Zoochat Big Year 2025

Had a fun bird in the lens to hit the 100 bird point with fine views of a Peregrine over the downs at Whipsnade. Great spot for lunch on the hill opposite the rhinos and lots of birds about with that falcon, Red Kites and Black Backed and Herring Gulls soaring around among the Corvids.

Birds

100. Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus, 27/06/2025, ZSL Whipsnade
 
amur leopard said:
A few more additions from Day 2 (no colugo... but a very cool kingfisher in the douc exhibit in return):

Mammals
10. Asian house rat, Rattus tanezumi

Birds
104. Stork billed kingfisher, Pelargopsis capensis
105. Changeable hawk eagle (from yesterday), Nisaetus cirrhatus
106. Malaysian pied fantail, Rhipidura javanica
107. Large billed crow, Corvus macrorhynchos
108. Rufous tailed tailorbird, Orthotomus sericeus
109. Olive winged bulbul, Pycnonotus plumosus
110. Red eyed bulbul, Pycnonotus brunneus
111. Pin striped tit babbler, Mixornis gularis

Reptiles
4. Common sun skink, Eutropis multifasciata
5. Sumatran flying dragon, Draco sumatranus
Click to expand...

Last couple of days:

Mammals
11. Smooth coated otter, Lutrogale perspicillata
12. Lesser short nosed fruit bat, Cyanopterus brachyotis

Birds
112. Asian openbill, Anastomus oscitans
113. Great billed heron, Ardea sumatrana
114. Great egret, Ardea alba
115. Intermediate egret, Ardea intermedia
116. Little egret, Egretta garzetta
117. Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus
118. Oriental pied hornbill, Anthracoceros albirostris
119. Collared kingfisher, Todiramphus chloris
120. Common flameback. Dinopium javanense
121. Laced woodpecker, Picus vittatus
122. Greater racket tailed drongo, Dicrurus paradiseus
123. White breasted waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus
124. Common tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius
125. Dark necked tailorbird, Orthotomus atrogularis
126. Pacific swallow, Hirundo tahitica
127. White headed munia, Lonchura maja
 
birdsandbats said:
Mammals
23. American Black Bear Ursus americana
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birdsandbats said:
Somehow I didn't have this one for the year yet:

Herps
14. Northern Leopard Frog Lithobates pipiens
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A dedicated herping day today. I'm still missing rattlesnakes of any species (despite my best efforts today), but I did get a different lifer:

Herps
15. Six-lined Racerunner Aspidoscelis sexlineatus
 
Hix said:
Never thought I'd be posting this as my first bird of the year, in Sydney:

Birds
1. Indian Peafowl (male)

:p

Hix
Click to expand...
It's probably time I posted again, at the halfway mark for the year.

Birds
1. Peafowl
2. Straw-necked Ibis
3. Australian Wood Duck
4. Pacific Black Duck
5. Dusky Moorhen
6. Eurasian Coot
7. Australasian Swamphen
8. Australian White Ibis
9. Little Corella
10. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
11. Red-rumped Parrot
12. Musk Lorikeet
13. Rainbow Lorikeet
14. Superb Fairy-wren
15. Bell Miner
16. Noisy Miner
17. White-plumed Honeyeater
18. Yellow Thornbill
19. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
20. Grey Butcherbird
21. Australian Magpie
22. Pied Currawong
23. Grey Fantail
24. Magpie-lark
25. Australian Raven
26. Australian Reed Warbler
27. Red-whiskered Bulbul
28. Silvereye
29. Common Myna
30. Red-browed Finch
31. Spotted Dove
32. Crested Pigeon
33. Australasian Grebe
34. Little Pied Cormorant
35. Little Black Cormorant
36. White-winged Chough
37. Masked Lapwing
38. Laughing Kookaburra
39. Sacred Kingfisher
40. Galah
41. Eastern Rosella
42. Brown Thornbill
43. Willie Wagtail
44. Striated Pardalote
45. White-browed Scrubwren
46. Wonga Pigeon
47. Pacific Koel
48. Satin Bowerbird
49. Australasian Figbird
50. Bar-shouldered Dove
51. White-faced Heron
52. Eastern Whipbird
53. Eastern Yellow Robin
54. Golden-headed Cisticola
55. Tawny Grassbird
56. Welcome Swallow
57. Common Starling
58. Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
59. Red Wattlebird
60. Noisy Friarbird
61. Olive-backed Oriole
62. Gang-gang Cockatoo
63. Australian King Parrot
64. Crimson Rosella
65. New Holland Honeyeater
66. Silver Gull
67. Australian Darter
68. Freckled Duck
69. Black Swan
70. Grey Teal
71. Hardhead
72. Royal Spoonbill
73. Australian Pelican
74. Australian Shoveller
75. Pink-eared Duck
76. Australian Spotted Crake
77. Blue-billed Duck
78. Leaden Flycatcher
79. Australian Pied Oystercatcher
80. Sooty Oystercatcher
81. Pacific Golden Plover
82. Siberian Sand-plover
83. Double-banded Plover
84. Grey-tailed Tattler
85. Ruddy Turnstone
86. Red-necked Stint
87. Sanderling
88. Crested Tern
89. Great Cormorant
90. Pied Cormorant
91. Osprey
92. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
93. Little Wattlebird
94. Rockwarbler
95. Fan-tailed Cuckoo
96. Lewin's Honeyeater
97. Spotted Pardalote
98. Large-billed Scrubwren
99. Golden Whistler
100. Green Catbird
101. Bassian Thrush
102. White-throated Treecreeper
103. Brown Gerygone
104. Double-barred Finch
105. Wedgetailed Eagle
106. Little Lorikeet
107. Grey Shrike-thrush
108. Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
109. Superb Lyrebird
110. Eastern Spinebill
111. Dusky Woodswallow
112. Common Blackbird
113. Musk Duck
114. Common Bronzewing
115. Peaceful Dove
116. Black-fronted Dotterel
117. Hoary-headed Grebe
118. Yellow-billed Spoonbill
119. Mallee Ringneck
120. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater
121. Apostlebird
122. Black-shouldered Kite
123. Black Kite
124. Singing Honeyeater
125. Restless Flycatcher
126. Little Grassbird
127. Great Egret
128. Yellow-throated Miner
129. Pied Butcherbird
130. House Sparrow
131. White-winged Fairy
132. Zebra Finch
133. Inland Thornbill
134. Splendid Fairy-wren
135. Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
136. White-browed Babbler
137. Crested Bellbird
138. Red-capped Robin
139. Mistletoebird
140. Emu
141. Mulga Parrot
142. Southern Whiteface
143. White-eared Honeyeater
144. Striped Honeyeater
145. Gilbert's Whistler
146. Hooded Robin
147. Brown Treecreeper
148. Little Raven
149. Tree Martin
150. Superb Parrot
151. Whistling Kite
152. Rock (Feral) Dove
153. Rufous Whistler
154. Yellowtail Black ockatoo
155. Scarlet Robin
156. Tawny Frogmouth
157. Buff-banded Rail
158. White-cheeked Honeyeater
159. Spangled Drongo
160. Swift Parrot

Mammals
1. Grey-headed Fruit Bat
2. European Rabbit
3. Eastern Grey Kangaroo
4. Swamp Wallaby
5. Koala
6. Brown Hare
7. Western Grey Kangaroo
8. Red Fox
9. Wallaroo

Reptiles
1. Eastern Water Skink
2. Jacky Dragon
3. Short-necked Turtle

Invertebrates
1. Australian Hornet (Abispa ephippium)
2. Black Wasp (Austroscolia soror)
3. Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata)
4. Asian Paper Wasp (Polistes chinensis)
5. Botany Bay Cockroach (Polyzosteria limbata)
6. White-tailed Spider (Lampona cylindrata)
7. Blue-banded Bee (Amegilla cingulata)
8. Many-spotted Green Flower Spider (Lehtinelagia multopunctata)
9. Meadow Argus (Junonia villida)
10. Fiery Skimmer (Orthetrum villosovittatum)
11. Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi)
12. Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
13. Cowboy Beetle (Chndropyga dorsalis)
14. Blue-eyed Lacewing (Nymphes myrmeleonides)
15. Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonum)
16. Plague Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus lugubris)
17. Dainty Swallowtail (Papilio anactus)
18. Leaf-curling Spider (Phonognatha graeffei)
19. St Andrews Cross Spider (Argiope keyserlingi)
20. Garden Orb-weaving Spider (Eriophora transmarina)
21. Common Brown (Heteronympha merope)
22. Lesser Wanderer Butterfly (Danaus petilia)
23. Golden Orbweaver (Nephila plumipes)

Fish
1. Carp

:p

Hix
 
A good number of inverts from the last week and a bit which involved moth trapping and just general spotting out & about:

*It must be noted that this year, thus far, has been a poor show for me on invert species diversity as I have not got out to undertake sweep netting on a regular basis. Moth trapping has also been very lax this year with last week's being only the second this annum.

177) Plain Golden Y Autographa jota
178) The Gothic Naenia typica
179) Light Arches Apamea lithoxylaea
180) Freyer's Pug Eupithecia intricata
181) Common Marble Syricoris lacunana
182) Purple Bar Cosmorhoe ocellata
183) Burnished Brass Diachrysia chrysitis
184) Bright-line Brown-Eye Lacanobia oleracea
185) Purple Clay Diarsia brunnea
186) Smoky Wainscot Mythimna impura
187) Middle-Barred Minor Oligia fasciuncula
188) Double Square-Spot Xestia triangulum
189) Pale-shouldered Brocade Lacanobia thalassina
190) Buff Ermine Spilosoma lutea
191) Peppered Moth Biston betularia
192) Silver Y Autographa gamma
193) Dark Arches Apamea monoglypha
194) Small Angle Shades Euplexia lucipara
195) Clouded-bordered Brindle Apamea crenata
196) Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella
197) Barred Straw Gandaritis pyraliata
198) Heart and Dart Agrotis exclamationis
199) Eurasian Hummingbird Hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum
200) Pied Hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri
201) Latticed Heath Chiasmia clathrata
202) Comfrey Ermine Ethmia quadrillella
203) The Flame Axylia putris
204) The Clay Mythimna ferrago
205) Red-necked Footman Atolmis rubricollis
206) Rough-haired Lagria Beetle Lagria hirta
207) Bee Moth Aphomia sociella
 
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Time for a messy catch-up post. :D

First, some UK additions from various minor excursions in June, including completing the standard UK thrushes at Stanage Edge, my first attempt this year at nightjars (heard-only but woodcock plentiful), and some fishes from Cromford Canal

Birds:
173. Ring Ouzel - Turdus torquatus
174. Eurasian Woodcock - Scolopax rusticola

(UK: 171)

Fishes:
4. Northern Pike - Esox lucius
5. European Chub - Squalius cephalus

Invertebrates:
43. Banded Demoiselle - Calopteryx splendens
44. Meadow Brown - Maniola jurtina
45. Small White - Pieris rapae


Then - some wildlife additions from the last week spent zooing in Bavaria and western Austria. Mostly incidental stuff (storks in fields at the roadside (and nesting around the zoos) and lizards on exposed rocks, that sort of thing) but including a quick jaunt up the Nordkette mountain above Alpenzoo Innsbruck that added a couple of higher-altitude birds and, in a moment that justified the unusual zoo trip inclusion of binoculars in my limited luggage, a scattering of Alpine Chamois on the scree the other side of Nordkette (which completes my wild chamois 'set' at species level, having twice seen Southern Chamois in Spain). The barbels were in the frenzy of large Chub and trout waiting to be fed under the bridge over the river in Tiergarten Wels - the zoo's website confirms these are all wild fish and not contained (and as such not always present!).

Mammals:
22. Wood Mouse - Apodemus sylvaticus
23. Northern Chamois - Rupicapra rupicapra

Birds:
175. White Stork - Ciconia ciconia
176. Alpine Chough - Pyrrhocorax graculus
177. Alpine Accentor - Prunella collaris
178. Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus

(UK: 171)

Reptiles:
2. Common Wall Lizard - Podarcis muralis

Amphibians:
5. Edible Frog - Pelophylax kl. esculenta

Fishes:
6. Common Barbel - Barbus barbus

Invertebrates:
46. European Hornet - Vespa crabro
47. Beautiful Demoiselle - Calopteryx virgo
48. Violet Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa violacea
49. Common Swallowtail - Papilio machaon
50. Hummingbird Hawkmoth - Macroglossum stellatarum
51. Comma - Polygonia c-album

:)
 
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Pertinax said:
Round a ski lift centre or similar or did you have to go higher up?.
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At the top of the cable car on Nordkette - so a funicular from Innsbruck old town, then a cable car to the skiing area/restaurant and a second short cable car to the very top. :)
 
DaLilFishie said:
BIRDS
200 - Musk Duck Biziura lobata
201 - Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
202 - Australasian Shoveler Spatula rhynchotis
203 - Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata
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BIRDS
204 - Crescent Honeyeater Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus
205 - Grey Currawong Strepera versicolor

FISHES
148 - Southern Hulafish Trachinops caudimaculatus
 
CarnotaurusSastrei said:
Some new additions from over the past week or so

Birds
87. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
88. Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
89. Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
90. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Amphibians
1. American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)

Fishes
2. Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
3. Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)
4. Largemouth Bass (Micropterus nigricans)

Totals: 89 Birds, 14 Mammals, 1 Reptile, 1 Amphibian, 4 Fishes, 7 Invertebrates
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Waiting to get some IDs on a couple of fish that I saw, but in the meantime, here are some other animals I saw yesterday (plus a couple invertebrates that I thought I'd add, though I'm still kinda on the fence when it comes to whether or not to keep tracking them the same way I do with vertebrates)

Birds
91. Black-Bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
92. Black-Bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)

Reptiles
2. Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Invertebrates
8. Common Eastern Firefly (Photinus pyralis)
9. Margined Calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus)
10. Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Totals: 92 Birds, 14 Mammals, 2 Reptiles, 1 Amphibian, 4 Fishes, 10 Invertebrates
 
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100-butterflies-tally: 63/100

I'm nearing the end of the small interlude between my two major trips abroad this year, so it's time to give an update before I head off to Central Europe. I had plans to try to find four butterfly species that would be the easiest to see in the Netherlands during the interlude: gatekeeper, white admiral, ilex hairstreak and purple emperor. I expected to see the former two but not the latter two, but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

Despite two dedicated searched I couldn't find Ilex hairstreak, as expected, but I did find gatekeeper and purple hairstreak as consolation prizes, as well as he largest flocks of meadow browns I'd ever seen. I was rather astonished to find a surprise purple emperor when I was out and about with a grasshopper-obsessed friend of mine. The species was known from that particular reserve, I just never imaged I would actually see one. It wasn't the best sighting but it was acceptable.

Then there's white admiral, which I did a dedicated search for. It was the first butterfly search for the year that I plainly didn't enjoy. Part of it was because I went purely with my 100-butterfly goal in mind, and not because I was in the mood for wildlife watching. Despite the early hour, it was already hot and humid when I arrived at the white admiral site. The weather made me feel drained as only a northern European who has never experienced actual hot and humid weather can feel. The area was also home to a pack of particularly dedicated horseflies, so the whole walk I was swatting them away but they kept returning with a vengeance. I did find white admirals: two I could observe with as much leisure as the horseflies permitted, and another one or two that flitted away too quickly to count. They're fantastic little things, the way they glide through the trees, but I quickly had enough of the weather and the horseflies so I returned home early.

So a bunch of butterflies and grasshoppers today, and two dragonflies for good measure, including the grasshoppers identified from France.

Butterflies
059. Purple Hairstreak, Favonius quercus
060. Ringlet, Aphanotopus hyperantus
061. Purple Emperor, Apatura iris
062. Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus
063. White Admiral, Limenitis camilla

Dragonflies
41. Ruddy Darter, Sympetrum sanguineum
42. Dainty Bluet, Coenagrion scitulum

Grasshoppers
02. Egyptian Locust, Anacridium aegyptium
03. Great Green Bush Cricket, Tettigonia viridissima
04. Woodland Grasshopper, Omocestus rufipes
05. Migratory Locust, Locusta migratoria (solitairy form)
06. Wart-biter, Decticus verrucivorus
07. Southern Wart-biter, Decticus alibrons
08. Common Field Grasshopper, Chorthippus brunneus
09. Meadow Grasshopper, Pseudochorthippus parallelus
10. Blue-winged Grasshopper, Oedipoda caerulescens
11. Mottled Grasshopper, Myrmeleotettix maculatus
12. Blue-winged Locust, Sphingonotus cearulans
13. Roesel's Bush Cricket, Roeseliana roeselii
14. Short-winged Conehead, Conocephalus dorsalis
 
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