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2018 Big Year
Topic Started: Dec 27 2017, 08:05 PM (7,778 Views)
Anton
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King of Cotingas

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If there's one thing that brings all of the TRT members together, it's the love of animals. For most members this probably means an interest in zoos and animals in captivity in general, but there are a lot of members interested in observing wild animals as well.

Those that do are probably familiar with the "big year" concept: keeping track of all animals you see within a single calendar year. This can be done within a certain region (which is how the idea and name came to existence, after birders aimed to see as many species within the USA in one single year), but because we have members from all over the world we decided world listing would be more interesting.

Basically, the idea is as follows; from the 1st of January until the 31st of December, everyone who participates keeps track of the animals they see and identify, and lists them all in the order of seeing them. Every time you see a new species, you add onto that list by posting a new post in this topic. At the end of the year you can then easily compile a total list of the animals you saw that year, and keep the memories of seeing those species forever!
Of course, we'll add a little extra competition by bringing pointies into the mix. You'll be rewarded in pointies for every few animals you see, and at the end of each month the person with the most new species will be given a silhouette!

Rules:
  • Number your lists. This way it's always easy to check how many species you've seen.
  • We keep track of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. If you choose to only list the groups that interest you most, that's fine! A lot of people generally don't bother counting invertebrates.
  • Keep different lists for different classes (except with fish and invertebrates, list all different fish classes together and all different invertebrate classes together for those). Separate the lists for birds, mammals, reptiles etc. from each other.
  • Highlight the species you see for the first time ("lifers") in bold. This makes for a more interesting overview, and makes the listing of species more rewarding as you can draw more attention to the species that are more special to you!
  • We only list species, not subspecies, to prevent taxonomical debates. However, if you see a different subspecies worth mentioning, it's always interesting to include that in your post (without numbering it and putting it on the list). Hybrid animals don't count either.
  • We only list species we've seen directly, not species we've only heard. Similarly to different subspecies, it's always interesting to add the heard-only species to your post without listing them!
  • We only list actual wild species, escaped exotic species don't count unless they've become self-established (like feral pigeons everywhere, ring-necked parakeets in Europe and common starlings in North America).
  • List common names and binominal names of all species you see. Common names differ immensely per bird checklist (Clements, IOC, etc.), so to keep things clear we ask this as a requirement.
  • You are welcome to join in after January, but people starting in another month will not be counted for the first month they enter. For example, if you join in March and immediately have a list of 50+ species when most of these were seen in January and February, it'd be unfair to others that already saw the majority of their species in January, when the competition for "new" species was a lot higher.
  • You do not have to provide photographic evidence, your word is your bond. We trust our members won't lie about seeing things they didn't just to get a higher score.

Prizes:
  • On the first day of every month starting February 1st, I will be giving an overview of how many species of each category people have seen in total. I will also calculate how many species everyone gained compared to the previous month.
  • For every species you gained compared to the previous month, you will receive 5 pointies for use in the pointies store.
  • The person with the most species gained that month will receive a pointies animal.

Extra:
  • The double-posting rule will be less strict here than it is in other areas of the forum (as it's possible that you see something new before someone else has), but keep it sensible. Try not to post list updates twice in the same day if you see or identify another species later, it's easier to just edit your previous post.
  • Have fun!
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caviar
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So last week i was in the caribbean coast of my country doing yet another fieldwork, expect the full list soon.
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

A few new ones from today and yesterday:

BIRDS:
201) Common grasshopper warbler, Locustella naevia
202) Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

INVERTEBRATES:
16) European garden spider, Araneus diadematus
17) Small engrailed, Ectropis crepuscularia
18) European peacock, Aglais io
19) Speckled wood, Pararge aegeria

Heard-only were two Savi's warblers, which would have been lifers for me.

Total


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Posted Image Xenephos
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ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴏʙsᴇssᴇᴅ

April 16th
I spotted a Killdeer on the side of the road while cruising through my neighborhood. I'm wondering what it was doing over here since I only live near a tiny pond and it's super snowy and gross out right now lol. Regardless, it's a pretty species I've never seen in the wild before ^^

BIRDS:
33. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Edit:
34. Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

All Species Seen
Edited by Xenephos, Apr 16 2018, 05:45 PM.
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Danny
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I almost forgot about the fish I saw at Healesville on the weekend!

FISH
7 - River Blackfish (Gadopsis marmoratus)

Total
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

BIRDS:
203) Common tern, Sterna hirundo

FISH:
4) Common carp, Cyprinus carpio

Total
Edited by Anton, Apr 19 2018, 07:08 AM.
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Keniafan
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So here's a few new additions!!

135 - Western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava)
136 - Common scoter (Melanitta nigra)
137 - Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)
138 - Common swift (Apus apus)
139 - Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
140 - European crested tit (Lophophanus cristatus)
141 - Tree pipit (Anthus trivialis)
142 - Woodlark (Lullula arborea)
143 - Common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)
144 - Temminck's stint (Calidris temminckii)

MAMMALS
8 - Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii)

FISH
1 - Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

Last year I went counting migrating birds quite often, but that was always inland. Turns out it's at least equally fun on the coast! Mainly the fulmar and many terns were exciting. The turtle doves were a nice surprise this evening!

BIRDS:
204) Ring ouzel, Turdus torquatus
205) Common swift, Apus apus
206) Sandwich tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis
207) Little gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus
208) Northern fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis
209) Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus
210) Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica
211) European turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur

MAMMALS:
11) Harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena

Total
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Zoo Tycooner FR
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#Lithopédion

Zoo Tycooner FR
Apr 5 2018, 05:52 PM
Spent a week in Fès, was not bad I guess... was awesome

44 - Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
45 - Garganey, Spatula querquedula
46 - Tufted duck, Aythya fuligula
47 - Glossy ibis, Plegadis falcinellus
48 - Black kite, Milvus migrans
49 - Montagu's harrier, Circus pygargus
50 - Eurasian coot, Fulica atra
51 - Alpine swift, Tachymarptis melba
52 - Calandra lark, Melanocorypha calandra
53 - Woodlark, Lullula arborea
54 - Cetti's warbler, Cettia cetti
55 - Common chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs africana
56 - Corn bunting, Emberiza calandra
Finally got to identify an invertebrate (I see so many of them but can't identify any basically), and it's a butterfly I've seen a few weeks ago! (it's a lifer too but nearly every species of invertebrate I will identify this year will be lifer since I've never really done any invertebrate watching before)

INVERTEBRATES:
1) Provence hairstreak, Tomares ballus
Edited by Zoo Tycooner FR, Apr 23 2018, 10:06 AM.
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Zoo Tycooner FR
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#Lithopédion

Finally got to identify an invertebrate (I see so many of them but can't identify any basically), and it's a butterfly I've seen a few weeks ago! (it's a lifer too but nearly every species of invertebrate I will identify this year will be lifer since I've never really done any invertebrate watching before)

INVERTEBRATES:
1) Provence hairstreak, Tomares ballus

I've also seen another (common) reptile yesterday:

HERPS:
2) Moorish wall gecko, Tarentola mauritanica
Edited by Zoo Tycooner FR, Apr 23 2018, 11:40 AM.
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Danny
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Seen on a trip to the Werribee Zoo... They aren't ever really seen on the eastern side of the city.

BIRDS
170 - Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata)

Total
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Orca Freak
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Killer Whales rule the World

Time for some updates :P

April 1st - 22nd
Lots of butterflies thanks to an entire week of hot summer weather :P

Birds:
57. Song thrush - Turdus philomelos
58. Common reed bunting - Emberiza schoeniclus
59. Gadwall - Mareca strepera
60. Common chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita
61. Common house martin - Delichon urbicum
62. Eurasian sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus
63. Barn swallow - Hirundo rustica

Amphibians:
3. Edible frog - Rana esculenta
4. Marsh frog - Rana ridibunda

Insects and other critters:
1. Red admiral (catepillar) - Vanessa atalanta (expecting to see the butterfly soon, since they are the most common butterfly in my garden during summer)
2. Garden bumblebee - Bombus hortorum
3. Tawny mining bee - Andrena fulva
4. Large white - Pieris brassicae
5. European peacock - Aglais io
6. Common brimstone - Gonepteryx rhamni
7. Holly blue - Celastrina argiolus
8. Common wasp - Vespula vulgaris
9. Common blue - Polyommatus icarus
10. Meadow brown - Maniola jurtina

April 25th
Spend the day in 'Het Zwin', a large nature reserve near the coast. Got to see a large number of birds, including a few lifers.
I probably saw more different species, but they were to far away to clearly identify them. I also saw a lot of little critters and bugs, but I didn't really bother to check them out thoroughly ;)

Birds:
64. Tufted duck - Aythya fuligula
65. Lesser whitethroat - Sylvia curruca
66. Little grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis
67. Little tern - Sternula albifrons
68. Western yellow wagtail - Motacilla flava
69. Common swift - Apus apus
70. Common greenshank - Tringa nebularia
71. Northern goshawk - Accipiter gentilis
72. Mute swan - Cygnus olor
73. Common cuckoo - Cuculus canorus
74. Sand martin - Riparia riparia
75. Caspian gull - Larus cachinnans
76. Sedge warbler - Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
77. European stonechat - Saxicola rubicola
78. Ruddy turnstone - Arenaria interpres
79. Common redshank - Tringa totanus
80. Osprey - Pandion haliaetus
81. Common tern - Sterna hirundo
82. Eurasian curlew - Numenius arquata I think I also saw its little cousin, the whimbrel, but I'm not entirely sure
83. Garganey - Spatula querquedula
84. Mediterranean gull - Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

Some pics I took in my garden


Total list
Edited by Orca Freak, Apr 25 2018, 06:28 PM.
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Zoo Tycooner FR
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#Lithopédion

Zoo Tycooner FR
Apr 23 2018, 10:18 AM
Finally got to identify an invertebrate (I see so many of them but can't identify any basically), and it's a butterfly I've seen a few weeks ago! (it's a lifer too but nearly every species of invertebrate I will identify this year will be lifer since I've never really done any invertebrate watching before)

INVERTEBRATES:
1) Provence hairstreak, Tomares ballus

I've also seen another (common) reptile yesterday:

HERPS:
2) Moorish wall gecko, Tarentola mauritanica
I've seen this one yesterday and, as usual, someone identified it for me:

INVERTS:
2) Nutmeg, Anarta trifolii
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

Just got home from a study trip in Stuttgart, and during the bus ride I saw these:

BIRDS:
212) Common redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus
213) Eurasian hobby, Falco subbuteo

HERPS:
7) Common frog, Rana temporaria

Interestingly enough, last year I saw these three for the first time as well on my study trip (which was to Nantes, Bordeaux and Paris).

Total
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

My first night heron in Belgium! I've seen them a few times in Canada, Singapore and the Netherlands, but never at home :D

BIRDS:
214) Black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax

Total


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Furka
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BIRDS

64 - Garganey (Anas querquedula)
65 - Common Swift (Apus apus)
66 - Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
67 - Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
68 - Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
69 - Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
70 - Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
71 - European Bee Eater (Merops apiaster)
72 - Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus)
73 - Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)

REPTILES
5 - Western Green Lizard (Lacerta bilineata)
6 - Three-toed Skink (Chalcides chalcides)
7 - Grass Snake (Natrix natrix)
8 - Green Whipsnake (Hierophis viridiflavus)
9 - European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis)

AMPHIBIANS
1 - European Toad (Bufo bufo)
2 - Green Frog (Pelophylax lessonae)
3 - Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)
4 - Italian Crested Newt (Triturus carnifex)

FISH
Freshwater

8 - Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)
9 - Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
10 - Pumpkinseed Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus)
11 - Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius ?)
12 - Bleak (Alburnus arborella)
13 - Italian Rudd (Scardinius hesperidicus)
14 - Tench (Tinca tinca)
15 - Common Barbel (Barbus barbus)
16 - Po Nasen (Chondrostoma soetta)
17 - Orange-finned Roach (Rutilus rubilio)
18 - Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)
19 - Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)
20 - Stone Moroko (Pseudorasbora parva)

This was definately a better month.
Extremely happy with my crested newt, thansk to it I've now seen all amphibian species living in my territory.
Also I already saw all reptile species I normally seen in a whole year, so if I find something different (other than dice snake) it will be a lifer.
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