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ZooChat Big Year 2019

Discussion in 'Wildlife & Nature Conservation' started by TeaLovingDave, 1 Jan 2019.

  1. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Jun 2007
    Posts:
    23,433
    Location:
    New Zealand
    As some people may have noticed I have been MIA for a month or so (that's "Missing In Asia"). I've been saving for quite a long time already for my next trip but because it will be a Mega Trip and not just a Big Trip - and because there have been a few unexpected things I have had to fork over lots of money for - I suspected I wouldn't have enough money by the time the intended departure date came around at the start of next year, so I've pushed it back another year. I haven't been overseas for TWO years though [exclamation mark] and that's not really acceptable. Therefore I planned out a quick trip where I would basically jump around a few different places, mostly targeting specific animals I hadn't seen yet but for which I'd found (supposedly)-reliable sites. You could legitimately say this trip was mostly just a mammal-twitching trip (and I got nine new mammals, so it worked out quite well). The lists for most of the countries aren't very long for this reason. Only a relatively few days here and there could be used for all-day birding; in particular, the birds listed for the first part of Thailand were literally all seen from bus windows or while walking along the road; and the Laos part was a complete dud. The Brisbane bit at the end seems very light too but it has to be said that a lot of the birds seen in Brisbane were ones also seen in Sydney at the very start of the trip. There may or may not be a new Chlidonias Goes To Asia thread at some point.



    A quick outline of the trip before the species lists:

    SYDNEY
    I had one night and the following day in Sydney, so I spent them at Warriewood Wetlands and Centennial Park.

    SINGAPORE
    There were two main objectives for my two days in Singapore. Firstly to visit Jurong before it closed, and see the Spix's Macaws, Lear's Macaws, and Philippine Eagles (I saw the last two, but the Spix's refused to show). Secondly to look for a pangolin. There is a particular spot where more than a handful of mammalwatchers have seen a Sunda Pangolin. One of those people was @lintworm and it is totally unacceptable for another moderator to have seen a wild pangolin when I have not. I know almost all the moderators have seen captive pangolins (it is a requirement of becoming a moderator) but a wild pangolin is a different ball-game. I wasn't actually that hopeful of seeing one, but I had my fingers crossed.

    MALAYSIA
    After Singapore I crossed over the strait to Peninsular Malaysia and headed to the Panti Forest for general animal-watching (mainly to try and see the local subspecies of Banded Leaf Monkeys, which I did although not to such an extent that I could actually get photos of them), then went all the way up to Taiping to visit the Taiping Zoo (hoping their Marbled Cat was still on display, which it was). I also spent a day-ish at Maxwell Hill for Agile Gibbons, then a couple of days at Bukit Fraser, and then flew to Thailand.

    THAILAND
    A couple of years ago (right after my last trip, annoyingly) I had found out about a couple of temples in the north of Thailand which are visited by habituated Assamese Macaques and Indochinese Grey Langurs respectively, and I've been waiting for a chance to add them into a trip. I was in Thailand for less than three days, solely to visit these two spots, before popping up into Laos.

    LAOS
    The second of the aforementioned Thai temples is at Loei, which is not far from the main border-crossing with Laos, so it made sense to add that into the mix as well. This was the only "new" country of the trip. I went to a place called Ban Na Hin which has not fared well with poachers apparently and I saw very little, so I bailed and went back to Thailand.

    THAILAND again
    Another few days, basically travelling down from Laos to Bangkok before my flight homewards; I had a bit longer here than originally intended (due to abandoning Laos) and managed to get in some birding at some of the local bird spots in Bangkok with wavering success.

    BRISBANE
    When sorting out the travel plans for this trip I discovered that there are now direct flights between Bangkok and Brisbane with Thai Air Asia, which only started in June this year. I'd only been to Brisbane once before, in 2008, and it rained every day I was there, so I was hoping to add at least a few new species to my life lists on this visit. I did get a few lifers - both birds and mammals - but the number of bird species overall was slimmer than I'd been expecting (I only saw about a hundred species total there, of which about half were year-birds; on one of the days in Brisbane I saw 72 species, which makes the 100-species total seem even smaller!). I also spent half a day in the Gold Coast because that's where the flight back to New Zealand left from.



    I'd count the trip as successful. Of my twelve "target mammals" I saw eight of them which, given that I generally only had one or two chances for each one, was a better-than-expected total.

    I only had one "target bird", which was Powerful Owl, but the "always reliable" birds at Centennial Park in Sydney hadn't been seen in a few weeks so I missed out on those. I saw ten other life-birds though - three in Asia and the other seven in Queensland.

    Just out of interest, I counted up how many of the birds in my southeast Asia field guide I have seen. The book is the 2005 edition (I never got round to updating it) so the number will be different now due to splitting, but it contains about 1290 species including all the vagrants and stragglers. Of those I have seen 860 species - two-thirds - hence why there are so few lifers on the bird lists. There are still a handful of common birds which somehow I haven't managed to see yet, but mostly the ones I'm missing are species with very restricted distributions, are reclusive rainforest-dwellers, or are just vagrants which I'm unlikely to see anyway.

    New mammals:
    Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps
    Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii (not one of the "target mammals")
    Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica
    Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis
    Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis
    Indochinese Grey Langur Trachypithecus crepusculus
    Little Red Flying Fox Pteropus scapulatus
    Australian Humpback Dolphin Sousa sahulensis
    Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis

    New birds:
    Monk (Quaker) Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus
    Purple-backed (Daurian) Starling Agropsar (Sturnus) sturninus
    Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodei
    Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis
    Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus
    Tawny Grassbird Megalurus (Cincloramphus) timoriensis
    Pallid Cuckoo Cacomantis pallidus
    Double-barred (Owl) Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii
    Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
    Australian Cicadabird Coracina (Edolisoma) tenuirostris



    I'll list the mammals first given that the trip was mostly to find a few specific mammals.


    MAMMALS
    Already seen this year:
    1) House Mouse Mus musculus
    2) Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus
    3) New Zealand Fur Seal Arctocephalus forsteri
    4) Leopard Seal Hydrurga leptonyx
    5) European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

    SYDNEY
    6) Grey-headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus
    7) Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps
    8) Swamp Wallaby Wallabia bicolor
    9) Common Brush-tailed Possum Trichosurus vulpecula
    10) Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii

    SINGAPORE
    11) Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata
    12) Plantain squirrel Callosciurus notatus
    13) Wild Pig Sus scrofa (vittatus)
    14) Colugo Cynocephalus variegatus
    15) Common Tree Shrew Tupaia glis
    16) Slender Squirrel Sundasciurus tenuis
    17) Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica

    MALAYSIA
    18) Crab-eating Macaque Macaca fascicularis
    19) Banded Leaf Monkey Presbytis femoralis
    20) White-handed (Lar) Gibbon Hylobates lar
    21) Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel Ratufa affinis
    22) Dusky Langur Trachypithecus obscurus
    23) Malaysian Upland Squirrel Sundasciurus tahan
    24) Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis
    25) Grey-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus caniceps
    26) Himalayan Striped Squirrel Tamiops macclellandi
    27) Red-bellied (Pallas') Squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus
    28) White-thighed Langur Presbytis siamensis
    29) Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista elegans
    30) Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis

    THAILAND
    31) Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis
    32) Indochinese Grey Langur Trachypithecus crepusculus

    33) Variable (Finlayson's) Squirrel Callosciurus finlaysonii

    LAOS
    Um, nothing...

    THAILAND again
    34) Northern Tree Shrew Tupaia belangeri
    35) Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sphinx
    36) Berdmore's (Indochinese) Ground Squirrel Menetes berdmorei
    37) Lyle's Flying Fox Pteropus lylei

    BRISBANE and GOLD COAST
    38) Black Flying Fox Pteropus alecto
    39) Little Red Flying Fox Pteropus scapulatus
    40) Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus
    41) Koala Phascolarctos cinereus
    42) Australian Humpback Dolphin Sousa sahulensis
    43) Red-necked Wallaby Macropus rufogriseus
    44) Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis
    45) Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus



    BIRDS
    Already seen this year:
    1) Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
    2) House Sparrow Passer domesticus
    3) European Blackbird Turdus merula
    4) Feral Pigeon Columba livia
    5) Southern Black-backed (Kelp) Gull Larus dominicanus
    6) Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
    7) Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
    8) Pied Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa
    9) Kaka Nestor meridionalis
    10) New Zealand Pigeon Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
    11) Pied Shag Phalacrocorax varius
    12) New Zealand Scaup Aythya novaeseelandiae
    13) Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
    14) Little Pied Shag Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
    15) Black Shag (Great Cormorant) Phalacrocorax carbo
    16) Saddleback Philesturnus carunculatus
    17) New Zealand Robin Petroica australis
    18) Waxeye Zosterops lateralis
    19) Californian Quail Callipepla californica
    20) Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
    21) Hedge Sparrow (Dunnock) Prunella modularis
    22) Whitehead Mohoua albicilla
    33) Stitchbird Notiomystis cincta
    24) New Zealand Bellbird Anthornis melanura
    25) Brown Teal Anas chlorotis
    26) Red-billed Gull Larus novaehollandiae
    27) Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
    28) Variable Oystercatcher Haematopus unicolor
    29) Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus
    30) Canada Goose Branta canadensis
    31) Paradise Duck Tadorna variegata
    32) Grey Warbler Gerygone igata
    33) Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella
    34) Black Swan Cygnus atrata
    35) Spur-winged Plover Vanellus novaehollandiae
    36) White-headed (Pied) Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus
    37) Grey Teal Anas gracilis
    38) Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia
    39) Pukeko (Purple Swamphen) Porphyrio porphyrio (I don't split these on my lists)
    40) European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
    41) Eastern Reef Heron Egretta sacra
    42) Spotted Shag Stictocarbo punctatus
    43) Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius
    44) Tomtit Petroica macrocephala
    45) Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
    46) Red-crowned Kakariki Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae
    47) Australasian Coot Fulica atra
    48) European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
    49) European Skylark Alauda arvensis
    50) Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
    51) White-fronted Tern Sterna striata
    52) Caspian Tern Sterna caspia
    53) Australasian Harrier Circus approximans
    54) Banded dotterel Charadrius bicinctus
    55) Little Black Shag Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
    56) Australasian Gannet Morus serrator
    57) New Zealand White-capped Albatross Thalassarche steadi
    58) New Zealand Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
    59) White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae
    60) Australasian Shoveller Anas rhynchotis
    61) New Zealand Dabchick Poliocephalus rufopectus
    62) Black-fronted Dotterel Elseyornis melanops

    SYDNEY
    63) Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca
    64) Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
    65) Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
    66) Common Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
    67) Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa
    68) Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
    69) Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis
    70) Galah Cacatua roseicapilla
    71) Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
    72) Little Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera
    73) Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis
    74) Brown Falcon Falco berigora
    75) Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus
    76) Superb Blue Wren Malurus cyaneus
    77) Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
    78) Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
    79) Willy Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
    80) Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis
    81) Australian Little Grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
    82) White-cheeked Honeyeater Phylidonyris nigra
    83) Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
    84) Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys
    85) Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii
    86) Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
    87) Australian Brush Turkey Alectura lathami
    88) Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
    89) White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis
    90) Brown Gerygone Gerygone mouki
    91) Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis
    92) Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus
    93) Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata
    94) Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes
    95) Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
    96) Australian Darter Anhinga novaehollandiae
    97) Australian Raven Corvus coronoides
    98) Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
    99) White-eyed Duck Aythya australis
    100) Magpie-Lark Grallina cyanoleuca

    SINGAPORE
    101) Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
    102) Striated Heron Butorides striatus
    103) Germain's Swiftlet Collocalia germani
    104) Monk (Quaker) Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus
    105) Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans
    106) Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris
    107) Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
    108) Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea
    109) Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosa
    110) Sunda Pigmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos moluccensis
    111) White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
    112) Olive-backed Sunbird Nectarinia jugularis
    113) Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier
    114) Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis
    115) Javan Mynah Acridotheres javanicus
    116) House Crow Corvus splendens
    117) Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
    118) Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea
    119) Moustached Parakeet Psittacula alexandri
    120) Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
    121) Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
    122) Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis
    123) Indian Ringneck Parakeet Psittacula krameri
    124) Little Egret Egretta garzetta
    125) Stork-billed Kingfisher Halcyon capensis
    126) Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
    127) Zebra Dove Geopelia striata
    128) Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
    129) Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala
    130) Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
    131) Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica
    132) Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

    MALAYSIA
    133) White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
    134) Asian Glossy Starling Aplonis panayensis
    135) Greater Green leafbird Chloropsis sonnerati
    136) Orange-bellied Flowerpecker Dicaeum trigonostigma
    137) Cream-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus simplex
    138) Hairy-backed Bulbul Tricholestes criniger
    139) Greater Hill Mynah Gracula religiosa
    140) Orange-backed Woodpecker Reinwardtipicus validus
    141) Purple-naped Sunbird Hypogramma hypogrammicum
    142) Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis moluccensis
    143) Striped Tit-Babbler Macronous gularis
    144) Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phoenicophaeus curvirostris
    145) Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
    146) Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus
    147) Tiger Shrike Lanius tigrinus
    148) Buff-vented Bulbul Iole olivacea
    149) Raffles' Malkoha Phoenicophaeus chlorophaeus
    150) Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
    151) Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
    152) Asian House Swift Apus nipalensis
    153) White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus
    154) Olive-winged Bulbul Pycnonotus plumosus
    155) Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus
    156) Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra
    157) Grey-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias umbratilis
    158) Yellow-bellied Bulbul Alophoixus phaeocephalus
    159) Checquer-throated Woodpecker Picus mentalis
    160) Spectacled Bulbul Pycnonotus erythrophthalmus
    161) White-vented Mynah Acridotheres grandis
    162) White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
    163) Lineated Barbet Megalaima lineata
    164) Long-tailed Parakeet Psittacula longicauda
    165) Nutmeg Finch (Scaly-breasted Munia) Lonchura punctulata
    166) Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia
    167) Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
    168) Black-thighed Falconet Microhierax fringillarius
    169) Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus
    170) White-bellied Yuhina Erpornis zantholeuca
    171) Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus
    172) Dark-necked Tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis
    173) Red-billed Malkoha Phoenicophaeus javanicus
    174) Asian Fairy Bluebird Irena puella
    175) Plain Flowerpecker Dicaeum concolor
    176) Mountain Fulvetta Alcippe peracensis
    177) Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis
    178) White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis
    179) Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna
    180) Glossy (White-bellied) Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta
    181) Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
    182) Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus flaviventris
    183) Everett's White-eye Zosterops everetti
    184) Eastern Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus
    185) Mountain Tailorbird Phyllergates cucullatus
    186) Golden Babbler Stachyridopsis chrysaea
    187) Orange-breasted Trogon Harpactes oreskios
    188) Black and Yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus
    189) Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia
    190) Dark-sided Flycatcher Muscicapa sibirica
    191) Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
    192) Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus
    193) Long-tailed Sibia Heterophasia picaoides
    194) Black and Crimson Oriole Oriolus cruentus
    195) Black-browed Barbet Megalaima oorti
    196) Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrush Garrulax mitratus
    197) Black-bellied Malkoha Phaenicophaeus diardi
    198) Fire-tufted Barbet Psilopogon pyrolophus
    199) Grey-chinned Minivet Pericrocotus solaris
    200) Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata
    201) Rufous-browed Flycatcher Ficedula solitaris
    202) Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo Dicrurus remifer
    203) Red-headed Trogon Harpactes erythrocephalus
    204) Grey-throated Babbler Stachyris nigriceps
    205) Slender-billed Crow Corvus enca
    206) Sultan Tit Melanochlora sultanea
    207) Mountain Bulbul Hypsipetes macclellandii
    208) Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus
    209) Rufescent Prinia Prinia rufescens
    210) Little Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia ruficeps
    211) Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni
    212) Greater Yellownape Woodpecker Picus flavinucha
    213) Silver-eared Mesia Leiothrix argentauris
    214) Chestnut-crowned Warbler Seicercus castaniceps
    215) Blue-winged Minla Siva cyanouroptera
    216) Large Niltava Niltava grandis
    217) Blue Nuthatch Sitta azurea
    218) Ochraceous Bulbul Alophoixus ochraceus
    219) Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus
    220) Mountain Imperial Pigeon Ducula badia
    221) Purple-backed (Daurian) Starling Agropsar (Sturnus) sturninus

    THAILAND
    [number 222 removed as duplicate]
    223) Sooty-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus aurigaster
    224) Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus
    225) Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus
    226) Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
    227) Crested Tree-Swift Hemiprocne coronata
    228) Asian Openbill Stork Anastomus oscitans
    229) Asian Pied Fantail Rhipidura javanica
    230) Streak-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus blanfordi
    231) Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum
    232) Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis
    233) Himalayan Swiftlet Collocalia brevirostris

    LAOS
    234) Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius
    235) Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodei
    236) Puff-throated Bulbul Alophoixus pallidus
    237) Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus

    THAILAND again
    238) Great Egret Egretta alba
    239) Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
    240) Asian Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger
    241) Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectens
    242) Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
    243) Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
    244) Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos (I don't split up the Large-billed Crow complex because the taxonomy is still too messy)
    245) Asian Pied Starling Sturnus (Gracupica) contra
    246) Black-collared Starling Sturnus (Gracupica) nigricollis
    247) Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla
    248) Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
    249) Black-winged Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina melaschistos
    250) Javan Pond Heron Ardeola speciosa
    251) Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
    252) Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
    253) White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus
    254) Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus
    255) Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus
    256) Common Redshank Tringa totanus
    257) Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
    258) Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
    259) Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata
    260) Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
    261) Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
    262) Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas
    263) Golden-bellied Gerygone Gerygone sulphurea
    264) Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea
    265) Hainan Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hainanus
    266) Large Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina macei
    267) Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
    268) Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus
    269) Eurasian Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
    270) Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis
    271) Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
    272) Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis
    273) Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
    274) Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri
    275) Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi
    276) Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii

    BRISBANE and GOLD COAST
    277) Australian Figbird Sphecotheres vieilloti
    278) Torresian Crow Corvus orru
    279) Grey Butcherbird Craciticus torquatus
    280) Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis
    281) Banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis
    282) Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis
    283) Grey Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica
    284) Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus
    285) Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis
    286) Red-backed Fairy-Wren Malurus melanocephalus
    287) Pale-headed Rosella Platycercus adscitus
    288) Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris
    289) Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata
    290) Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina novaehollandiae
    291) Bush Stone-Curlew Burhinus grallarius
    292) Scarlet Honeyeater Myzomela sanguinolenta
    293) Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis (I'm genuinely bewildered how this can be a lifer!)
    294) Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
    295) Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus
    296) Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus
    297) Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii
    298) Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea
    299) White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
    300) Osprey Pandion haliaetus (I don't split Ospreys)
    301) Leaden Flycatcher Myiagra rubecula
    302) Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis
    303) Australian Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris
    304) Black Kite Milvus migrans
    305) Tawny Grassbird Megalurus (Cincloramphus) timoriensis
    306) Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta
    307) Pallid Cuckoo Cacomantis pallidus
    308) Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
    309) Fairy Martin Hirundo ariel
    310) Double-barred (Owl) Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii
    311) Brown Quail Coturnix ypsilophora
    312) Red-browed Firetail Neochmia temporalis
    313) Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides
    314) Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis
    315) Olive-backed Oriole Oriolus sagittatus
    316) Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis
    317) Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
    318) White-winged Triller Lalage tricolor
    319) Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis (I don't split the Golden Whistler complex because it is just too complex!)
    320) Comb-crested Jacana Jacana gallinacea
    321) Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla
    322) Large-billed Scrubwren Sericornis magnirostris
    323) White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaeus
    324) Pacific (Australian) Koel Eudynamys orientalis
    325) Shining Cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus
    326) Australian Cicadabird Coracina (Edolisoma) tenuirostris
    327) Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus


    (Edit note: the bird total is actually 326 because I had a mistaken ID in the list which meant that one of the species ended up being duplicated)
     
    Last edited: 14 Dec 2019
  2. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    Welcome to the club.
    Happened to me multiple times at the “reliable” spots in Sydney and in Melbourne.
     
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  3. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Jun 2007
    Posts:
    23,433
    Location:
    New Zealand
    No, humans won't be counted on the tallies. Every person here will see human so I'd have to add an extra number to everybody's total which is pointless.
     
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  4. animal_expert01

    animal_expert01 Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Sep 2015
    Posts:
    918
    Location:
    QLD Australia
    Mammals:
    12. Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)

    I have also seen recently another lace monitor, several more black fronted dotterels and, quite surprisingly, a Wedge tailed eagle far from its normally accepted range.
     
  5. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    Chainman Creek, Darwin

    Birds
    70. Chestnut-backed Buttonquail (Turnix castanotus)

    Reptiles

    77. Frill-necked Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
    78. Swanson's Snake-eyed Skink (Cryptoblepharus cygnatus)
    79. Richardson's Mangrove Snake (Myron richardsonii)
    80. White-bellied Mangrove Snake (Fordonia leucobalia)
    81. Australian Bockadam (Cerberus australis)
     
  6. Luca Bronzi

    Luca Bronzi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12 Mar 2019
    Posts:
    570
    Location:
    Italy
    Birds

    64. Eurasian skylark - Alauda arvensis
     
  7. MRJ

    MRJ Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

    Joined:
    29 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    2,525
    Location:
    Melbourne
    An impressive list however it does look as if you might have to look towards new hunting grounds if you want to add substantially to your life list.
     
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  8. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Jun 2007
    Posts:
    23,433
    Location:
    New Zealand
    I know! There are still a lot of mammals in southeast Asia for me, but for birds I never really expect to see anything new so I end up not putting as much effort in as I used to.

    I have decided to branch out to somewhere more neotropically for my next proper trip though.
     
  9. animal_expert01

    animal_expert01 Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Sep 2015
    Posts:
    918
    Location:
    QLD Australia
    Birds:
    138. Rose Crowned Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus regina)

    Another very unexpected lifer, which was seen twice flying low over the rainforest canopy. This is a species I have wanted to see for a very long time.
     
  10. Luca Bronzi

    Luca Bronzi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12 Mar 2019
    Posts:
    570
    Location:
    Italy
    Birds

    65. Cattle egret - Bubulcus ibis
     
  11. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    Buffalo Creek, Litchfield NP

    Birds
    71. Beach Stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris)

    Reptiles
    82. Swamplands Lashtail (Amphibolurus temporalis)
    83. Desert Rainbow-skink (Carlia triacantha)

    84. Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii)
    85. Claw-snouted Blindsnake (Anilios unguirostris)
    86. Orange-sided Bar-lipped Skink (Eremiascincus douglasi)
    87. Northern Ridge-tailed Monitor (Varanus primordius)

    Amphibians

    13. Ornate Burrowing Frog (Platyplectrum ornatum)
    14. Giant Frog (Cyclorana australis)
    15. Black-shinned Rocket Frog (Litoria tornieri)

    16. Northern Laughing Tree Frog (Litoria rothii)
    17. Northern Territory Whistling-frog (Austrochaperina adelphe)
    18. Marbled Frog (Limnodynastes convexiusculus)
    19. Striped Rocket Frog (Litoria nasuta)
     
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  12. Dannelboyz

    Dannelboyz Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19 Feb 2013
    Posts:
    239
    Location:
    East Gippsland, VIC, AUS
    BIRDS
    280 - Brown Songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis)
     
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  13. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    George Brown Botanic Gardens, East Point, Howard Springs, Fogg Dam, off-airport

    Mammals
    68. Northern Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus arnhemensis)
    69. Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster)
    70. Black-footed Tree-rat (Mesembriomys gouldii)

    Birds
    72. Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)

    Reptiles
    88. Arafura File Snake (Acrochordus arafurae)

    89. Barkly Tableland Death Adder (Acanthophis hawkei)
     
  14. Vision

    Vision Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 Aug 2015
    Posts:
    1,091
    Location:
    Antwerp, Belgium
    Another good weekend at the coast got me possibly the best Belgian bird of the year, even though it wasn't an addition. Belgium's first ever brown shrike was found on Friday! A nerve-racking twitch where a few friends and I arrived 15 minutes after it was seen flying away, and spent the rest of the afternoon looking with many others to try and find it back. No immediate result, until right before sunset we got a message of it being refound - a lot of hectic running around later (of course we were just right at the other side of the park, and when we got there they lost the shrike again) and everyone finally managed to see it! It stuck around in a slightly different area for the three days after that, so because we were at the coast again on saturday we went again and saw it in a lot more natural setting in better light.

    The bird was extraordinary, not only because it was Belgium's first but also because it was an adult male! Normally the ones found are first calendar year individuals, which look fairly drab and hard to separate from other juvenile shrikes (like the 'expected' red-backed shrikes). Whenever an adult male does get found in Europe though, nine times out of ten it ends up being an animal of the cristatus subspecies, so still a fairly brown bird (and likely the subspecies I saw as passage migrants in Vietnam). This one was probably the East Asian ssp lucionensis however, which breeds in Eastern China, Korea and Japan and winters in Taiwan and the Philippines... The European records of adult male lucionensis brown shrikes can probably be counted on no more than two hands, so for Belgium's first ever brown shrike to be one like this is extraordinarily rare! Apparently there have been talks of a potential split, but I don't think it's a likely one and IOC doesn't split them so I won't be counting it as such.

    On saturday a friend of mine also found a very rare planthopper species while we were checking an interesting flock of birds, which was cool!

    BIRDS:
    xxx) Philippine brown shrike, Lanius cristatus lucionensis

    (Benelux: 222) - additions are red-eyed vireo, red crossbill, short-eared owl, isabelline shrike, Lapland longspur, barred warbler and brown shrike, all mentioned in previous posts where I forgot to update the Benelux total.

    INVERTS:
    102) Green small-eyed planthopper, Tettigometra virescens

     
  15. Mehdi

    Mehdi Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    5 May 2016
    Posts:
    545
    Location:
    Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    This weekend (precisely from the 25th of October to the 27th of October), I got on a trip to the Oualidia region, renowned for its waterbirds but also for being the last place where seeing an Andalusian buttonquail is possible in the Western Palearctic, that was on the back of my head since months now but had to unfortunately be cancelled the first time I tried undertaking it because of a car breakdown.

    It was my first real birding trip in Morocco outside of the Souss-Massa region (where I live) and it had three main goals:

    - Trying to FINALLY see wild Marbled teals
    - Twitch 2 vagrant species (Long-billed dowitcher and Blue-winged teal) that were reported at the two hotspots I planned to visit
    - Get as many lifers and additions for the lifelist as possible and maybe finally reach the 150 wild species seen margin in year

    Even though I failed at accomplishing the first two, I found this trip to be very successful, firstly because Marbled teals don't seem to actually exist based on how much luck I've had with them, that the vagrants have both been reported for more than 10 days in areas where it's very hard to find them and finally because the third goal was more than achieved:

    25/10/2019
    BIRDS:

    (A7 Highway Toll, Amskroud)
    145 - Blue rock thrush, Monticola solitarius

    (Salines de Oualidia, Oualidia)
    146 - Little stint, Calidris minuta
    147 - Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago

    148 - Northern shoveler, Anas clypeata
    149 - Spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata

    (Jardin de la Lagune, Oualidia)
    150 - Common barn owl, Tyto alba

    26/10/2019
    BIRDS:

    (Marais d'El Hotba, Ouled Salem)
    151 - Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica

    (Daya Dar Bouazza, Dar Bouazza)
    152 - Western swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio

    All lifers were ones I had long been waiting for and some I was hopeful to see because I knew they were common in the places I was going to (Little stint, Common snipe, Spotted flycatcher for ex.). A Blue rock thrush on a highway toll out of all places was great as was my second ever owl species and the unexpected and unplanned 30min visit to Dar Bouazza that gave me my first views of Western swamphen! A lot of those species are harder to see in Souss than they are up north so I am happy to have gotten all of them.

    Other highlights include a whooping 42 (!) Barbary partridges seen on the long travel to Oualidia, beating my record of species seen at a single spot; namely 50 species at Les Salines de Oualidia and in general some very fun birding that made this trip extremely enjoyable.

    And with that, the 150 bird species mark I had set at the beginning of the year is reached!
     
  16. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    Howard Springs, Litchfield NP

    Reptiles
    90. Northern Yellow-faced Turtle (Emydura tanybaraga)
    91. Black-palmed Rock Monitor (Varanus glebopalma)
    92. Ornate Soil-crevice Skink (Notoscincus ornatus)
    93. Zigzag Velvet Gecko (Amalosia rhombifer)

    94. Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus)
    95. Macleay's Water Snake (Pseudoferania polylepis)
    96. Northern Small-eyed Snake (Cryptophis pallidiceps)
     
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  17. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    East Point

    Mammals
    71. Grassland Melomys (Melomys burtoni)
     
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  18. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    Daly River, Douglas Daly caravan park

    Reptiles
    97. Pig-nosed Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)

    98. Slaty-grey Snake (Stegonotus cucullatus)

    Amphibians
    20. Bilingual Frog (Crinia bilingua)
     
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  19. Najade

    Najade Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    29 May 2017
    Posts:
    1,097
    Location:
    Germany
    species from Lost City a couple days ago

    Reptiles
    99. King's Dtella (Gehyra koira)
    *
    100. Litchfield Spotted Gecko (Gehyra paranana)

    Amphibians
    21. Floodplain Toadlet (Uperoleia inundata)

    *soon to be changed to lapistola
     
  20. KevinVar

    KevinVar Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12 Jul 2014
    Posts:
    237
    Location:
    Netherlands
    It has been a long time since I updated my list here. First of all, the Iberian chiffchaff I twitched (#155) was not accepted by the Dutch rarities committee due to possible hybridization, which is why I decided to take it off my list. The last bird I twitched was the pied crow that has been hanging around in the Netherlands for a few months now after hanging around in the UK. Since the origins of this bird are still debatable, I'm not counting it yet.

    BIRDS

    171. European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus)
    172. European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)
    173. Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
    174. Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
    175. Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
    176. Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
    177. Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix)
    178. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)
    179. Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
    180. Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla)
    181. Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin)
    182. Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida)
    183. European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)
    xxx. Pied Crow (Corvus albus)

    MAMMALS
    14. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
     
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