Zoochat Big Year 2024

ThylacineAlive said:
Back home now from a few days away on Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. This wasn't a wildlife-focused trip at all, but rather a get-away with my partner for a long weekend. Of course, I still kept an eye out for any wildlife I could find and we did spend some time off the resort kayaking through some mangroves and snorkeling. I did find myself surprised at how difficult it was to find birds here, even within wildlife reserves. Talking to some locals, there apparently really aren't many birds resident on the island oddly. I was hoping to at least find some local Bahamas birds, but alas not to be this time. I did have some better luck with reptiles, including a very recently deceased Amergris Cay Dwarf Boa. Sadly never managed to find a live snake, but good to know they're around.

37) Osprey Pandion haliaetus
38) Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
39) American Kestrel Falco sparverius
40) Cape May Warbler Setophaga tigrina
41) Yellow-Throated Warbler Setophaga dominica
42) Prairie Warbler Setophaga discolor
43) White-Eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
44) Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
45) Sanderling Calidris alba
46) Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
47) Great Egret Ardea alba
48) Smooth-Billed Ani Crotophaga ani

1) Southern Bahamas Anole Anolis scriptus
2) Turks and Caicos Curly-Tailed Lizard Leiocephalus psammodromus
3) Tropical House Gecko Hemidactylus mabouia
4) Turks and Caicos Rock Iguana Cyclura carinata
5) Green Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas
6) Caicos Least Gecko Sphaerodactylus caicosensis

1) Caribbean Reef Shark Carcharhinus perezi
2) Lemon Shark Negaprion brevirostris

~Thylo
Click to expand...

I just realized I missed off three birds:

49) Common Ground Dove Columbina passerina
50) Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
51) Green Heron Butorides virescens

I also added a mammal this morning:

3) Striped Skunk Mephitis mephitis

~Thylo
 
Tonight I leave to visit Morocco, Western Sahara, Portugal and the Azores, but here's the mammals I've seen around Long Island, NY so far this year:

Long Island, NY:
1. Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus (Jan 1)
2. Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis (Jan 2)
3. Brown Rat, Rattus norvegicus (Jan 30)
4. Common Raccoon, Procyon lotor (Jan 31)
 
Bisonblake said:
Not sure why I marked that species as a lifer, but alright. A few more incidental sightings from the past week or so.

80. Ring-billed gull Larus delawarensis
81. White-breasted nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
82. House sparrow Passer domesticus
83. Red-tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis
84. Wild turkey Meleagris gallopavo

Total Species: 112
Birds: 84
Mammals: 6
Reptiles: 5
Fish: 17
Click to expand...
The weather is finally warm just in time for spring break. I'm waiting until I get home to do any dedicated birding, but I had a nice sighting this afternoon. There have been merlins reported on campus, so I decided to stake out at the library and wait while I finished up some last-minute assignments. After about 20 minutes, I heard the call of merlin and looked up to see there were two outside. One was flying around, and another was perched on the clock tower. I watched them for a solid 5 minutes before I lost sight of them.

2/9/24
84. Eastern bluebird Sialia sialis

2/23/24
85. Merlin Falco columbarius

Total Species: 114
Birds: 85
Mammals: 6
Reptiles: 5
Fish: 17

EDIT: Just noticed I accidentally marked ring-billed gull twice, so I moved my counts down by 1.
 
Junklekitteb said:
Since I live in a that is extremely limited in terms of bird life I’ve been able to see only a few species so far, as is usually the case early on in the year when I haven’t been able to go out birding yet. I probably won’t be able to for the foreseeable future.
Birds
1. Common Pigeon Columba livia
2. Black Kite Milvus migrans
3. Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus
4. House Crow Corvus Splendens
5. Jungle Crow Corvus macrorhynchus
6. Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
7. Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
8. Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
Mammals
1. Three-striped Palm Squirrel Funambulus palmarum
Click to expand...

Sorry for the all-too-long delay this early in the year, but it was unavoidable: I was busy writing my A-level exams. Between some last minute birding walks back in January before exam prep began, a visit to the Botanical Gardens lake for waterbirds, and incidental sightings throughout this period, I’ve racked up a fair count however.
Some real rarities include the Blue-bearded Bee-eater seen at my school (1st record for the location) seen completely unexpectedly (I looked out the window, saw it and immediately ran for binoculars); Eurasian Kestrel also near school on a bird walk (not as unusual but my first time seeing it in the Bangalore area); and many usually shy or hard-to-find birds such as woodswallows, hoopoes, yellow-eyed babblers, and even a sleeping pitta on a night walk. Spotted Owlet is unusual this early in the year, but thanks to some fantastic advice from a kind birder I learnt about a location for them in the botanical gardens where they can be easily seen. The Common Kingfisher I have never seen there before, however.
Birds
9. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
10. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus
11. Eastern Cattle Egret Bubulcus coromandus
12. Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus
13. White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
14. Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops
15. Indian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
16. Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylanica
17. Indian Grey Hornbill Ocyceros birostris
18. Grey-breasted Prinia Prinia hodgsonii (11th Jan Nightwalk)
19. Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura (11th Jan Nightwalk)
20. Red Spurfowl Galloperdix spadicea
21. Puff-throated Babbler Pellorneum ruficeps
22. Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis (12th PM Birdwalk)
23. Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus (12th PM Birdwalk)
24. Indian Robin Copsychus fulicatus (12th PM Birdwalk & Incidental)
25. Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus (12th PM Birdwalk)
26. Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus (12th PM Birdwalk)
27. Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis (12th PM Birdwalk & Incidental)
28. Indian Pond-heron Ardeola grayii (12th PM Birdwalk)
29. White-cheeked Barbet Psilopogon viridis (13th AM Birdwalk & Botanical Gardens)
30. Coppersmith Barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus (13th AM Birdwalk & Incidental)
31. White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus (13th AM Birdwalk & Incidental - not entirely satisfactory though)
32. Yellow-eyed Babbler Chrysomma sinense (13th AM Birdwalk)
33. Indian White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus (13th AM Birdwalk - briefly but hard to misidentify)
34. Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis (13th AM Birdwalk & Incidental)
35. Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus
36. Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer (16th PM Birdwalk)
37. Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris (16th PM Birdwalk)
38. Grey Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii (16th PM Birdwalk)
39. Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica (16th PM Birdwalk)
40. Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrorhynchos (16th PM Birdwalk & Incidental)
41. Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata (very bad sightings, but oh so many while travelling for exams - they can’t all be misidentified)
42. Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
43. Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
44. Eurasian Moorhen Gallinula chloropus (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
45. Grey-headed Swamphen Porphyrio poliocephalus (4th Feb Botanical Gardens - did a bloody vanishing trick on me)
46. White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
47. Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
48. Little Cormorant Microcarbo niger (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
49. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
50. Little Egret Egretta garzetta (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
51. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
52. Spotted Owlet Athene brama (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
53. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis (4th Feb Botanical Gardens)
54. Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri (4th Feb Botanical Gardens - Alexandrine Parakeets are invading the city in recent times - though I have not seen them, I didn’t want to count this species till I got a proper sighting)
55. Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda
56. Blue-bearded Bee-eater Nyctornis athertoni (14th Feb)
57. Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus (14th Feb)

I thought I’d compare my ‘first’ week of birding to previous years - not the actual first week of the year, when I usually see few birds, but the first week of serious birding. I’ve posted on Zoochat Big Year since 2020. In 2022 I did not post regular enough updates to compare, and in 2021 COVID prevented me from birding for too long to compare, but I could do so for 2020 & 2023. This is why I have tried to put dates for all the sightings this time but many were rather random so I don’t remember - all of those till 40 should be in the first week, producing a total of 32 species. In addition to these I saw a couple of species I don’t feel confident counting because of poor sightings such as flycatchers and Accipiters. Normally I’d suppose I’ll see them later in the year but this year my schedule is a bit unforeseeable so I shan’t assume anything. In 2023 I counted 36 species in the first week, most of which I saw this year as well. The main exceptions are some of the birds only found close to habitation, such as starlings and sparrows; peafowl (I did see one in the Botanical Gardens but not sure if it’s wild); and very strangely, doves, a very common group. I did see some doves that week, but too far away to ID them. However, I saw several ‘unusual’ species as I said above which I did not last year. In 2020 I got a lot of species early on (38) but this was mostly because I made it to the Botanical Gardens in the first week itself. Discounting these I saw only 19 species, most unusually Minivet which are oddly rare nowadays. I hope my increased total is due to my better skills as a birder, but an increase in birds overall would be good too :D.

Of course, I also saw mammals. The gerbil was a highlight: I’ve seen gerbils in Rajasthan but they were not indentifiable. This was also my first time seeing a gerbil hopping.
Mammals
2. Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata
3. Indian Gerbil Tatera indica (11th Jan Nightwalk)
4. Grey Slender Loris Loris lydekkerianus (11th Jan nightwalk)
5. Indian Flying-fox Pteropus medius (only briefly, I’ll keep a look out for more)

Sorry for the overly-lengthy update: I’ve really missed birding (and most of all being able to talk about it) for the past month so I poured way too much effort into this post.
 
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A very productive birdwatching day on the North coast of Wales today with sites visited being Bangor Harbour, RSPB Cors Ddyga, Penrhos Coastal Park, RSPB South Stack & Holyhead Harbour:

73) Little egret Egretta garzetta
74) Common redshank Tringa totanus
75) Lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus
76) Great white egret Ardea alba
77) Common snipe Gallinago gallinago
78) Dunlin Calidris alpina
79) Black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa
80) Northern pintail Anas acuta
81) European stonechat Saxicola rubicola
82) Greylag goose Anser anser
83) Western marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus
84) Greenshank Tringa nebularia
85) Brent goose Branta bernicla
86) Merlin Falco columbarius
87) Red-breasted merganser Fergus serrator
88) European shag Gulosus aristotelis
89) Black guillemot Cepphus grylle
90) Common guillemot Uria aalge
91) Red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
92) Cetti's warbler Cettia cetti
 
Migration has finally started here in Finland, with the first larks, lapwings, stock doves and other early migrators already making their way through the country! So today I spent some time surveying a field area in Helsinki, seeing some of the aforementioned birds.

Birds

109. Graylag goose, Anser anser 25/2/24
110. Eurasian skylark, Alauda arvensis 25/2/24
111. Great gray shrike, Lanius excubitor 25/2/24
112. Stock dove, Columba oenas 25/2/24
 
KiwiBirb said:
As I was driving down my street this morning, I saw a little cottontail exploring my neighbor’s lawn. It’s a bit mild today so it’s probably a good day for one to finally come out.

Mammals
9) Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Progress:
Mammals- 9
Birds- 65
Herptiles- 0
Total- 74
Heard-only Species- 1
Click to expand...
Last night, I heard some noise outside, and when got outside, the noise had stopped but I was able to see the shadows of what was most certainly a Raccoon. I also heard the calls of an unseasonable Hermit Thrush while in Overpeck County Park.

Mammals
10) Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Heard-Only Species
2) Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Progress:
Mammals- 10
Birds- 65
Herptiles- 0
Total- 75
Heard-only Species- 2
 
Bactrian Deer said:
Silly me forgot a bird that I saw on the way to a friend’s
38- Merlin, Falco columbarius, 2-10-2024 (Which pushes American Tree Sparrow to be my 55th bird)
And new additions:
56- Great Blue Heron, Ardea Herodias, 2-12-2024
57- Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, 2-16-2024
58- Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, 2-16-2024
59- Wood Duck, Aix sponsa, 2-18-2024
60- Great Horned Owl, Bubo Virginianus, 2-18-2024
61- Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata, 2-19-2024
62- Purple Finch, Haemophilus purpureus, 2-19-2024
63- Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris, 2-19-2024
64- Sandhill Crane, Antigone canadensis, 2-19-2024
65- Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 2-19-2024

Total: 68/100
Birds: 65
Mammals: 3
Click to expand...
66- Lapland Longspur, Calcarius lapponicus, 2-19-2024
67- Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, 2-20-2024
68- Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, 2-20-2024
69- White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, 2-20-2024
70- Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus, 2-20-2024
71- White-Winged Crossbill, Loxia leucoptera, 2-21-2024
72- Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus, 2-23-2024
73- Ring-Necked Duck, Aythya collaris, 2-23-2024
74- Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, 2-23-2024
75- Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, 2-23-2024
76- Fish Crow, Corvus ossifragus, 2-25-2024

Total: 79/100
Mammals: 3
Birds: 76
 
A day out in the sun at Whipsnade yesterday added one obvious missing bird, and I was 'fortunate' enough to be slowed down enough by speed limits through roadworks on the M1 afterwards to notice a muntjac feeding on the roadside.

Mammals:
13. Reeves' Muntjac - Muntiacus reevesi

Birds:
121. Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

:)
 
Mammals:

1. White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
2. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
3. Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
4. Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
5. American Mink (Neogale vison)
6. Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
7. Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Birds:

1. Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
2. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
3. Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
4. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
5. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
6. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
7. Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens)
8. Canada Goose (Branta canandensis)
9. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
10. Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
11. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
12. Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
13. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
14. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
15. Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
16. Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
17. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
18. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
19. Common Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
20. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
21. Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
22. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
23. Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
24. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
25. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodica)
26. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
27. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
28. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Mammals: 7
Birds: 28
Herptiles: 0
Fishes: 0
Invertebrates: 0
Total: 35
 
With spring on the doorstep amphibians are emerging from their winter quarters. In the meres moor frogs are croaking again and newts are trading their dull winter clothes for the bright colours of spring. During the short sunny interludes of the seemingly never-ending rain this winter, birds sing aloud and in the polders there the first spring migrants have appeared: godwits adorned with fiery orange plumage; black-backed gulls with bold dark wings; and skylarks ascending into the sky to proclaim the ownership of their patch of land with loud rasping songs.

Birds
133. Common Firecrest, Regulus ignicapilla
134. Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix
135. Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa
136. Ruff, Calidris pugnax
137. European Stonechat, Saxicola rubicola
138. Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
139. Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans

Amphibians
2. Common Toad, Bufo bufo
3. Moor Frog, Rana arvalis
4. Palmate Newt, Lissotriton helveticus

Moths
1. T-moth, Emmelina monodactyla

Gastropods*
1. Grey Field Slug, Deroceras reticulatum
2. Cochlicopa lubria

* I've decided to at least attempt to keep track of gastropods as their own category this year. Not yet sure if I'll keep it up through the year!
 
birdsandbats said:
By far the earliest I've ever seen this species! Must be the unseasonably warm weather we've been getting:

Mammals
34. Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus
Click to expand...

birdsandbats said:
Birds
343. Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos
Click to expand...
Last year was an incredible year for vagrants in Wisconsin, and this bird that showed up recently is hopefully an indication that this year will be as well! Also, a swan and a couple of mammals seen along the way looking for this wonderful little bird:

Birds
344. Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
345. Fieldfare Turdus pilaris

Mammals
35. Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
36. Fisher Pekania pennanti
 
CMP said:
I was wondering when you'd go get that :D
Click to expand...
Honestly the stars aligned, I didn't think I would get a chance to chase this bird, given it's nearly a four hour drive for me and I've been busy every day. But I got an event cancelled today so I had to go up and chase it. The bird hasn't been showing well or consistently for anyone, so I got lucky - an excellent view for maybe 40 seconds. ;) A local birder told me these were the best views gotten by anyone since it's showed up. My crappy digiscoped photos are some of the best pics anyone's gotten of the bird, too.

Basically, I don't recommend you make you way up to Ashland. :p
 
KiwiBirb said:
Last night, I heard some noise outside, and when got outside, the noise had stopped but I was able to see the shadows of what was most certainly a Raccoon. I also heard the calls of an unseasonable Hermit Thrush while in Overpeck County Park.

Mammals
10) Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Heard-Only Species
2) Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Progress:
Mammals- 10
Birds- 65
Herptiles- 0
Total- 75
Heard-only Species- 2
Click to expand...
I took a ride up to Parsons Pond Park today, where the coolest sight was a family of Mute Swan, however 5 other waterfowl species lined the pond, 2 of which are new.

Birds
66) Ring-Necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
67) Gadwall (Mareca strepera)

Progress:
Mammals- 10
Birds- 67
Herptiles- 0
Total- 77
Heard-only Species- 2
 
Bisonblake said:
The weather is finally warm just in time for spring break. I'm waiting until I get home to do any dedicated birding, but I had a nice sighting this afternoon. There have been merlins reported on campus, so I decided to stake out at the library and wait while I finished up some last-minute assignments. After about 20 minutes, I heard the call of merlin and looked up to see there were two outside. One was flying around, and another was perched on the clock tower. I watched them for a solid 5 minutes before I lost sight of them.

2/9/24
84. Eastern bluebird Sialia sialis

2/23/24
85. Merlin Falco columbarius

Total Species: 114
Birds: 85
Mammals: 6
Reptiles: 5
Fish: 17

EDIT: Just noticed I accidentally marked ring-billed gull twice, so I moved my counts down by 1.
Click to expand...
Another local Metropark visit with @Azamat Shackleford and another friend of ours we met during our August outing. There was a huge flock of about 300 redheads at the lake, with a few other species mixed in. We also saw a juvenile and adult bald eagle, and some sandhill cranes migrating back north. We were going to try to find some owls, but we were exhausted and decided to call it a day.

2/25/24
Birds:
86. Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
87. Mute swan Cygnus olor
88. American wigeon Mareca americana
89. Canvasback Aythya valisineria
90. Redhead Aythya americana
91. Ring-necked duck Aythya collaris
92. Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
93. Common goldeneye Bucephala clangula
94. Common merganser Mergus merganser
95. Hooded merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
96. Trumpeter swan Cygnus buccinator
97. Gadwall Mareca strepera
98. American black duck Anas rubripes
99. Sandhill crane Antigone canadensis
100!!!!!. Brown creeper Certhia americana

Mammals:
7. Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
8. Eastern chipmunk Tamias striatus

Total Species: 130
Birds: 100
Mammals: 8
Reptiles: 5
Fish: 17
 
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