pengopus – 219
Mr. Zootycoon – 211
Ituri – 197
Macaw16 – 193
boof – 192
WhistlingKite24 – 190
Coelacanth18 – 190
Maguari – 187
OskarGC – 171
Junklekitteb – 161
DesertTortoise – 161
oflory – 150
OboeKade – 137
Lota lota – 126
Great Argus – 121
Platypusboy – 119
BerdNerd – 113
WalkingAgnatha – 111
Bisonblake – 106
Crotalus – 99
DesertRhino150 – 92
red river hog – 91
Chlidonias – 80
Tiktaalik – 71
amur leopard – 63
ifesbob – 51
Bactrian Deer – 27
CleZooMan – 9
Ursus – 1


MAMMALS:

Najade – 120
MRJ – 103
Giant Eland – 96
ThylacineAlive – 80
RatioTile – 36
Mehdi – 27
Ituri – 26
Mr. Zootycoon – 25
Maguari – 23
Coelacanth18 – 23
Macaw16 – 23
Tetzoo Quizzer – 21
birdsandbats – 21
ChunkyMunky pengopus – 19
Crotalus – 18
ifesbob – 16
Bisonblake – 15
Lota lota – 14
BerdNerd – 14
oflory – 13
OskarGC – 13
Hix – 12
WhistlingKite24 – 11
DesertTortoise – 11
Junklekitteb – 10
red river hog – 9
Bactrian Deer – 9
DesertRhino150 – 9
Great Argus – 8
Platypusboy – 8
Chlidonias – 8
WalkingAgnatha – 7
OboeKade – 2
CleZooMan – 1
Tiktaalik – 1
amur leopard – 1


HERPTILES:

Najade – 68 Herptiles total (49 Reptiles, 19 Amphibians)
Mr. Zootycoon – 38 Herptiles total (16 Reptiles, 22 Amphibians)
MRJ – 27 Herptiles total (23 Reptiles, 4 Amphibians)
WhistlingKite24 – 22 Herptiles total (17 Reptiles, 5 Amphibians)
DesertTortoise – 18 Herptiles total (10 Reptiles, 8 Amphibians)
BerdNerd – 16 Herptiles total (10 Reptiles, 6 Amphibians)
OskarGC – 15 Herptiles total (11 Reptiles, 4 Amphibians)
ThylacineAlive – 14 Herptiles total (14 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
Coelacanth18 – 13 Herptiles total (13 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
birdsandbats – 12 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 8 Amphibians)
Junklekitteb – 10 Herptiles total (10 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
Bisonblake – 10 Herptiles total (5 Reptiles, 5 Amphibians)
Crotalus – 10 Herptiles total (6 Reptiles, 4 Amphibians)
ifesbob – 9 Herptiles total (3 Reptiles, 6 Amphibians)
red river hog – 9 Herptiles total (9 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
Macaw16 – 8 Herptiles total (2 Reptiles, 6 Amphibians)
ChunkyMunky pengopus – 7 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 3 Amphibians)
Great Argus – 6 Herptiles total (5 Reptiles, 1 Amphibian)
Ituri – 6 Herptiles total (6 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
Hix – 5 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 1 Amphibian)
OboeKade – 4 Herptiles total (3 Reptiles, 1 Amphibian)
WalkingAgnatha – 4 Herptiles total (4 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
oflory – 4 Herptiles total (2 Reptiles, 2 Amphibians)
Bactrian Deer – 4 Herptiles total (3 Reptiles, 1 Amphibian)
Maguari – 3 Herptiles total (1 Reptile, 2 Amphibians)
amur leopard – 3 Herptiles total (3 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
Platypusboy – 3 Herptiles total (3 Reptiles, 0 Amphibians)
Lota lota – 2 Herptiles total (1 Reptile, 1 Amphibian)
DesertRhino150 – 1 Herptile total (0 Reptiles, 1 Amphibian)


FISH:

Hix – 60
MRJ – 26
red river hog – 17
DesertTortoise – 15
birdsandbats – 10
WhistlingKite24 – 9
Lota lota – 7
Crotalus – 7
Platypusboy – 7
ChunkyMunky pengopus – 6
WalkingAgnatha – 4
Mr. Zootycoon – 2
Bisonblake – 2
DesertRhino150 – 2
Maguari – 1
Great Argus – 1


INVERTEBRATES:

WhistlingKite24 – 189
ChunkyMunky pengopus – 176
Mr. Zootycoon – 135 total (including 33 butterflies, 61 moths, 23 dragonflies, and 12 bees)
DesertTortoise – 70
MRJ – 69
WalkingAgnatha – 40 total (including 32 insects; 3 molluscs; 3 arachnids; 1 annelid; 1 crustacean)
Maguari – 38
Crotalus – 38
red river hog – 30
DesertRhino150 – 25
Tetzoo Quizzer – 13 total (including 10 butterflies, 2 dragonflies, and 1 ladybird)
BerdNerd – 11
Great Argus – 10
Junklekitteb – 7
ifesbob – 1
Hix – 1
 
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Mehdi said:
Back in Leeds and my first time using a bat detector!

BIRDS:
04/05/2023 (Leeds, England)
447 - Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris
448 - Red kite, Milvus milvus

MAMMALS:
03/05/2023 (Leeds, England)
26 - Common pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus
27 - Common noctule, Nyctalus noctula
Click to expand...

Some additions I forgot to post from a day birding Ilkley Moor, a day out in Scarborough, a university field trip to the Great Cumbrae in Scotland and then a few from back home in Morocco. These should normally not be followed by a few other additions in a few days normally. ;)

BIRDS:
449 - Common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus
450 - Stock dove, Columba oenas
451 - Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
452 - Eurasian skylark, Alauda arvensis
453 - Red grouse, Lagopus scotica
454 - Greylag goose, Anser anser
455 - Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
456 - Grey partridge, Perdix perdix
457 - Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
458 - Eurasian rock pipit, Anthus petrosus
459 - Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
460 - Common eider, Somateria mollissima
461 - Great black-backed gull, Larus marinus
462 - Common gull, Larus canus
463 - European shag, Gulosus aristotelis
464 - Black guillemot, Cepphus grylle
465 - Common tern, Sterna hirundo
466 - Common grasshopper warbler, Locustella naevia
467 - Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
468 - White-breasted cormorant, Phalacrocorax lucidus
469 - Cream-coloured courser, Cursorius cursor

MAMMALS:
*24 - Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus
29 - European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus
30 - European hare, Lepus europaeus
31 - Harbour seal, Phoca vitulina

*Forgot to list these
 
Bactrian Deer said:
Mammals:
9. White-Tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

Birds:
27. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

Reptiles:
3. Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina (carolina)
Click to expand...
Mammals:
  1. Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
  2. Coyote Canis latrans
  3. Gray Bat Myotis grisescens
  4. Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
  5. Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
  6. American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
  7. Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus
  8. Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana
  9. White-Tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus
  10. House Mouse Mus musculus
  11. Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus
  12. Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel Ictidomys tridecemlineatus
  13. Swamp Rabbit Sylvilagus aquaticus
  14. Red Fox Vulpes vulpes
  15. Striped Skunk Mephitis mephitis
Birds:
  1. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
  2. Canada Goose Branta canadensis
  3. Red-Winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
  4. Red-Bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
  5. Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
  6. American Robin Turdus migratorius
  7. Yellow-Throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons
  8. Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
  9. Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
  10. Rock Pigeon Columba livia
  11. White-Throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
  12. House Sparrow Passer domesticus
  13. Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
  14. Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
  15. Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos
  16. Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
  17. Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
  18. Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
  19. American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
  20. Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
  21. Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
  22. Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
  23. Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
  24. Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
  25. Wilson’s Plover Charadrius wilsonia
  26. Least Tern Sternula antillarum
  27. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
  28. House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus
  29. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
  30. American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
  31. White-Throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
  32. Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
  33. Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens
  34. Osprey Pandion haliaetus
  35. House Wren Troglodytes aedon
  36. Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
  37. Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
  38. Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
  39. Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
  40. Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
  41. Sora Porzana carolina
  42. American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
  43. Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
  44. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  45. Eastern Screech Owl Megascops asio
Amphibians:
  1. American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus
  2. Eastern American Toad Anaxyrus americanus
Reptiles:
  1. Brown Anole Anolis sagrei
  2. Pond Slider Trachemys scripta
  3. Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina
 
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Mehdi said:
Some additions I forgot to post from a day birding Ilkley Moor, a day out in Scarborough, a university field trip to the Great Cumbrae in Scotland and then a few from back home in Morocco. These should normally not be followed by a few other additions in a few days normally. ;)

BIRDS:
449 - Common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus
450 - Stock dove, Columba oenas
451 - Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
452 - Eurasian skylark, Alauda arvensis
453 - Red grouse, Lagopus scotica
454 - Greylag goose, Anser anser
455 - Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
456 - Grey partridge, Perdix perdix
457 - Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
458 - Eurasian rock pipit, Anthus petrosus
459 - Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
460 - Common eider, Somateria mollissima
461 - Great black-backed gull, Larus marinus
462 - Common gull, Larus canus
463 - European shag, Gulosus aristotelis
464 - Black guillemot, Cepphus grylle
465 - Common tern, Sterna hirundo
466 - Common grasshopper warbler, Locustella naevia
467 - Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
468 - White-breasted cormorant, Phalacrocorax lucidus
469 - Cream-coloured courser, Cursorius cursor

MAMMALS:
*24 - Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus
29 - European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus
30 - European hare, Lepus europaeus
31 - Harbour seal, Phoca vitulina

*Forgot to list these
Click to expand...
Highly anticipating your next few posts..
 
Finally got my 100th bird of the year, a beautiful Indigo Bunting at sunset along with some bats and a couple new butterflies.

Mammals:
19. Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) - 7/24/23


Birds:
100. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) – 7/24/23


Invertebrates:
39. Common House Fly (Musca domestica) – 7/24/23
40. Black Carpenter Ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) – 7/24/23
41. Variable Oakleaf Caterpillar Moth (Lochmaeus manteo) – 7/29/23
42. Handsome Trig (Phyllopalpus pulchellus) – 7/30/23
43. Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) – 8/02/23
44. Silver-Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) – 8/02/23
 
birdsandbats said:
That article is very positive for what is likely to become quite the destructive invasive species.
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It is an article written by hunters, a group that likes to shoot invasives, but not shoot enough so that they are eradicated. That said I can't find much something about their negative impacts and as long as they are managed by hunters densities will likely remain low enough for them not to be a problem.
 
Bisonblake said:
This might be the last species I see in Indiana this year. My internship ends this Friday, then I'm moving back to Michigan Saturday. I've seen 81 species of birds in Indiana (41 new species for the year), which is more than I expected. I've also had great sightings of mammals and herps. I'm looking forward to what I may see for the rest of the year.

Birds:
106. Carolina chickadee Poecile carolinensis

Total Species: 133
Birds: 106
Mammals: 15
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
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I'm back in Michigan, and I decided to walk around the neighborhood to build my Michigan life list. I wasn't expecting to see anything new, but I did find a common tern flying high above and seemed to be flying southeast towards the local Metropark. There wasn't anything else new, but I got a great look at two sandhill cranes that were walking around.

Birds:
107. Common tern Sterna hirundo

Total Species: 134
Birds: 107
Mammals: 15
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
 
Great Argus said:
Not much to add other than birds, but what a spring it has been once it finally warmed up. Large numbers of birds and local rarities galore throughout my area. So far it has been one of the best springs for warblers that I can remember, species I often have a hard time finding have appeared multiple times to date. Other goodies continue to show up too - such as seven Common Loons on the pond next to my house, and a Red-necked Grebe that shouldn't be around here right now. On the the annoying side of things, a few Sora and a Virginia Rail have been present in the cattail thickets along the pond near me, and they continue to taunt me while staying completely invisible... Sooner or later rails, sooner or later.

Birds:

107. Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens)
108. Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)
109. Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)
110. Gray Flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii)
111. Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla)
112. Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)
113. Dusky Flycatcher (Empidonax oberholseri)
114. Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
115. Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
116. Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis)
117. Spotted Sandpiper (Actictis macularius)
118. Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisigena)
119. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
120. Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
121. Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
--- Sora (Porzana carolina)
--- Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)

Invertebrates:

10. Western Yellowjacket (Vespus pensylvanica)

8-121-5-1-1-10
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Neglected to update for longer than I realized, but better late than never.

Mammals:

9. Western Deer Mouse (Peromyscus sonoriensis)

Birds:

122. Green Heron (Butoroides virescens)
123. Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
124. House Wren (Troglodytes aeodon)
125. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
126. Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens)
127. Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata)
128. Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte costae)
129. Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)

And unfortunately some particularly nice species only heard and not seen...
-- Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
-- Wrentit (Chaemea fasciata)
-- Marsh Wren (Cistotherus palustris)
-- Black Rail (Latirallus jamaicensis)

Reptiles:

6. Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans)

Amphibians:

2. Red-spotted Toad (Bufo punctatus)

Been hearing plenty of bullfrogs but haven't managed to get eyes on one.

Invertebrates:

11. White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata)
12. California Sister (Adelpha californica)
13. Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)
14. Black & Yellow Mud-Dauber (Sceliphron caementarium)
15. Green Darner (Anax junonius)
16. House Centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata)
17. Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
18. Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
19. Western Painted Lady (Vanessa annabella)
20. Road Duster (Dissosteira carolina)
21. Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

9-129-6-2-1-21
 
Arrived last night in LA for business but it being Sunday morning I went out to Madrona Marsh, an excellent spot of original habitat not far from my hotel. It opens at 10am and I was there a little before. 10am came around and nobody turned up to open the gates. After a little while I hunted around and found a small sign, open every day except Sunday. Who does not open a public reserve on Sundays? Anyway I picked up a couple of birds in a tree.

719, Swinhoe's white-eye Zosterops simplex (introduced)
720. Chipping sparrow Spizella passerina

A quick search of Ebird found Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park not too far away. As it was getting later and hot I only stayed about an hour.

Mammals
104. Californian ground squirrel Otospermophilus beecheyi
105, Eastern fox squirrel Sciurus niger (introduced)

Birds
721. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
722. Canada goose Branta canadensis
723, Double-crested cormorant Nannopterum auritus
724. California gull Larus californicus
725. American crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
726. House finch Haemorhous mexicanus
727. Red-winged blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
728, Great-tailed grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
729. Violet-green swallow Tachycineta thalassina
730. American mourning dove Zenaida macroura

Invertebrate
70. Mornful duskywing Erynnis tristis
 
Last edited:
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
Back at it with more fieldwork for the statewide mosquito survey, this time in the many forest preserves around the DuPage County suburbs.

Mammal
I was surprised to see this canid near the busy intersection of Chicago ave. and Naper blvd. at night on July 20th
19. Coyote (Canis latrans)
​
Birds
A nice pair of summer birds at Danada forest preserve, July 20th
218. Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)
219. Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)​

Insects/Inverts
160. Blue-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) (Lifer)
161. Painted lichen moth (Hypoprepia fucosa) (Lifer)
162. Double-toothed prominent (Nerice bidentata) (Lifer)
163. Spot-winged glider (Pantala hymenaea) (Lifer)
164. Summer fishfly (Chauliodes pectinicornis) (Lifer)
165. Grapevine beetle (Pelidnota punctata) (Lifer)
166. Great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)
167. False milkweed bug (Lygaeus turcicus)
168. Ground beetle (Notiobia terminata) (Lifer)
169. Common picture-winged fly (Delphinia picta)
170. American Harlequin (Xanthogramma flavipes) (Lifer)
171. Brown lacewing (Microms subanticus) (Lifer)
172. Red-spotted admiral (Limenitis arthemis) Ssp. Red-spotted purple (L.a. astyanax)
173. Stream bluet (Enallagma exsulans)
174. American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) (Lifer)
175. Leaf-footed bug (Acanthocephala terminalis)
176. Little wood satyr (Megisto cymela)​
Click to expand...
I've continued to visit locations around the state, both for my job as a field tech and on my own. Some of the species seen in the Chicagoland suburbs have acted as spoilers of sorts for the short trip I am going on tomorrow, but there will hopefully be some other nice species I can find as well.

Birds
Seen at Greene Valley Scenic Overlook atop the hill, DuPage county, 22 July 2023
220. Cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)​

Seen at Dick Young Forest Preserve, Kane County, 22 July 2023
221. Sedge Wren (Cistothorus stellaris)
223. Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) (Lifer)​

Seen at Glacial Park Conservation Area in Lake County for trap setup, 2 August 2023
224. Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)​

Clearly seen on the second day for collection at Glacial Park Conservation Area in Lake County, 3 August 2023, possibly seen the first day with a large group of other swallows
225. Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)​

Reptiles
Seen at Lake Charleston, July 26 2023
5. Common Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon)​
Herptiles
8. Common Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon)​

Fish
Seen in the Des Plaines River, Cahokia Flatwoods Forest Preserve, during collection in Lake County, 3 August 2023
7. European carp (Cyprinus carpio)​

Insects/Inverts
177. Red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus)
178. Putnam’s jumping spider (Phidippus putnami)
179. Bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata)
180. Trigonalid Wasp (Taeniogonalos gundlachii) (Lifer)
181. American pelecinid wasp (Pelecinus polyturator)
182. Pole borer (Neandra brunnea) (Lifer)
183. Grape colaspis (Colaspis brunnea) (Lifer)
184. Assassin bug (Stenopoda spinulosa) (Lifer)
185. Reddish-brown stag beetle (Lucanus capreolus) (Lifer)
186. Common eastern firefly (Photinus pyralis)
187. Spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) (Lifer)
188. Fourteen-spotted lady beetle (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata) (Lifer)
189. Robber fly (Efferia aestuans) (Lifer)
190. European paper wasp (Polistes dominula)
191. Asian oak weevil (Cyrtepistomus castaneus) (Lifer)
192. Argus tortoise beetle (Chelymorpha cassidea) (Lifer)
193. Glacial lady beetle (Hippodamia glacialis) (Lifer)
194. Ligated furrow bee (Halictus ligatus)
195. Dogbane leaf beetle (Chrysochus auratus)
196. Boxwood leaftier moth (Galasa nigrinodis)
197. Peach root weevil (Pseudoedophrys hilleri) (Lifer)
198. Beggar moth (Eubaphe mendica) (Lifer)
199. Death watch beetle (Trichodesma gibbosa) (Lifer)
200. Pale green assassin bug (Zelus luridus) (Lifer)
201. Red-banded leafhopper (Graphocephala coccinea)
202. Broad-faced sac spider (Trachelas tranquillus)
203. House centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata)
204. Halloween pennant (Celithemis eponina)
205. Red-belted bumble bee (Bombus rufocinctus) (Lifer)
206. Tree cattle (Cerastipsocus venosus) (Lifer)
207. Arcane grass tubeworm moth (Acrolophus arcanella) (Lifer)
208. Fraternal potter wasp (Eumenes fraternus)
209. Silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus)​
 
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