ZooChat Big Year 2019

Or be talked into starting a trip thread detailing the events of his adventures and short reviews of the zoos visited only to trail off of it after a short while, coming back to it every once in a blue moon but ultimately never truly completing the original task

~Thylo

 

You mean the ZooChat technique... (Chlidonias, snowleopard, sooty mangabey are all excused as they actually finish their trips.) If you read a lot of travel threads you'd think half the posters died mid trip...

 

Well I have now visited the three zoos I intended to visit this trip (although more birding opportunities await). I will write a post about why I visited the zoos I did, the good and bad of what I saw and my learnings. I’m guessing the general Europe thread will be the place to put it. But as I am still travelling for a week I may not get to it till I get home. No long trip threads from me, though.

 

In 2015?

 

July update, change in geographical location:
Birds
223. Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)
224. Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)
225. Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
226. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
227. Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
228. Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) (NT)
229. Dickcissel (Spiza americana)

Mammals
31. Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)

 

i forgot i saw a new fish at my locale lake
132 common carp Cyprinus carpio

 

Visited the Dutch themepark De Efteling today, surprisingly this got me 4 new additions of which 2 species are actually lifers for me! The lifers are in bolded text.

Birds:
39. Canada goose (Branta canadensis)

Mammals:
2. Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
3. Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)
4. European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Fish:
- a carp species. Couldn't specify if it's a common carp or grass carp, figured I would mention it however.

 

Some additions from here and there. All fish and about a third the inverts are from a small excursion to monitor fish and amphibian populations. Unfortunately, while we found several amphibians all of them were species I had seen before this year, but I did find enough other new things!

Birds
202. Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata

Fish
1. European Perch, Perca fluviatilis
2. Sunbleak, Leucaspius delineatus
3. Tench, Tinca tinca
4. Northern Pike, Esox lucius
5. Western Tubenose Goby, Proterorhinus semilunaris

Invertebrates
107. Harvestman, Phalangium opilio
108. Dark Arches, Apamea monoglypha
109. Hoverfly, Eupeodes corollae
110. Small Red Damselfly, Ceriagrion tenellum
111. Comma, Polygonia c-album
112. Least Carpet, Idaea rusticata
113. Ten-Spotted Ladybird, Adalia decempuctata
114. Dwarf Cream Wave, Idaea fuscovenosa
115. Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus
116. Heart and Club, Agrotis clavis
117. Bee Moth, Aphomia sociella
118. Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella
119. Garden Grass-Veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella
120. Orb-weaver spider, Zilla diodia
121. Agelenid spider, Agelena labyrinthica
122. True water bug, Ilyocoris cimicoides
123. Diving beetle, Hyphydrus ovatus
124. Diving beelte, Cybister lateralimarginalis
125. Water scorpion, Nepa cinerea
126. Great Silver Water Beetle, Hydrophilus piceus

 

Today I took myself to Achensee, the attractions being transport from nearby Jenburg to the lake by steam train (I am partial to steam trains) a lake cruise and the opportunity to disembark to look for birds. Seen as leaving Innsbruck:

257. Common kestrel Falco tinnunculus

I disembarked at Gaisalm, which is a meadow surrounded by forest with the lake on one side and the mountain on the other, with the only structure being a cafe for refreshments. It was easy to avoid other people who mostly hung around the cafe or the lake shore. I thought a great spot with good edge effect. But nothing, other than a few bird songs and a quick dash by three unidentified brown blobs between trees. On the other hand it was the middle of the day. I did manage to identify this from the boat on the way back:

258. Yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis

Disappointed by the day’s result I decided to walk across town to the Botanic Gardens before dinner and bingo! there was a snake in the pond as I walked in the gate. As well as the birds below I saw a totally ash-grey sparrow like bird I was not able to identify. It was running along the verge of the garden before flying into a tree. Can anybody help?

Birds

259. Eurasian nuthatch Sitta europaea
260. Eurasian blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus
261. Common chaffinch Fringilla coelebs

Reptiles

10. Grass snake Natrix natrix
11. Common wall lizard Podarcis muralis

 

Have you thought about Corn Bunting?

 

3/7/2019
195. long billed corella

 

No I hadn’t but looking at photos it is basically brown. This bird was definitely grey - ash or maybe somewhat blue.

 

What about a Dunnock?

 

Looking at photos and from reading the description in my guidebook, I would say that is it. However I would not have told from the guidebook illustration. Thanks for the suggestion.

262. Dunnock Prunella modularis

Seen from a train.

263. House martin Delichon urbicum

 

93) Chimney Swift
94) Cliff Swallow
95) Redwing blackbird
96) American Robin
97) American Crow
98) Mourning Dove
99) Northern Cardinal
100) Blue Jay
101) Black-capped Chickadee
102) Wood Thrush
103) Common Grackle
104) House Wren
105) White-throated Sparrow
106) Swainson's Hawk
107) Eastern Kingbird
108) Brown-headed Cowbird
109) Brewer's Blackbird
110) Red-tailed Hawk

22) Eastern Cottontail Rabbit

 

BIRDS
245 - Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)
246 - Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
--- Eastern Whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus) [heard]
247 - Pilotbird (Pycnoptilus floccosus)

 

Was back in my hometown the past few days to celebrate July 4th, and last night I was driving down a dirt road and was gifted the best view of a wild owl I've ever had. As I was driving the bird flew down and landed directly in front of my car, where it chose to stay for a few minutes before flying off again!

Birds
93) Barred Owl Strix varia

~Thylo

 

Mammals
28. Agile Wallaby (Macropus agilis)
29. Little Red Flying-fox (Pteropus scapulatus)

Reptiles
19. Orange-naped Snake (Furina ornata)

Back in Broome. Fairly slow going as I arrived midday yesterday and today there’s heavy fog. The weather is not my friend this year...

 

Florence

264. Common swift Apus apus

That together with the sparrow pretty much sums up the avifauna of central Florence.

Riserva Naturale Lago di Montepulciano

This is a great little reserve in southern Tuscany and well worth a stop. Again I was here midday and in the heat, not the best time. Four species of woodpecker breed in the small woodland, do you think I saw one?

Birds

265. Purple heron Ardea purpurea
266. Common moorhen Gallinula chloropus
267. Western marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus
268. Eurasian collared dove Streptopelia decaocto
269. European turtle dove Streptopelia turtur
270. Common nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos
271. Long-tailed tit Aegihalos caudatus
272. Eurasian penduline tit Remiz pendulinus
273. Great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinacus
274. Common magpie Pica pica

Fish

8. Common carp Cyprinus carpio