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2018 Big Year
Topic Started: Dec 27 2017, 08:05 PM (7,791 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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Anton
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King of Cotingas

BIRDS:
69) Feral pigeon, Columba livia

Total
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Posted Image Wes
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Aurora Designs Member

January 8

Birds:

35) Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiaca
36) Mute swan, Cygnus olor
37) Tufted duck, Aythya fuligula
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cassynatorium
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~january 8~

30- dunnock, prunella modularis
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Danny
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January 9, 2018
MAMMALS
5 - Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

BIRDS
56 - Straw-Necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis)
57 - Hoary-Headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus)
58 - Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus)
59 - Black-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae)
60 - Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)

I've added the owl to #55 as a suspected Southern Boobook owl, but will remove it if not confirmed! :)

Total
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

Well, you're the one who saw the bird! I think most of it depends on how big the bird was and what it sounded like, as colour can be easy to misjudge at night.
I'm not sure if you saw but I edited this post of mine a couple days ago with a bit more reasoning as to what I thought it'd be, but of course I can't know what you saw. :P
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Jules
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Mihi est imperare orbi universo

Just one thing to add today ^^

January 9, 2017
BIRDS
10) Common firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla)

TOTAL
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Danny
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Anton
Jan 9 2018, 10:45 AM
Well, you're the one who saw the bird! I think most of it depends on how big the bird was and what it sounded like, as colour can be easy to misjudge at night.
I'm not sure if you saw but I edited this post of mine a couple days ago with a bit more reasoning as to what I thought it'd be, but of course I can't know what you saw. :P
Yes, that's what makes it difficult though, as what I noted about its size and what I heard from its call mostly contradict each other. I am hoping I can spot it again to get a clearer idea of what it was, and I emailed an owl researcher from uni to try to work out if any juveniles of the Victorian owl species make this kind of call.

I did actually suspect it might be a juvenile powerful owl, but again the issue for me here is size and the fact that it was flying around between trees. I don't know what size powerful owls are when they start flying, but this one was about half an adult's size if I were to guess. I thought it looked barn owl sized or smaller. In addition, the head seemed to large in proportion, as powerful owls have very small heads more like hawks. I am also pretty sure that powerful owls are actually fairly rare, but they do live near me so it's not as surprising.

From images I've seen, I think barn owls do have a red eyeshine? The main reason I rule barn owls out is the call, because otherwise that would be my best guess. They are actually the only owl species I've ever seen in Melbourne prior to this, and they are common in my area. I just couldn't see this one clearly enough to know.

As for southern boobooks, I suspect that it could be a fledgling as that would explain its white belly. It seemed about the right size, but I still don't know if the call is correct, because boobooks usually make two syllable calls also.
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

Hmm, yeah I wouldn't know either. Interesting that your experience with the owls' rarity is quite the opposite of what people on eBird upload, though. If possible, definitely upload your sightings of barn owls on eBird (is there a better site in Australia?) to give people an idea of where they are!

For the time being I'd not count it on your list though, as you still aren't sure what species you've seen. Perhaps remove it until you've either seen it again, or gotten response from the owl researcher? If you can confirm it then you can list it (the chronology would be a bit off but that doesn't matter that much), but it's better than listing a species you're not certain you've seen. :P

Btw I'm really jealous of that frogmouth! It's been too long since I've seen any Caprimulgiformes. :P
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Fireplume
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Snok Snok Snerson

Birds
58. American Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
59. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
60. California Towhee (Melozone crissalis)
61. Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
62. California Quail (Callipepla californica)
63. Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
64. Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
65. Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris)
66. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
67. Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
68. Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli)
69. Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri)

Mammals
7. Western Grey Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
8. Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

Fish
1. Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
2. Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis)

A particularly placid river allowed for excellent wildlife watching today, including the identification of the two fish species I spotted today. Lotsa favourites including Black-chinned Hummingbird and Yellow-billed Magpie already made it a great day, but on the way home I saw the fox in a field! Incredible wildlife-filled day :D
Total List
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Danny
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January 10, 2018
REPTILES
2 - Eastern Long-Necked Turtle (Chelodina longicollis)

BIRDS
60 - Clamorous Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus)

@Anton, I've removed the owl again. I'm about 90% sure it's a southern boobook from the help that the researcher was able to give, but again I can't be certain until I get another look! I was told though that in Melbourne's suburbs, boobooks tend to be most commonly seen... Guess I need to go walk at night a bit more haha :P Perhaps I've just seen more owls in areas where barn owls were more common locally?

As for the tawny, they're pretty common around here. For a while, we had one that would come sit on the basketball ring in our court at night. I saw another tonight in fact :) Such unique birds.


Total
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Zoo Tycooner FR
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#Lithopédion

Zoo Tycooner FR
Jan 5 2018, 12:16 PM
Another look around my house and I finally got to see a magpie, which was the first species I saw last year!

7 - Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
8 - Maghreb magpie, Pica mauritanica
Slow additons, which will be the case until I get to go birding but an addition is an addition I guess :P :

9 - Common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
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cassynatorium
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Forgot to do this yesterday.

~9 january~

31- eurasian collared dove, streptopelia decaocto
32- black-headed gull, chroicocephalus ridibundus
33- house sparrow, passer domesticus

2- greater white-toothed shrew, crocidura russula
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Posted Image Xenephos
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ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴏʙsᴇssᴇᴅ

January 10th

BIRDS:
13. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

MAMMALS:
1. Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
2. Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Saw a few more corvids and raptors today (my favorites <3). I should probably get some proper binoculars so I can identify birds better lol. Especially the little ones :V
I've gotten the big species down but it's so hard to distinguish little birds from each other unless they're eating the spilled birdseed on my patio xD

All Species Seen
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Posted Image Wes
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Aurora Designs Member

January 10
Saw my first new species of 2018; the Common reed bunting

Birds:
38) Rook, Corvus frugilegus
39) Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris
40) Common reed bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus
41) White stork, Ciconia ciconia
42) Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes

Mammals:
2) Roe deer, Capreolus capreolus

Total
Edited by Wes, Jan 10 2018, 04:28 PM.
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Zoo Tycooner FR
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#Lithopédion

Zoo Tycooner FR
Jan 10 2018, 09:20 AM
Slow additons, which will be the case until I get to go birding but an addition is an addition I guess :P :

9 - Common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
10 - Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis

Seen at Agadir Stadium. :)
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