Zoochat Big Year 2024

Another nice day, another day for birdwatching, this time at Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Mammals:
18. Wyoming Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus elegans)

Birds:
75. Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus)
76. Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri)
77. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
78. Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
79. Green-Winged Teal (Anas carolinensis)
80. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
81. Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)
82. Clay-Colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida)
83. Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
84. Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
85. Pie-Billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

Only a few weeks until I go to Kenya for nearly a month! I intend on keeping stringent notes during my trip and I will be very excited to update this list when I return!

 

North of the Arctic Circle for a couple of days...the weather is bright and sunny with blowing ground snow and a balmy 16 F. Locals say there is a herd of Muskox near the river bluffs, but I wasn't able to locate them, however I did spot a small flock of residents and the first arctic migrant of Spring.

26: Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)
27: Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

now...to track down those Muskox.

 

I think I just had my sighting of the year this morning. A western tanager recently showed up at someone's front yard feeder, so I woke early to find it. It's been showing reliably about every 45 minutes. The good ole phone + binoculars trick worked well for me and I was able to snag a photo of it.

Birds:
4/22/24
133. Eastern towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
4/24/24
134. Western tanager Piranga ludoviciana

Total Species: 170
Birds: 134
Mammals: 10
Reptiles: 8
Amphibians: 1
Fish: 17

 

I've been hearing this species nearly every day for weeks but only today did I manage to see it:

Birds
395. Pine Warbler Setophaga pinus

 

Cloudy and windy weather at Navarre (and lack of binoculars) made bird-watching a challenge for all but the boldest species. However, despite the rain on the second day, I was able to see several lifers. Easily the most exciting was a pod of bottlenose dolphins (which is the first time I've seen them in the wild, making them a lifer), but the Mississippi Kite on the ride back and the Shoreline Wolf Spiders were neat sightings as well. The Sanderling isn't a lifer, I've seen them a number of times - but it is the first time I've actually chose to document them with eBird and officially add them to my life list, so I've chosen to bold them.

Mammals:
6. Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) – 4/21/24

Birds:
70. Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) – 4/20/24
71. Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) – 4/20/24
72. Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) – 4/21/24
72. Sanderling (Calidris alba) – 4/21/24
74. Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) – 4/21/24
75. Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) – 4/21/24

Invertebrates:
48. American Crown Conch (Melongena corona) – 4/20/24
49. Shoreline Wolf Spider (Arctosa littoralis) – 4/20/24

 

Birds

167. Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago 24/4/24

 

Invertebrates
30 Common Earwig Forficula auricularia
31 Woodlouse Spider Dysdera crocata
32 Black Garden Ant Lasius niger
33 Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus

 

A lovely day at Deganwy Beach in North Wales today on a field trip with some bird year ticks obtained:

110) Common tern Sterna hirundo
111) Sandwich tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
112) Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
113) Western house martin Delichon urbicum

 

An unexpectedly nice day gave me another local park's worth of sightings:
86. Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)
87. Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
88. Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)
89. Ruby-Crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
90. Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

 

Last year @Chlidonias went on a rather frustrating birding trip to Vanuatu, which, despite his best efforts, was confined to the Luganville area on Espiritu Santos island. He mentioned the
Aore Island Resort, across the channel from Luganville, which I looked up. I passed the details to my wife Sue, who almost immediately said "I want to go there". She actually found a deal for an seven night stay, so I did a little research. Aore Island is of a fair size and heavily vegetated. It appears most of the available bird species for the area are found there, so there would be some birding even if we did not leave the island. And so we booked our trip.

The only choice for transport is Air Vanuatu, and just like Chli, we had our issues. We booked the morning flight from Brisbane, which meant we had to fly up from Melbourne the previous day and stay overnight. First, they changed the departure to an hour later. No problems, we could sleep in an extra hour. Then a week ago we got notification that the flight had been put forward to the previous evening. The positive was that we would spend the night in Luganville, and have the whole day available rather than being in transit. The negative was I had to book an earlier flight from Melbourne, cancel our Brisbane hotel and book a Luganville hotel, as we would be too late to take a ferry to the resort.

Arriving at the Brisbane International terminal, we found some chaos at the booking counters. The Luganville flight had been combined with the Port Vila flight, and there were not enough seats. Obviously some people were going to be bumped, fortunately it was not us. Next surprise was that it was a Solomons Islands Airlines plane and crew. The problem was that Air Vanuatu's sole jet airliner was undergoing "unscheduled heavy servicing".

Arriving in Luganville, we confronted a very large shed where we were met with only one immigration official for "tourists", which was about 75% of the passengers. Each person seemed to take an age to be processed. Then customs wanted to confiscate Sue's essential medical supplies. As a result we did not arrive at our hotel till midnight.

Next morning I walked down to Unity Park. I hoped to visit the WW2 museum, but it was closed for a meeting. I did manage to see a couple of birds, change some money, and do some shopping before we caught the 11.30am ferry to the Aore Resort.

Luganville sightings:

Birds
405. White-rumped swiftlet Aerodramus spodiopygius
406. Coconut lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
Also lots of (introduced) common mynas and house sparrows.

Invertebrates
18. sp. blue butterfly Luthrodes cleotas

 

I think the moral of both stories is to never fly Air Vanuatu.

Maybe take a boat instead?

 

Birds
396. Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus

 

A few more local birds:

98 American Avocet Recurvirostra americana
99 Pine Siskin Spinus pinus
100 Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

Took a trip to South Texas with @ThylacineAlive and added a bunch of new birds!

101 Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
102 White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
103 Crested Caracara Caracara plancus
104 Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
105 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus
106 Western Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
107 Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
108 Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula
109 Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus
110 Red-billed Pigeon Patagioenas flavirostris
111 White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
112 Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
113 Neotropic Cormorant Nannopterum brasilianum
114 Gray Hawk Buteo plagiatus
115 Ringed Kingfisher Megaceryle torquata
116 Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana
117 Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
118 Ladder-backed Woodpecker Dryobates scalaris
119 Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
120 Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
121 Couch's Kingbird Tyrannus couchii
122 White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
123 House Wren Troglodytes aedon
124 Long-billed Thrasher Toxostoma longirostre
125 Clay-colored Thrush Turdus grayi
126 Olive Sparrow Arremonops rufivirgatus
127 Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
128 Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia
129 Wilson's Warbler Cardellina pusilla
130 Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
131 Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curvirostre
132 Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
133 Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus
134 Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
135 Cassin's Sparrow Peucaea cassinii
136 Clay-colored Sparrow Spizella pallida
137 Hooded Oriole Icterus cucullatus
138 Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
139 Inca Dove Columbina inca
140 Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni
141 Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens
142 Verdin Auriparus flaviceps
143 Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
144 Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
145 Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
146 Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis
147 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
148 Eastern Screech-Owl Megascops asio
149 Elf Owl Micrathene whitneyi
150 Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
151 Red-crowned Parrot Amazona viridigenalis
152 Green Parakeet Psittacara holochlorus
153 Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
154 Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
155 Snowy Egret Egretta thula
156 Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
157 Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
158 Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerulea
159 Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
160 Aplomado Falcon Falco femoralis
161 White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
162 Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
163 Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
164 Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
165 Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
166 Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
167 Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa
168 Willet Tringa semipalmata
169 Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
170 Least Tern Sternula antillarum
171 Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
172 Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
173 Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
174 Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
175 Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
176 Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
177 Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
178 Clapper Rail Rallus crepitans
179 Green Heron Butorides virescens
180 White Ibis Eudocimus albus
181 Tennessee Warbler Leiothlypis peregrina
182 Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
183 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
184 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
185 Sanderling Calidris alba
186 Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
187 Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
188 Sora Porzana carolina
189 Nashville Warbler Leiothlypis ruficapilla
190 Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
191 Northern Waterthrush Parkesia noveboracensis
192 Black-throated Green Warbler Setophaga virens
193 Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
194 Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
195 Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis
196 Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
197 American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
198 Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
199 Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
200 Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
201 Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
202 Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica

Then I've found some new arrivals back home:

203 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
204 Franklin's Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan
205 Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus
206 Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
207 Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis
208 Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
209 Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus
210 Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
211 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
212 Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
213 Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
214 Orange-crowned Warbler Leiothlypis celata

 

Was hoping to add some more species to my list while I was out in North Carolina recently, though I was only able to see/identify one new bird
Birds
24. Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Total: 24 Birds, 2 Mammals, 1 Reptile

 

There was a boat in port that does the Port Vila - Luganville run in about 9 hours. I could have taken Virgin to Port Vila, then a local flight to Luganville, but it was precisely the problems @Chlidonias had that made the direct flight attractive.

 

We arrived at the resort at lunchtime, and yes the food is not cheap, approaching Australian prices. Most of the remainder of the day was spent relaxing after the trip, and organizing ourselves. This morning was occupied with an excursion, so I have only done a little bit of wildlife watching in the resort grounds. However, by the calls around dawn, there will be a lot to see over the next few days.

Birds
407. Pacific imperial pigeon Ducula pacifica
408. Red-bellied fruit-dove Ptilinopus greyi
409. Yellow-fronted white-eye Zosterops flavifrons
Also saw a swamp harrier.

Reptiles
13. Copper-tailed skink Emoia cyanura
14. Azure-striped skink Emoia impar

As allured to, Sue's health is not the best at the moment, and this trip is very much about her, and won't involve any adventure excursions. However she does love dugongs and snorkeling coral reefs. Such a trip is offered, but I could only get in this morning, otherwise it is booked out (they only take six in the boat). The guide turned out to be a fascinating individual and he was largely responsible for replanting this reef. 10% of the fees from the trip go to local traditional owners, who guarantee the bay encompassing the reef, with its turtles and birds, remains a sanctuary.

Mammals
36. Dugong Dugong dugon

Birds
There was a tiny island used by terns for breeding. Daytrippers used to land and step on eggs, they are now banned.
410. Sooty tern Onychoprion fuscatus
Both greater crested, and I think, common terns were also present.

Reptiles
About 20 turtles were seen
15. Green sea turtle Chelonia mydas EN
16. Hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata CR
The ID of a sea snake is to be confirmed.

The coral reef was superb, the best I have ever snorkeled for colour.

 

Another nice surprise warbler on campus by the lake this morning:

114) Sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

As well as two more invertebrate year ticks:

54) Blotch-winged hoverfly Leucozona lucorum
55) Dock bug Coreus marginatus

 

More inverts between lessons later in the afternoon amongst a patch of nettles and red campion:

56) Silver-green leaf weevil Phyllobius argentatus
57) Three spotted nettle bug Liocoris tripustulatus