Zoochat Big Year 2025

Giant Eland said:
Been pretty slow so far this year, especially considering it was Dec 30th when I saw my only recent Raccoon- an unsettling daytime encounter right near near our house actually. About to go on a short trip this weekend, so hope to add a few more, plus some new captive lifers!

Long Island, NY:
1. Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) (Jan 7) *
2. White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (Feb 9)
3. Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) (Feb 22)
4. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

*I'm sure I saw a Gray Squirrel earlier than January 7th, but I forgot to write it down before that day haha.
Click to expand...

Back from a successful long weekend in Arizona with @RatioTile, and a meet up with @UngulateNerd92. Wild lifers in Bold!

Phoenix, AZ:
5. Round-tailed Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus tereticaudus) (Mar 8)
6. Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)
7. Harris' Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii)
8. Rock Squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus)

Madera Canyon, AZ:
9. Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) (May 9)
10. Collared Peccary (Dicotyles tajacu)
11. Hooded Skunk (Mephitis macroura)
12. Arizona Gray Squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis) (May 10)

Phoenix, AZ:
13. White-throated Woodrat (Neotoma albigula)

In addition to these wild mammals, I managed to photograph 4 new captive species that I'm looking forward to sharing on here.
 
Given I wasn't in lectures today me, my friend from college and my new birding friend since starting university made a trip out to RSPB Langford Lowfields to hopefully see a bird two of us hadn't previously seen before.

After picking up some bird year ticks we arrived at the 360, which is a viewpoint overlooking the reserve and our friend who picked out the Smew, which I'm still miffed on, from the other week with his very expensive scope managed to find the target species amongst a group of twelve Great White Egrets much to mine and my other friends delight. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos due to distance and also showing the birds through our scope to two Canadian birders who were very thankful and pleased to see the ibis.

111) Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis ispida
112) Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
113) Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
114) Glossy Ibis (2) Plegadis falcinellus
 
DaLilFishie said:
Catchup for the last few days :p

BIRDS
73 - Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes
74 - Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
75 - Nordmann's Greenshank Tringa guttifer
76 - White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae

FISHES
127 - Blackspotted Longtom Strongylura strongylura
128 - Longfin Batfish Platax tiera
129 - Humpback Batfish Platax batavianus
130 - Squaretail Mullet Ellochelon vaigiensis

INVERTS
38 - a box jelly, Chiropsella bronzie
39 - Snotty Jelly Cyanea barkeri
Click to expand...
INVERTS
40 - Brown-banded Cockroach Supella longipalpa
 
Ituri said:
BIRDS:
60 Canvasback - Aythya valisineria
61 Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura
62 Ross's Goose - Anser rossii
63 Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator
64 Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifrons
65 Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
66 Prairie Falcon - Falco mexicanus
67 Ring-necked Pheasant - Phasianus colchicus
68 Western Meadowlark - Sturnella neglecta
69 Ross's Gull - Rhodostethia rosea
70 Lesser Black-backed Gull - Larus fuscus
Click to expand...

BIRDS:
71 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa
72 White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis
73 Yellow-rumped Warbler - Setophaga coronata
74 Northern Bobwhite - Colinus virginianus
75 Cooper's Hawk - Astur cooperii
76 Purple Martin - Progne subis
77 Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe
78 Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla
79 Brown Creeper - Certhia americana
80 American Woodcock - Scolopax minor
 
Ding Lingwei said:
Kunming, January 15, 2025

Mammals:
1. Pallas's Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus)

Yaojiaping, Lushui, January 16, 2025

Birds:
20. Crested Finchbill (Spizixos canifrons)
21. Brown-breasted Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthorrhous)
22. Mountain Bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii)
23. Black-throated Tit (Aegithalos concinnus)
24. Chestnut-vented Nuthatch (Sitta nagaensis)
25. Blue Whistling Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus)
Click to expand...

Xiang'e Lake, Yingjiang, January 17, 2025

Birds:
26. Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)
27. Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus)
28. Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)
29. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
30. Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus)
31. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
32. Great White Egret (Ardea alba)
33. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
34. Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
35. White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
36. Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

Yingjiang Wetland Park, Yingjiang, January 17, 2025

Birds:
37. Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
38. Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus)
39. Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
40. Collared Myna (Acridotheres albocinctus)
41. Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata)

Near Downtown Yingjiang, January 18, 2025

Birds:
42. River Tern (Sterna aurantia)
 
Matthew Typpo said:
March 1-4, 2025

Mammals

5. Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
6. Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Birds

31. Red Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
32. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
33. Red Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

Invertebrates

2. House fly (Musca domestica)

Totals
Birds: 33
Mammals: 6
Invertebrates: 2
Total: 41
Click to expand...

March 14, 2025

Birds

34. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Reptiles

1. Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Fish

1. Silverjaw Minnow (Notropis buccatus)

Invertebrates

3. Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
4. Brown Water Scorpion (Ranatra fusca)

Totals
Birds: 34
Mammals: 6
Invertebrates: 4
Reptiles:1
Fish:1
Total: 46
 
Last edited:
Bisonblake said:
Little catchup from the past week. I forgot one species I've seen all over; I just never logged one.

2/26/25
63. Rock Pigeon Columba livia

3/4/25
64. American Wigeon Mareca americana
65. Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
66. Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
67. Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula

I took a day trip out to Ottawa NWR yesterday to check out the area early before the biggest week festival. I only checked out the refuge and Howard Marsh Metropark as I was exhausted from the night before. I almost went today instead and I'm kinda glad I didn't. I had four lifers, two of them I don't know if I would've seen today either. I had a Northern Shrike at the end of the walking pools of the refuge, thinking that was gonna be my favorite sighting today. As I was getting ready to head back to Indiana, I saw two people with their cameras pointed up. They looked pretty excited, so I thought this is either another Bald Eagle or something really cool. I found what they were looking at and there were two small flocks of Snow Geese! If I wasn't sitting in my car, I would've missed them by only a couple minutes.

3/9/25
68. Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
69. Northern Harrier Circus hudsonius
70. Northern Shrike Lanius borealis
71. Greater Scaup Aythya marila
72. Red-Breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
73. Double-Crested Cormorant Nannopterum auritum
74. Snow Goose Anser caerulescens
75. Common Merganser Mergus merganser
76. Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
77. American Pipit Anthus rubescens

Total species: 87
Birds: 77
Mammals: 10
Click to expand...
3/13/25
78. Brown-Headed Cowbird Molothrus ater

Total species: 88
Birds: 78
Mammals: 10
 
MRJ said:
In what has so far been the shortest night of the tour, we were up at 3.30am to start on a bit of early morning mountain birding. First stop was another night bird site where we got the Dominican Republic's only endemic owl, as well as better views of the nightjar.
89. Ashy-faced owl Tyto glaucops

We were to ascend Lahoz mountain to a birding site that apparently has some fame in birding circles, La Selles Corner. The road was in atrocious condition and the Hilux 4WD we were in was a size small for the likes of me. As the car and I swayed out of sequence, my head hit a handle situated above the door, every time I let my guard down. My health app recorded that I had climbed 247 flights of stairs due to the way we were bumped around on the way up.

Near the top we passed through what was an informal market for Haitian farmers to sell potatoes. On the way up the scene was empty besides a few sacks of potatoes and some rats, on the way back the scene was bustling with buyers and sellers and mules from Haiti laden with potato bags.
4. Black rat Rattus rattus

Birds
90. White-fronted quail-dove Geotrygon leucometopia EN
91. Hispaniolan emerald Riccordia swainsonii
92. Hispaniolan trogon Priotelus roseigaster
93. Narrow-billed tody Todus angustirostris
94. Hispaniolan parrot Amazona ventrails VU
95. Olive-throated parakeet Eupsittula nana
96. Hispaniolan peewee Contopus hispaniolensis (1000th passerine I have recorded seeing)
97. Hispaniolan elaenia Ellaenia cherriei
98. Flat-billed vireo Vireo nanus
99. Hispaniolan euphonia Chlorophonia musica
100. Hispaniolan crossbill Loxia megaplaga
101. Antillean (Hiispaniolian) siskin Spinus dominicensis
102. Black-throated blue warbler Setophaga caerulescens
103. Western chat-tanager Calyptophilus terlius (new Family)
104. Greater Antillian bullfinch Melopyrrha violacea
105. Green-tailed warbler Microligea palustris
106. White-winged warbler Xenoligea montana
107. Hispaniolan spindalis Spindalis dominicensis (new Family)
108. Golden swallow Tachycineta euchrysea
109. Bicknell's thrush Catharus bicknelli VU
110. Rufous-throated solitare Myadestes genibarbis
111. La Selle's thrush Turdus swalesi VU

About halfway down the mountain we stopped at a military post to observe the boarder with Haiti, which famously lacks growth other than grass on the Haiti side compared with lush grown on the Santo Dominican side. We saw the local subspecies of the loggerhead flycatcher, which our guide was very firm on being a full species. If so, it is an additional endemic.
112. Loggerhead flycatcher Tyrannus caudifasciaus

After stopping at many sites the previous day, we finally found another endemic after leaving the mountain.
113. Bay-breasted cuckoo Coccyzus rufigularis
Click to expand...
I have been back home for almost two weeks, and I would happily have missed most of what has happened in those two weeks. Finally, I have a little time to continue with my report.

Coming down the mountain seemed to take a lot less time than going up it but the road was equally rough. We then headed to our accommodation for the next four nights, a lodge in cloud forest owned by the conservation organisation Jorge is a director of. It was much more pleasant than the two previous hotels, and we arrived for a late lunch. On the way through we saw our first rhinoceros iguanas.

The lodge itself was surrounded by forest and while there were a number of birds, there were no new species. However Jorge did mistnet a bat, and we saw two new species of anole and a curlytail.

Mammals
5. Leech's single leaf bat Monophyllus redmani

Reptiles
14. Rhinoceros iguana Cyclura cornuta (EN)
15. Barahona green anole Anolis viridius
16. Anole sp. Anolis aridius
17. Hispaniolan masked curlytail Leiocephalus personatus

The next day was at lower elevations, where we were in dryer country. The morning was around open farmland, but with many tall palms. The afternoon was more arid, thorn scrub country, very reminiscent of Africa. Plenty of birds were seen, but only two new species for the trip.

Birds
117. Eastern chat-tanager Calyptophilus frugivonus
118. Yellow-faced grassquit Tiaris olivaceus
 
Last edited:
Day out at Whipsnade today added one bird, and then not one but five muntjac on the sides of the M1 on the way home at various points between Dunstable and Northampton.

Mammals:
13. Reeves' Muntjac - Muntiacus reevesi

Birds:
122. European Green Woodpecker - Picus viridis

:)
 
birdsandbats said:
Mammals
10. Big Brown Bat Eptesicus fuscus
Click to expand...

birdsandbats said:
Birds
105. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura

Herps
1. Northern Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta
Click to expand...
Birds
106. Green-winged Teal Anas crecca
107. American Wigeon Mareca americana
108. Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata
109. Canvasback Aythya valisineria

Mammals
11. Woodchuck Marmota monax
 
MRJ said:
I have been back home for almost two weeks, and I would happily have missed most of what has happened in those two weeks. Finally, I have a little time to continue with my report.

Coming down the mountain seemed to take a lot less time than going up it but the road was equally rough. We then headed to our accommodation for the next four nights, a lodge in cloud forest owned by the conservation organisation Jorge is a director of. It was much more pleasant than the two previous hotels, and we arrived for a late lunch. On the way through we saw our first rhinoceros iguanas.

The lodge itself was surrounded by forest and while there were a number of birds, there were no new species. However Jorge did mistnet a bat, and we saw two new species of anole and a curlytail.

Mammals
5. Leech's single leaf bat Monophyllus redmani

Reptiles
14. Rhinoceros iguana Cyclura cornuta (EN)
15. Barahona green anole Anolis viridius
16. Anole sp. Anolis aridius
17. Hispaniolan masked curlytail Leiocephalus personatus

The next day was at lower elevations, where we were in dryer country. The morning was around open farmland, but with many tall palms. The afternoon was more arid, thorn scrub country, very reminiscent of Africa. Plenty of birds were seen, but only two new species for the trip.

Birds
117. Eastern chat-tanager Calyptophilus frugivonus
118. Yellow-faced grassquit Tiaris olivaceus
Click to expand...
First stop today was in the Sierra Balneano National Park, primarily to see the island's second iguana, Ricord's iguana. An arid area, it was originally a seabed, and we walked constantly on dead coral pieces, albeit thousands of years old.

We also saw our final Hispaniolan endemic, the palm crow. That made 33 by our guide's count, although a few are not currently recognised widely as full species. There is a 34th, but that is only found in Haiti, and nobody volunteered to go and have a look.

Funnily, the white-necked crow was constantly seen in palms, feeding and nesting, while the palm crow is hardly ever seen near them. Also seen were burrowing owls at the nest burrows.

Birds
119. Mangrove cuckoo Coccyzus minor
120. Palm crow Corvus palmarum

Reptiles
18. Ricord's iguana Cyclura ricordii EN

In the afternoon we moved to the Dominican section of Lake Azuei, for our first attempt at water birds.

Birds
121. White-cheeked pintail Anas bahamensis
122. American wigeon Mareca americana
123. Blue-winged teal Spatula discors
124. American flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber
125. Reddish egret Egretta rufescens
126. Glossy ibis Plegadis falcinellus
127. Wilson's plover Anarhynchus wilsonia
 
Fun day at a windy and cold Frampton Marsh today - impressively active Brent Geese blacked out the sky with their sheer numbers and offered some great flight shots. A Rail ran straight across between the reed beds in front of me which was fun to see. In a more sheltered spot though a pretty little water bird that evaded the camera all last year was fishing away

70. Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, 16/03/2025, RSPB Frampton Marsh
 
MOG2012 said:
March 11, 2025
Today was a warm 62 degrees F (16.7 degrees C), and while at the park, one of these beetles landed on me.
INVERTEBRATES:
7) Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

MAMMALS: 3 species
BIRDS: 36 species
REPTILES: 1 species
FISH: 7 species
INVERTEBRATES: 7 species
TOTAL: 54 species
Click to expand...
Today was my last day in Chicago and I saw a well-fed Fox squirrel near a suburban house.

March 16, 2025

MAMMALS:
4) Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)

MAMMALS: 4 species
BIRDS: 36 species
REPTILES: 1 species
FISH: 7 species
INVERTEBRATES: 7 species
TOTAL: 55 species
 
Birds
76 White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons; a local twitch to see 2 associating with Greylags and Canadas; the following were three that should have fallen by now
77 Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
78 Great White Egret Ardea alba
79 Redwing Turdus iliacus
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top