Zoochat Big Year 2023

Chlidonias said:
12) Leopard Seal Hydrurga leptonyx

It's an easy location to stop off at, so I did so and watched the seal for a while. They are awkward-looking animals, really not made for being on land. I might try tomorrow morning for some photos but I think it will probably be gone by then.
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The Leopard Seal was still on the same beach this morning. Hopefully he is just digesting a baby fur seal and is too full to swim, rather than being unwell. [Edit: I just saw he left the beach this afternoon, so he is probably feeling fine]

Some more photos in the NZ Wildlife gallery.

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A surprise bird from my local patch today, as I stumbled upon a wryneck! My second ever in my local patch, and it completes my set of Dutch woodpeckers for the year. I also found a rather rare moth at work earlier in the week.

The godwit was seen during my previous trip to the coast, but I didn't register it as a year-bird.

Birds
221. Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica
222. Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla

Moths
86. Delicate, Mythimna vitellina
 
Hix said:
Birds
199. Australasian Shoveller
200. Bar-shouldered Dove
201. Hudsonian Godwit
202. Brown Gerygone
203. Rose Robin
204. Sooty Oystercatcher
205. Australasian Gannet
206. White-fronted Tern
207. Pacific Emerald Dove
208. Noisy Pitta
209. Yellow-throated Scrubwren
210. Large-billed Scrubwren
211. Rufous Shrike-thrush
212. White-eared Monarch
213. Torresian Crow
214. Pale Yellow Robin
215. White-headed Pigeon
216. Forest Kingfisher
217. White-cheeked Honeyeater
218. Red-kneed Dotterel
219. Australasian Figbird
220. Buff-banded Rail

Mammals
12. Humpback Whale

:p

Hix
Click to expand...

Birds
221. Long-billed Corella
222. Little Grassbird
223. Mistletoebird
224. Brown Goshawk
225. Grey Goshawk
226. Southern Boobook
227. Topknot PIgeon
228. Superb Lyrebird
229. Australian Shelduck
230. Australian Spotted Crake
231. Brolga
232. Intermediate Egret
233. Glossy Ibis
234. Swamp Harrier
235. Peregrine Falcon
236. Red-backed Kingfisher
237. Rufous Fantail
238. Bailon's Crake
239. Channel-billed Cuckoo
240. Black-faced Monarch

Mammals
13. Echidna

Reptiles
6. Eastern Bluetongue

:p

Hix
 
So Leopard Seal is occassional as a short-term visitor to NZ beaches? If ever the word 'sinister' described an animal I think it applies to this amazing creature.
 
A few from a very fun day at Frampton Marsh RSPB today - didn't manage to connect with a very mobile Black Stork in the area but a vagrant sandpiper was an early shower, I got my other godwit, and just as we were preparing to leave there was finally another sighting reported of the yellowlegs that enabled us to dash down and catch up with it - a welcome lifer after a few half-hearted failed attempts in the past.

Birds:
198. White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis
199. Bar-tailed Godwit - Limosa lapponica
200. Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes

(UK: 194)

Invertebrates:
49. Devil's Coach Horse - Ocypus olens

:)
 
Maguari said:
A few from a very fun day at Frampton Marsh RSPB today - didn't manage to connect with a very mobile Black Stork in the area but a vagrant sandpiper was an early shower, I got my other godwit, and just as we were preparing to leave there was finally another sighting reported of the yellowlegs that enabled us to dash down and catch up with it - a welcome lifer after a few half-hearted failed attempts in the past.

Birds:
198. White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis
199. Bar-tailed Godwit - Limosa lapponica
200. Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes

(UK: 194)

Invertebrates:
49. Devil's Coach Horse - Ocypus olens

:)
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Did you ever try for those crazy vagrant warblers that the UK was? (I don't know if they're still there or not), or were they too far away for you to twitch
 
WalkingAgnatha said:
Did you ever try for those crazy vagrant warblers that the UK was? (I don't know if they're still there or not), or were they too far away for you to twitch
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There are indeed still a lot of odd North American warblers and other passerines knocking about - so far the England-and-Wales contingent are mostly in places on the south west coasts a bit far for me to day trip and mostly spread out at remote spots or on offshore islands, so they're a bit of a pain!

Add to the fact that I try not to drive to twitches more than an hour away both to avoid wasting time and to avoid any too gratuitous carbon - unless they're at a site I can justify the trip to anyway (usually because it'll make a nice wildlife day even without the twitch - like Frampton!) - and I've not coincided with any as yet. Some great stuff about though!
 
Bisonblake said:
I went back to the fields south of campus to look for the two other rare birds I couldn't find last Thursday. I was able to find a buff-breasted sandpiper, but not the American golden plover. I only saw 10 species, but there were a lot of species that I don't see often. Anytime I thought of leaving something interesting showed up.

9/22/23
122. American pipit Anthus rubescens
123. Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
124. Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna

Total Species: 152
Birds: 124
Mammals: 16
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
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9/30/23
Birds:
125. Nashville warbler Leiothlypis ruficapilla
126. Yellow-throated vireo Vireo flavifrons

Total Species: 154
Birds: 126
Mammals: 16
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
 
Much to my delight (and horror of onlookers) I managed to find and pick up a gray rat snake crossing the sidewalk.

Reptiles:
7. Gray Ratsnake (Pantherophis spiloides) - 9/21/23


Invertebrates:
50. Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) – 9/04/23
51. Common Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) – 9/04/23
52. Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) – 9/04/23
53. Red-Spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) – 9/05/23
54. Spinybacked Orbweaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis) – 9/19/23
55. Southern Paper Wasp (Polistes bellicosus) – 9/21/23
56. Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) – 9/21/23
57. Gulf Fritillary (Dione vanillae) – 9/24/23
58. Long-Tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus) – 9/24/23
 
Bisonblake said:
9/30/23
Birds:
125. Nashville warbler Leiothlypis ruficapilla
126. Yellow-throated vireo Vireo flavifrons

Total Species: 153
Birds: 125
Mammals: 16
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
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The yellow-throated vireo I saw was actually a northern parula. There was another birding club outing today, and we saw a parula. I didn't know both species had a similar band on their wings, which made me realize this mistake.
 
Bisonblake said:
The yellow-throated vireo I saw was actually a northern parula. There was another birding club outing today, and we saw a parula. I didn't know both species had a similar band on their wings, which made me realize this mistake.
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Back to 126 with a different vireo species!

10/2/23
Birds:
126. Philadelphia vireo Vireo philadelphicus

Total Species: 154
Birds: 126
Mammals: 16
Herptiles: 10
Fish: 2
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Looks like I jumped the gun on today's post! As I was downloading my rail photo to my laptop, got word of a small mixed flock of migrating shorebirds which popped up nearby.

678) White-Rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis
679) Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii

There was also a bird that was a possible Western Sandpiper, but not sure one way or another.

~Thylo
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A small update. First a couple birds which appear to have slipped from my Kenyan list. The first is from the Mara and the second Amboseli.

680) Usambiro Barbet Trachyphonus usambiro
681) Cape Thick-Knee Burhinus capensis

I unfortunately haven't had much time to sift through my photos to make identifications on the birds I didn't ID in-field or in the evening each night. I hope to before the year ends as I should have at least a few more inclusions.

The final two are from the past few days. I made an effort to go birding in Hammonasset over the weekend, where there have been some whimbrels and unusual terns (Caspian and Royal) hanging around. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, the terns seemed to have evaded me. Plenty of Forsten's and a single Common found, though. While I was there, a Hudsonian Godwit was found about an hour east on a golf course right on the beach. I decided not to chase that. The bird has remained since then, though, and I've now made three visits to attempt to find it, including two yesterday. Unfortunately, absolutely no luck despite plenty of other people having no problems with it. At least yesterday I was treated to a very close view of another golden-plover and a new sparrow.

682) Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius hudsonicus
683) Nelson's Sparrow Ammospiza nelsoni

~Thylo
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Mammals
23. Elk (Cervus canadensis)
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Coelacanth18 said:
Birds
203. Barn Owl (Tyto alba/furcata)
Click to expand...

Coelacanth18 said:
Reptiles
14. Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
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Another month or so of updates! I've seen a couple new parrots walking around in the big cities here, and picked up a few more new birds during a day's search for White-tailed Kites (which I did not find, unfortunately).

Birds
204. Red-masked Parakeet (Psittacara erythrogenys)
205. Mitred Parakeet (Psittacara mitratus)
206. Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)
207. California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum)
208. Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)
209. Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)

The desert nabbed me a couple new reptiles (still no rattlesnakes) while at the San Diego Zoo I successfully found two of the many accidentally introduced geckos within terrariums of the Reptile House; I did not see any of the countless Green Anoles also found introduced on the campus.

Reptiles
15. Flat-tailed House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus)
16. Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)
17. Western Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis)

And finally a couple incidental mammal sightings:

Mammals
24. House Mouse (Mus musculus)
25. Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
 
BerdNerd said:
9/19/23

15. Atlantic Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus)
16. Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica)
17. Mud Fiddler Crab (Minuca pugnax)
18. White Shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus)
19. Atlantic Ghost Crab (Ocypode quadrata)
Click to expand...


10/5/23

20. Spinybacked Orbweaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis)


Total:

Mammals: 14
Birds: 115
Reptiles: 10
Amphibians: 7
Fish: 4
Invertebrates: 20
 
ThylacineAlive said:
A small update. First a couple birds which appear to have slipped from my Kenyan list. The first is from the Mara and the second Amboseli.

680) Usambiro Barbet Trachyphonus usambiro
681) Cape Thick-Knee Burhinus capensis

I unfortunately haven't had much time to sift through my photos to make identifications on the birds I didn't ID in-field or in the evening each night. I hope to before the year ends as I should have at least a few more inclusions.

The final two are from the past few days. I made an effort to go birding in Hammonasset over the weekend, where there have been some whimbrels and unusual terns (Caspian and Royal) hanging around. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, the terns seemed to have evaded me. Plenty of Forsten's and a single Common found, though. While I was there, a Hudsonian Godwit was found about an hour east on a golf course right on the beach. I decided not to chase that. The bird has remained since then, though, and I've now made three visits to attempt to find it, including two yesterday. Unfortunately, absolutely no luck despite plenty of other people having no problems with it. At least yesterday I was treated to a very close view of another golden-plover and a new sparrow.

682) Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius hudsonicus
683) Nelson's Sparrow Ammospiza nelsoni

~Thylo
Click to expand...

One additional fun lost bird:
684) White-Faced Ibis Plegadis chihi

~Thylo
 
here's another update...

Mammals
  • Gold Coast
14. Bush Rat
15. House Mouse
  • Moreton Island
16. Dugong
17. Indo-Pacific Bottlenose-Dolphin

Birds
  • Maroochy River Mouth
173. Sooty Oystercatcher
  • Southport Pelagic
174. Black-Browed Albatross
175. Common Tern
176. Fluttering Shearwater
177. Hutton's Shearwater
178. Kermadec Petrel
179. Providence Petrel
180. Wedge-Tailed Shearwater
181. Wilson's Storm-Petrel
  • Gold Coast
182. Peregrine Falcon
  • Sandy Camp Rd Wetlands
183. Australian Reed-Warbler
184. Baillon's Crake
185. Great Egret
  • Port of Brisbane Shorebird Roost
186. Curlew Sandpiper
187. Red-Necked Avocet
188. Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper
189. Wood Sandpiper

Reptiles
  • Gold Coast
12. Common Tree-Snake
  • Moreton Island
13. Green Sea-Turtle
14. Major Skink
 
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