ZooChat Big Year 2017

3/10/2017
220. BAILLON'S CRAKE*
221. Australian spotted crake
222. plum headed finch
223. white winged triller

 

BIRDS:
246) Tree pipit, Anthus trivialis

 

Went quite far out to a place where a lot of very interesting highlights have been seen this year, mainly to find vipers and snake-eagles. Not much luck on either of those because of the horrible weather, but I did manage to find the following:

BIRDS:
247) Redwing, Turdus iliacus
248) Redpoll, Acanthis flammea
249) European golden plover, Pluvialis apricaria
250) Common linnet, Linaria cannabina

A very notable heard-only species was a little bunting (Emberiza pusilla) that hung around the entire morning and called often, but unfortunately we couldn't manage to see it.

 

Mammals:
10. Feral Pig (Sus Domesticus)

Amphibians:
3. Eastern Sedgefrog (Litoria fallax)

 

A visit to the same place today got me another bunch of very nice additions:

BIRDS:
251) Eurasian siskin, Spinus spinus
252) Black woodpecker, Dryocopus martius
253) Red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
254) Mistle thrush, Turdus viscivorus
255) Lesser spotted woodpecker, Dryobates minor

 

One more from Flamborough Head (7/10/2017):

128. European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola

 

5/10/2017
224. noisy friarbird

 

Small update from a visit to the Netherlands with some bird additions from Schiermonnikoog (I was stupid enough to forget my binoculars though...) and a sighting of my favorite European mammal in Zuid-Limburg:

400. Common wheatear
401. Brent goose
402. Northern shoveler
403. Meadow pipit
404. Barn owl
405. Greater black-backed gull
406. Black-tailed godwit
407. Curlew
408. Eider
409. Common scoter

Mammals:

83. Hazel dormouse

 

And finally a new addition:

158 - Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe

 

A day-and-a-half of birding this weekend in Derbyshire and Norfolk produced one new year bird:

Birds:
212. Merlin - Falco columbarius

(UK total: 197)

Also saw my first wild Black Brant (B. b. nigricans), which was nice, if not a count addition (being actually the third Brent Goose subspecies of the year!).

 

And finally, after over a month, I have added a new bird to my list making 2017 my most successful birdwatching year so far:

158. Little stint Calidris minuta

 

109) European Quail

 

Are you sure it was a quail, normally European quails are well on their way to Africa by now, so a Partridge would be a lot more logical.

 

Yes it would be a grey partridge. I assumed it was quail because of how it looked like in flight and the way it blended into the light brown background.

 

Finally got back from a trip to North Norfolk. I managed to add one other new bird plus a new mammal and a new butterfly (I don't expect to add anymore of those this year):

159. Sanderling Calidris alba

25. Chinese water deer Hydropotes inermis (Vu)

24. Wall butterfly Lasiommata megera

 

A long overdue update (prompted by a very satisfying double-lifer day):

221. Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
222. Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
223. Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
224. Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)
225. Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
226. Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)
227. Great Skua (Stercorarius skua)
228. Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)
229. Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)
230. Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)
231. Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)
232. Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)
233. Rose-coloured Starling (Pastor roseus)

 

Probably the most random list of additions over the last one and a half month, including a quick holiday to Rome.
149. Ross's Goose (Anser rossii)
150. Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)
151. Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
152. Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
153. Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)
154. Italian Sparrow (Passer italiae)

MAMMALS
13. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
14. Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)
15. Coypu (Myocastor coypus)

HERPTILES
4. Western Whip Snake (Hierophis viridiflavus)
5. Italian Wall Lizard (Podarcis siculus)