Zoochat Big Year 2024

Quick Notice:
I have now decided to stop updating my invertebrate list as I seemingly do not have the time. I have also merged my Amphibians group with the Reptilians group as I do not expect to see too many reptiles, I hope this is okay. Now to the list…

Walthamstow Wetlands, 18th
After there being no sight of terns on my visit to London WWT, I decided to try out Walthamstow. Starting at the south end of the wetlands, I worked my way up the sight managing to see more than I was expecting. Terns galore one could say.

118. Common Tern, (Sterna hirundo)
119. Arctic Tern, (Sterna paradisaea)
120. Black Tern, (Chlidonias niger)
121. Common Swift, (Apus apus)
122. Greater Whitethroat, (Curruca communis)

Rock-O-Nore, Hastings, 19th
The next day, I decided that it would be nice to head down to Hastings for the day. As I scanned the cliff face watching a buzzard chase some rock doves away, I noticed a strange looking gull sitting on a nest.

123. Northern Fulmar, (Fulmarus glacialis)

Howletts Wild Animal Park, 27th
Decided to see how Howletts was getting on. Inside the ‘Deer Park’ there was a flock of Mandarin Duck, opposite the Bongo. I was decently surprised and equally confused on why I hadn’t yet seen this species.

124. Mandarin Duck, (Aix galericulata)

Other:
On the way back from the station, I escorted a slow worm, one of my favourite native reptilians, off the path. From the colouration it seemed to be male.

3. Slow Worm, (Anguis fragilis)

Total Species: 134
Birds: 124
Mammals: 7
Herptiles: 3
 
Singing in a conifer plantation by the salt marsh:

123) Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella

On the way back to the holiday cottage in one of the arable fields:

8) Brown hare Lepus europaeus

Oh and some inverts from the other day I had forgotten to mention:

153) Large white Pieris brassicae
154) German wasp Vespula germanica
155) Black bean aphid Aphis fabae
156) Rose aphid Macrosiphum rosae
 
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A great trip for a couple of days to Gloucestershire via Shropshire
Birds
119 Barnacle Goose Branta bernicla (feral flock)
120 Sand Martin Riparia riparia
121 Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
122 Common Crane Grus grus (with 2 ginger chicks!)
123 Hobby Falco subbuteo
124 Woodcock Scolopax rusticola
125 (White-spotted) Bluethroat Luscinia svecica cyanecula

Mammals
9 Fallow Deer Dama dama
10 Wild Boar Sus scrofa (a family party of boar, sow and piglet was a British tick)
11 Soprano Pipistrelle Pipistrelle pygmaeus

Invertebrates
68 Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans
69 Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
70 Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator
71 Hairy Shieldbug Dolycoris baccarum
72 Bordered Click Beetle Denticollis linearis
73 Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis
74 Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
75 Dronefly Eristalis tenax
76 Yellow-banded Sawfly Tenthredo temula
77 Small Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum
78 Wood White Leptidea sinapis
79 Brown Argus Aricia agestis
80 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus
81 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
82 Five-spot Burnet Zygaena trifolii
83 Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris tityus (a couple of seconds feeding on Valerian gave me an excellent lifer!)
84 Yellow Shell Camptogramma bilineata
85 Common Carpet Epirrhoe glyphica
86 Burnet Companion Euclides glyphica
87 Silver Y Moth Autographa gamma
88 Oak Eggar Lasiocampa quercus (caterpillar)
89 Wolf Spider Pardosa palustris
90 Cucumber Spider Araniella cucurbitina
91 Marsh Pond Snail Lymnaea palustris
92 Strawberry Snail Trichia striolata
93 Heath Snail Helicella itala
 
BerdNerd said:
3/30/24

6. Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
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5/23/24

7. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)


BerdNerd said:

4/17/24

Amphibians:

1. Squirrel Tree Frog (Dryophytes squirellus)
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5/29/24

2. Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)


BerdNerd said:
5/13/24

9. Smooth Ox Beetle (Strategus antaeus)
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10. Southern Masked Chafer (Cyclocephala lurida)


Total:

Mammals: 7
Birds: 92
Reptiles: 1
Amphibians: 2
Invertebrates: 10
 
We've a full 24 hours of sunlight and many of the small tundra ponds have melted and the arriving birds crowd them making for very exciting viewing. Here is an update:

Birds:

64. Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)
65. Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
66. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus - sitting on a small copse of elevated tundra next to a frozen lake...sadly I had no camera but my cell phone).

I also spotted my 14th mammal species of the year. A Brown Bear sow with three new cubs...very cute and very inquisitive.

Mammals:

14. Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
 
One of the advantages of fieldwork over sitting behind a desk is that one might stumble over some wildlife while at work. During an otherwise very boring day of fieldwork I crossed paths with a my first wild muskrat. I had mixed feelings about it - it is an invasive exotic but undoubtedly also a cool animal to see. There were no mixed feelings during an evening of nightjar monitoring - which yielded not only a sighting of the target species but there were also plenty of bats around (including a new species for the year list) and a large chorus of natterjacks.

If the weather permits next list might be quite long, but likely only for one species group.

Birds
194. European nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus

Mammals
19. Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus
20. Nathusius's Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus nathusii
 
A wonderful day on the edge of a conifer plantation in Lancashire in regard to inverts with a nice mix of both lifers and year ticks:

160) Variable tenthredo Tenthredo livida
161) Yellow-barred longhorn moth Nemophora degeerella
162) Common marble moth Syricoris lacunana
163) Larch spinner sawfly Cephalcia lariciphila
164) Orange-belted hoverfly Xylota segnis
165) Bordered click beetle Denticollis linearis
166) Cantharis pellucida (Soldier beetle species)
 
birdsandbats said:
Yeah come to think of it are you sure it was a meadowlark? They're way bigger than any sparrow. Maybe try looking at Dickcissel?
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I initially thought it was Dickcissel - maybe the "sparrow" was a poor comparison. They were more similar in size to Eastern Bluebirds - still smaller than I was thinking though.

It's been a bit since I've posted, and since then, I've visited several preserves in Auburn along with a weekend spent at Navarre, Florida. This gave me the chance to tick off several species of shorebirds and seabirds, particularly since it was nesting season, meaning that being mobbed by Least Terns was a regular occurrence. Some of the more interesting sightings in Florida included a Loggerhead Turtle (helpfully identified by a friend of mine researching at Dauphin Island, who pointed out that it being so close to shore means it probably was planning on nesting soon), a Coyote on US-280, several Snowy Plovers, all of which were banded, a Tricolored Heron stalking in a saltmarsh alongside a Green Heron (no luck on the Clapper Rail), my long-awaited Blue Grosbeak (a pair at a local demonstration forest), and my last common raptor in the area, the Broad-Winged Hawk.


Mammals:
8. Coyote (Canis latrans) - 5/17/24
9. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) - 5/26/24


Birds:
81. Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) - 5/15/24
82. Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) - 5/25/24
83. Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) - 5/25/24
84. Willet (Tringa semipalmata) - 5/25/24
85. Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) - 5/25/24
86. Wilson's Plover (Anarhynchus wilsonia) - 5/25/24
87. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) - 5/25/24
88. Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis) - 5/25/24
89. Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) - 5/25/24
90. Double-Crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) - 5/26/24
91. Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus tenuirostris) - 5/26/24
92. Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) - 5/26/24
93. White-Rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) - 5/26/24
94. Green Heron (Butorides virescens) - 5/27/24
95. Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) - 5/27/24
96. White-Eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) - 5/28/24
97. Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) - 5/28/24
98. Swainson's Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) - 5/28/24
99. Yellow-Throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica) - 5/28/24
100. Yellow-Breasted Chat (Icteria virens) - 5/29/24
101. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) - 5/29/24
102. Yellow-Throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) - 5/29/24
103. Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) - 5/29/24
104. Broad-Winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) - 5/29/24


Reptiles:
8. Six-Lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineatus) - 5/25/24
9. Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) - 5/25/24
10. Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) - 5/29/24


Amphibians:
9. American Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) - 5/25/24


Fish:
6. Inland Silverside (Menidia beryllina) - 5/26/24
7. Longnose Killifish (Fundulus similis) - 5/27/24
8. Sheepshead Minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) - 5/27/24
9. Striped Mullet (Mugil cephalus) - 5/27/24


Invertebrates:
52. Common Eastern Firefly (Photinus pyralis) - 5/18/24
53. Kudzu Bug (Megacopta cribraria) - 5/23/24
54. American Grass Mantis (Thesprotia graminis) – 5/25/24
55. Atlantic Sand Crab (Emerita talpoida) – 5/25/24
56. Brown Stink Bug (Euschistus servus) – 5/25/24
57. Atlantic Ghost Crab (Ocypode quadrata) – 5/26/24
58. Coastal Tiger Beetle (Ellipsoptera hamata) – 5/26/24
59. Eastern Beach Tiger Beetle (Habroscelimorpha dorsalis) – 5/26/24
60. Atlantic Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) – 5/27/24
61. Garden Ghost Spider (Hibana gracilis) – 5/27/24
62. Three-Spotted Horse Fly (Tabanus trimaculatus) – 5/28/24


Butterflies/Moths:
10. Juvenal’s Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) – 5/17/24
11. Monarch (Danaus plexippus) – 5/25/24
12. Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) – 5/25/24
13. Tulip Tree Beauty (Epimecis hortaria) – 5/28/24
14. Buck Moth (Hemileuca maia) – 5/28/24
15. Gulf Fritillary (Dione vanillae) – 5/29/24
16. Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) – 5/29/24
17. Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) – 5/29/24
18. Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) – 5/29/24


Dragonflies/Damselflies:
5. Golden-Winged Skimmer (Libellula auripennis) – 5/25/24
6. Four-Spotted Pennant (Brachymesia gravida) – 5/26/24
7. Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) – 5/28/24
8. Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) – 5/28/24
 
CarnotaurusSastrei said:
I did get attacked by a red-winged blackbird yesterday, but I was able to add two more species to my list for the year

Birds:
66. Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
67. Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca)

Totals: 67 Birds, 3 Mammals, 3 Reptiles, 3 Fishes, 2 Amphibians
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This is almost certainly going to be my last update for the next few weeks, as I will be on a trip across the Southwestern US for most of June. Hopefully it'll be an opportunity to add some new animals to my list.

Birds:
68. Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)
69. Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
70. Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
71. White-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
72. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)
73. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Totals: 73 Birds, 3 Mammals, 3 Reptiles, 3 Fishes, 2 Amphibians
 
I needed to go to Brockholes near Preston to organise a Binocular repair, and the took the opportunity to drop into Martin Mere; the former added 1 bird and 2 dragonflies, the latter 2 birds and a Hoverfly.
Birds
126 Common Tern Sterna hirundo
127 Tawny Owl Strix aluco
128 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

Invertebrates
94 Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens
95 Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata
96 Great Pied Hoverfly Volucella pellucens
 
Catchup time. I still have to look at what is on my waterproof camera, so may have more to add for Vanuatu.

Mammals
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens
39. Swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor

Birds
Panama - Canopy Lodge
429. Buff-rumped warbler Myiothlypis fulvicauda
Moonlit Sanctuary
430. Grey butcherbird Cracticus torquatus
Home
431. Australian raven Corvus coronoides

Reptiles
Vanuatu
20. Teal emo skink Emoia cyanogaster

Fish
Vanuatu
6. Slender garfish Hyporhamphus dussumieri
7. Banded snake-eel Myrichthys colubrinus (new Family)
8. Scissortail sergeant Abudefduf sexfasciatus
9. Oxeye scad Selar boops

Invertebrates
Vanuatu
25. Blue linkia sea star Linckia laevigata
26. Savigny's longspine sea urchin Diadema savignyi (new Class, Order and Family)
27. Teated sea cucumber Holothuria whitmaei EN
28. Pacific crow Euploea boisduvalii
29. Lewin's crow Euploea lewinii
30. Blue spotted crow Euploea midamus
31. Painted grasshawk Neurothemis stigmatizans
32. Long-flange millepede Orthomorpha coarctata (new Order and Family)
33. Thin-shelled rock crab Grapsus tenuicrustatus
Panama
34. sp. velvet ant Hoplomutilla xanthocerata (new Family)
35. sp. sphinx moth Madoryx oiclus (new Family)
36. Giant cave cockroach Blaberus giganteus (new Family)
37. Band-winged dragonet Erythrodiplax umbrata
38. sp. short-horned grasshopper Coscineuta coxalis
39. Giant red-winged grasshopper Tropidacris cristata
40. sp. katydid Balboana tibialis
41. sp. mantis Macromantis nicaraguae (new Family)
42. Silver garden orbweaver Argiope argentata
43. sp. docile scorpion Opisthacanthus elatus (new Order and Family)
44. Blue-winged helicopter Megaloprepus caerulatus
Moonlit
45. Autumn gum moth Mnesampela privata
46. Couch grass webworm Faveria tritalis (new Family)
47. sp. St. Andrews cross spider Argiope keyserlingi
48. Mountain huntsman Isopeda montana
 
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