ZooChat Big Year 2018

Birds
8. Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
9. Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura)
10. Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
11. Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Mammals
1. Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

 

A couple from the past week, I really need to go somewhere with birds (even just a mallard!).

26. Western Jackdaw Coloeus monedula
27. Canada Goose Branta canadensis

 

Same here Macaw; I'm heading back down to university today, so will hopefully pick up a few on the train/ on campus this weekend!

 

13/1/2018
88. Eastern rosella
89. White winged chough

 

After a couple of failed attempts, opportunity and weather finally coincided for me to go on a crossbill hunt to Howden Reservoir on the Dark Peak fringes of Derbyshire. And it was rewarded with the year's first lifer:

82. Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris
83. Parrot Crossbill - Loxia pytyopsittacus
84. Common Crossbill - Loxia curvirostra

 

My bird feeders are very busy today.

Birds
24. House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

 

A few sightings from today's train journey:

Birds
26. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
27. Greylag Goose, Anser anser
28. Rook, Corvus frugilegus
29. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
30. Common Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus
31. Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
32. Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
33. Common Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
34. Red Kite, Milvus milvus
there were also a large flock of swans feeding in some stubble fields, but they were too distant and gone too quick to get an ID.

Mammals
2. European Brown Hare, Lepus europaeus

 

For some reason all thousand rabbits of Santiago de Chile airport decided they did not like the heat, so they remained hidden. But there is still a bird list to add for this year, all birds from Torres del Paine NP in Chile and Perito Moreno and El Calafate in Argentina

1. Southern caracara
2. Imperial cormorant
3. Rock cormorant
4. Crested duck
5. Upland goose
6. Dark-faced ground tyrant
7. Brown-hooded gull
8. Kelp gull
9. Variable hawk
10. Long-tailed meadowlark
11. Magellanic oystercatcher
12. Yellow-billed pintail
13. Correndera pipit
14. Black-chinned siskin
15. House sparrow
16. Feral rock pigeon
17. Speckled teal
18. Austral thrush
19. Chiloe wigeon
20. Sedge wren
21. Austral blackbird
22. Chimango caracara
23. Dark-bellied cincloded
24. Andean condor
25. White-winged coot
26. Neotropic cormorant
27. Fire-eyed diucon
28. Eared dove
29. Andean duck
30. Torrent duck
31. White-crested elaenia
32. Chilean flamingo
33. Chilean flicker
34. White-tufted grebe
35. Great grebe
36. Cinereous harrier
37. Black-faced ibis
38. American kestrel
39. Southern lapwing
40. Common miner
41. Austral negrito
42. Austral parakeet
43. Rufous-tailed plantcutter
44. Thorn-tailed rayadito
45. Darwin's rhea
46. Grey-hooded sierra finch
47. Patagonian sierra finch
48. Rufous collared sparrow
50. Flying steamer duck
51. Chilean swallow
52. Black-necked swan
53. Coscoroba swan
54. White-throated treerunner
55. Southern house wren
56. Grey-flanked cinclodes
57. Spectacled tyrant
58. Cinnamon teal
59. Red shoveler
60. Wrenlike rushbird
61. Blue-and-white swallow
62. Variable hawk

That's it for S-America in January, I am now back in Europe, but only for a week...

 

14/1/2018
90. australian hobby

 

Birds
35. Great Tit, Parus major
36. Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes
37. White Wagtail, Motacilla alba

 

A day trip to a large reservoir (Zegrze Reservoir) about 45 minutes drive away added lots of nice species thanks to having a scope:

34) White-tailed Sea-eagle (dozens winter around the reservoir - super cool)
35) Velvet Scoter
36) Long-tailed Duck
37) Smew (largest number of these I've ever seen - total of 6 males and 11 females seen)
38) Common Goldeneye
39) Red-breasted Merganser
40) Tufted Duck
41) Greater Black-backed Gull
42) Greater Scaup
43) Black-throated Diver
44) Eurasian Teal
45) Common Scoter
46) Green Woodpecker
47) Bean Goose
48) Eurasian Siskin
49) Twite
50) European Greenfinch
51) Red-throated Diver
52) Linnet
53) Common Redpoll
54) European Herring Gull
55) Common (Mew) Gull

My only bird of prey so far this year is dozens of sea eagles! Still no buzzards!

 

Spent today at Slimbridge, where I accidentally coincided with another thread participant while watching Water Rails and then had an 'escape lifer' (is that a thing?), followed by a call in for a second true lifer of the weekend near Gloucester:

Birds:
85. Bewick's Swan - Cygnus columbianus
86. Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifrons
87. Ruff - Philomachus pugnax
88. Water Rail - Rallus aquaticus
89. Little Stint - Calidris minuta
90. European Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus
91. Common Crane - Grus grus
n/a. Red-breasted Goose - Branta ruficollis*
92. Common Snipe - Gallinago gallinago
93. Lesser Redpoll - Acanthis flammea
94. Eurasian Penduline Tit - Remiz pendulinus

Mammals:
7. Brown Rat - Rattus norvegicus

*not counted for the total, as the individual in question is most likely an escape, but it's the first 'free-living' one I've seen so worthy of some note at least.

 

A couple of species found locally yesterday:
96. Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
97. Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)

Today's list may look rather similar to the previous post!
98. Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
99. Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus)
100. Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus)
101. Pintail (Anas acuta)
102. Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
103. Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus)
104. Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
105. Crane (Grus grus)
106. White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)
107. Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)

 

1/14/18

Mammals
2. House mouse

Birds
7. European starling
8. Blue jay
9. American robin
10. Pileated woodpecker

 

I finally got out somewhere with birds (Wheldrake Ings), I suspect I saw some rarer gulls in the roost, but I am hopeless with gulls....

28. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
29. Mute Swan Cygnus olor
30. Eurasian Teal Anas crecca
31. Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
32. Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope
33. Eurasian Coot Fulica atra
34. Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
35. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
36. Northern Shoveller Spatula clypeata
37. Eurasian Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
38. Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
39. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
40. Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
41. Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
42. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo

 

Walking through an arboretum with a friend I was able to pick up almost 30 species of birds, and among them a couple of new ones for 2018. A flock of a few dozen hawfinches was definately the highlight of the day. I also reached the magical number of one hundred species today.

Birds
98. European greenfinch [Chloris chloris]
99. Hawfinch [Coccothraustes coccothraustes]
100. Mistle thrush [Turdus viscivorus]
101. Long-eared owl [Asio otus]

 

BIRDS:
72) Mistle thrush, Turdus viscivorus

 

BIRDS:
70 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius
71 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa
72 Redhead - Aythya americana
73 White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica
74 Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon

MAMMALS:
3 Eastern Cottontail - Sylvilagus floridanus

 

Yes! Forgot about the opossum. Nice catch.