Zoochat Big Year 2025

Mammals
43. Franklin's Ground Squirrel Poliocitellus franklinii

Birds
348. Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata

Not a lifer, but my first in my home state:

Herps
19. DeKay's Brownsnake Storeria dekayi
Once again this year, some friends and I took a trip down to southern Illinois to the legendary Snake Road. Unfortunately, this year was kind of a downer. The weather was not on our side, with cool temps and rain. Compared to last year, where we got hundreds (possibly thousands, we lost track) of snakes, this year we got a grand total of 14. And I almost got bitten by a cottonmouth this time... Can't complain about the incredible lifer mammal, though!:

Mammals
44. Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo Dasypus mexicanus

Birds

349. Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis

Herps
20. Blanchard's Cricket Frog Acris blanchardi
21. Northern Cottonmouth Agkistrodon piscivorus
22. Gray Ratsnake Pantherophis spiloides
23. Cave Salamander Eurycea lucifuga
24. Eastern Newt Notophthalmus viridescens
25. Northern Zigzag Salamander Plethodon dorsalis
26. American Green Tree Frog Dryophytes cinereus
27. Cope's Gray Tree Frog Dryophytes chrysoscelis*
28. Mediterranean Gecko Hemidactylus turcicus

*almost certainly not actually the first time I've seen this species, but the first time I've been able to ID it
 
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568) Pink Cockatoo Cacatua leadbeateri
569) Black-faced Woodswallow Artamus cinereus
570) Crimson Chat Epthianura tricolor
571) White-winged Fairy-Wren Malurus leucopterus
I just realised I missed out a bird from Alice Springs here: White-winged Triller Lalage tricolor should be in at number 569. So all my birds since then are one out. And then when I was re-numbering my list I discovered I had used 663 twice in the East Timor list (below) which made me two birds out. My current total as per below should be 692.

I have recently been in East Timor for two weeks, which was mostly not very dedicated birding. I have been to West Timor before (the Indonesian side of the island) so that’s why only a few of the birds below are lifers in bold. I saw 78 species there, of which just over 40 were year-birds.

There is a thread starting here: Chlidonias Goes To Asia, part eight: East Timor 2025

Some photos here: East Timor (Timor-Leste) - ZooChat



BIRDS:


647) Drab Swiftlet Collocalia neglecta
648) White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus
649) White-shouldered Triller Lalage sueurii
650) Barred Dove Geopelia maugei
651) Streak-breasted Honeyeater Meliphaga reticulata
652) Timor (White-bellied) Chat Saxicola gutturalis
653) Timor Friarbird Philemon inornatus
654) Indonesian Honeyeater Lichmera limbata (lumped with Brown Honeyeater on eBird)
655) Pied Chat Saxicola caprata
656) Red-chested Flowerpecker Dicaeum maugei
657) Timor Oriole Oriolus melanotis
658) Fawn-breasted Whistler Pachycephala orpheus
659) Black-chested Myzomela Myzomela vulnerata
660) Marigold Lorikeet Trichoglossus capistratus
661) Yellow-eared Honeyeater Lichmera flavicans
662) Olive-headed Lorikeet Trichoglossus euteles
663) Helmeted Friarbird Philemon buceroides
663) Pacific Emerald Dove Chalcophaps longirostris
664) Spectacled Monarch Monarcha trivirgatus
665) Wallacean Drongo Dicrurus densus
666) Ashy-bellied White-eye Zosterops citrinella
667) Supertramp Fantail Rhipidura semicollaris
668) Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris
669) Plain Gerygone Gerygone inornata
670) Timor Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata
671) Wallacean Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina personata
672) Spotted Kestrel Falco moluccensis
673) Flame-breasted Sunbird Cinnyris solaris
674) Singing Bushlark Mirafra javanica
675) Tricoloured Parrotfinch Erythrura tricolor
676) Black-backed Fruit Dove Ptilinopus cinctus
677) Rose-crowned Fruit Dove Ptilinopus regina
678) Timor Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hyacinthinus
679) Sunda Bush-Warbler Cettia vulcania (lumped with Aberrant Bush-Warbler on eBird)
680) Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni
681) Sunda Cuckoo Cuculus lepidus
682) Timor Red-winged Parrot Aprosmictus jonquillaceus
683) Little Bronze Cuckoo Chalcites minutillus
684) Iris Lorikeet Trichoglossus iris
685) Tenggara Whistler Pachycephala calliope
686) Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus
687) Bonelli’s Eagle Aquila fasciata
688) Timor Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus presbytes
689) Tawny Grassbird Cincloramphus timorensis
690) Orange-sided Thrush Geokichla peronii
***) undescribed Gunung Mutis Parrotfinch Erythrura sp.
 
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Once again this year, some friends and I took a trip down to southern Illinois to the legendary Snake Road. Unfortunately, this year was kind of a downer. The weather was not on our side, with cool temps and rain. Compared to last year, where we got hundreds (possibly thousands, we lost track) of snakes, this year we got a grand total of 14. And I almost got bitten by a cottonmouth this time... Can't complain about the incredible lifer mammal, though!:

Mammals
44. Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo Dasypus mexicanus

Birds

349. Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis

Herps
20. Blanchard's Cricket Frog Acris blanchardi
21. Northern Cottonmouth Agkistrodon piscivorus
22. Gray Ratsnake Pantherophis spiloides
23. Cave Salamander Eurycea lucifuga
24. Eastern Newt Notophthalmus viridescens
25. Northern Zigzag Salamander Plethodon dorsalis
26. American Green Tree Frog Dryophytes cinereus
27. Cope's Gray Tree Frog Dryophytes chrysoscelis*
28. Mediterranean Gecko Hemidactylus turcicus

*almost certainly not actually the first time I've seen this species, but the first time I've been able to ID it
Looking back through my lists, I realized I forgot to count this one from about a month ago:

Mammals
45. American Ermine Mustela richardsonii
 
A long overdue lifer whilst birding in North-Central Victoria

Herptiles

16. Shingleback (Tiliqua rugosa)

A very productive session at Cranbourne Botanic Gardens. In addition to the new year list animals, two echidnas were also seen.

Mammals

15. Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isodon obesulus)

Birds

31. Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami)

Glossy Black Cockatoos are normally not found in Greater Melbourne with the closest sustainable populations in East Gippsland but since the Black Summer bushfires, there have been a small flock of cockatoos that have been alternating between Cranbourne Botanic Gardens and the Pines in Frankston as well as other reserves in the area. I only saw one individual, I have the exact pin if anyone here is interested in chasing them but they do not hang around for very long.
 
Boobooks (defined as the smaller members of the owl genus Ninox) have had a varied taxonomic history in Australia. Initially they were assumed to be a subspecies of the New Zealand morepork, then some time ago they were split. The Tasmanian population was initially described as a subspecies of the Australian species, then genetics indicated it was closer to the New Zealand species. Recent genetic work strongly indicates it is a species in its own right and is often treated as such now. However of course this is not yet accepted by everybody.

Recently it was also discovered that a portion of the Tasmanian species population migrates to the mainland and spends winter in southern Victoria. Of course, the chances of finding one are minimal; however, they seem to visit the Cape Liptrap lighthouse each October before flying back to Tasmania. Cape Liptrap is about one- and three-quarter hours' drive from home, so last night I drove down to see if I could find one.

355. Tasmanian boobook Ninox leucopsis

Wombats were out in force last night, I saw six on the drive down and two on the drive back.

35. Bare-nosed wombat Vombatus ursinus

Spring is two-thirds through, and while I have heard plenty of fan-tailed cuckoo calls, this is the first I have seen for the year.

356. Fan-tailed cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis
 
Birds
Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area, Kansas - August 9
273. Wood stork (Mycteria americana)
Michigan Valley Park, Kansas - August 13
274. Piping plover (Charadrius melodus)
SW Contrary Creek Road, Missouri - August 15
275. Buff-breasted sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)
Smithville Lake, Missouri - August 18
276. Neotropic cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum)
Cooley Lake Conservation Area, Missouri - August 30
277. Swallow-tailed kite (Elanoides forficatus)
278. Olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi)

Reptiles
Weston Bend State Park, Missouri - August 3
20. Eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Birds
Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri - May 18
279. Black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola) Forgot to include this species from a while back.
Lake Jacomo, Missouri - September 21

280. Red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
281. Pine warbler (Setophaga pinus)
Lake Contrary, Missouri - September 21
282. Common gallinule (Gallinula galeata)
Smithville Lake, Missouri - September 21
283. Common tern (Sterna hirundo)
Lake Contrary, Missouri - September 26
284. Marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris)
285. Swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
Lake Jacomo, Missouri - October 4
286. Sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) Finally!

Mammals
John Rushin Teaching and Research Prairie, Missouri - October 12
24. Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)
 
November 1, 2025

INVERTEBRATES:

47) Long-bodied Cellar Spider Pholcus phalangioides
48) Odorous House Ant Tapinoma sessile

MAMMALS: 12 taxa
BIRDS: 79 taxa
REPTILES: 6 taxa
AMPHIBIANS: 3 taxa
FISH: 17 taxa
INVERTEBRATES: 48 taxa
TOTAL: 165 taxa
 
Looking through my postings this year, I noticed that I had included glossy ibis twice, once in the Dominican Republic and once in Central Java. So, my birds should be on 354.
 
Nanjing, May 2025

Birds:
111. Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques)
112. Oriental Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)

Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo, May 19, 2025

113. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
114. Grey Treepie (Dendrocitta formosae)

Nanjing, June 2025

Mammals:
7. Amur Hedgehog (Erinaceus amurensis)
8. Siberian Weasel (Mustela sibirica)

Birds:
115. Oriental Reed-warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)

Laoshan, Nanjing, June 6, 2025

116. Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
117. Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha)
118. Hair-crested Drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus)
119. Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus)
120. Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher (Cyornis brunneatus)

Kumbum Monastery, Xining, August 14, 2025

Birds:
121. Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Zoo, Xining, August 14, 2025

122. Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
123. Chestnut Thrush (Turdus rubrocanus)
 
Seen in the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens today

Mammals
36. Swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor

Birds
355. Pallid cuckoo Heteroscenes pallidus
 
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