Zoochat Big Year 2024

Kreher Preserve is a local demonstration forest owned and operated by Auburn's College of Forestry - after looking for local herping hotspots, I decided to make a trip there. I pretty quickly realized it was split into two major zones, separated by a power line easement and shrubbier, wildflower-laden corridor. I elected to tour the southern half and the corridor. I immediately realized that this was a place I would have to come back to, with fleeting daylight hours. Do you ever visit a park or natural area and get the feeling that there's a lot there left to explore and species hiding just out of reach? That's about how I felt with Kreher. Still, managed to find an absolutely massive mealworm-like grub which was later identified as a click beetle larva, a lifer Green Frog, another Northern Slimy Salamander, a pair of Indigo Buntings and even a lifer Prairie Warbler right as the sun set! Also an absolutely massive Gallinipper mosquito, which, in the low light, looked jet-black. Looked like something right out of the Carboniferous period.

A few days before I stayed at Lake Martin and found the usual geese and a very bold Mallard, as well as the first Osprey of the year - one of my favorite raptors. When I returned home, I found a flock of Chimney Swifts.

Birds:
61. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) – 4/14/24
62. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) – 4/14/24
63. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) – 4/14/24
64. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) – 4/16/24
65. Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) – 4/16/24

Amphibians:
7. Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) – 4/16/24

Invertebrates:
38. White-Striped Running Crab Spider (Philodromus rufus) – 4/14/24
39. Buzzer Midge (Chironomus plumosus) – 4/14/24
40. American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana) – 4/15/24
41. Great Gray Slug (Limax maximus) – 4/16/24
42. Orthostethus infuscatus (click beetle) – 4/16/24
43. Gallinipper (Psorophora ciliata) – 4/16/24

As a small progress update on my species: I'm more than halfway to my "realistic goal" of 125 birds for the year, including 6 new lifers. I've also already seen over half the number of birds I saw last year (119). I saw 4 amphibians last year, which I've already almost doubled, and have beaten my "realistic goal" of 6, and am 3 away from my goal of 10 (this includes 4 new lifers). I've only seen 1 new reptile this year, but not for lack of trying.

This weekend I'll be going down to Navarre Beach - I'll be getting in the water and seeing what fish I can spot, as well as bringing binoculars and the spotting scope to try and see some coastal birds and marine mammals.

 

Birds
387. Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii

 

4/17/24
Birds:
126. Field sparrow Spizella pusilla
127. Pine warbler Setophaga pinus
128. House wren Troglodytes aedon

Total Species: 164
Birds: 128
Mammals: 10
Reptiles: 8
Amphibians: 1
Fish: 17

 

4/13/24

87. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)


4/17/24

88. Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)


3/26/24

A sighting I forgot to add while on my Texas trip:

84. White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

I always list my sightings in order of occurrence, so this one will be #84 instead of being #88.

4/12/24

6. Potato Aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae)


Total:

Mammals: 6
Birds: 88
Invertebrates: 6

 

4/17/24

Amphibians:

1. Squirrel Tree Frog (Dryophytes squirellus)

Total:

Mammals: 6
Birds: 88
Amphibians: 1
Invertebrates: 6

 

Invertebrate
27 Daddy Longlegs Spider Pholcus phalangiodes

 

Some spring migrants and a much wanted skulking lifer (on my second attempt)

196. Grasshopper warbler
197. Northern wheatear
198. Common reed warbler
199. Sedge warbler
200. Sand martin
201. Common whitethroat
202. Common pheasant

 

Birds

159. Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe 18/4/24
160. Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia 18/4/24
161. Common linnet, Linaria cannabina 18/4/24

 

4/18/24
Birds:
129. Nashville warbler Leiothlypis ruficapilla
130. Swamp sparrow Melospiza georgiana

Total Species: 166
Birds: 130
Mammals: 10
Reptiles: 8
Amphibians: 1
Fish: 17

 

4/16/24

Another sighting I forgot to add:

This one will become #88 instead of #89.

88. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)


Total:

Mammals: 6
Birds: 89
Amphibians: 1
Invertebrates: 6

 

A superb start to the morning today with a self found Grasshopper warbler on my campus. I initially heard the bird distantly so just to confirm my suspicions I played the call and sure enough a male comes flitting over singing loudly with their interesting song, they are an incredibly territorial species. A very nice surprise indeed and only the second individual recorded on the site.

106) Common grasshopper warbler Locustella naevia

 

Surprised to pick up a new bird on the golf course yesterday

Birds
96) Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

Progress:
Mammals- 16
Birds- 95
Herptiles- 9
Total- 120
Heard-only Species- 6

 

The migrants just keep on coming!

Birds
97) Blue-Headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)

Progress:
Mammals- 16
Birds- 97
Herptiles- 9
Total- 122
Heard-only Species- 6

 

A number of invert year ticks obtained today:

40) Orange-tip butterfly Anthocharis cardamines
41) Sun fly Helophilus pendulus
42) Common carder bee Bombus pascuorum
43) Kentish snail Monacha cantiana

 

Birds
Burton Marsh
105 Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis
Burton Mere
106 Common Sandpiper Arctitis hypoleucos
Reptile
1 Common Lizard Zootoca vivipara - two basking individuals including the first green individual I have seen

A good morning, bar for the fact that I arrived at Burton Mere about 5 minutes after 4 Cranes had left, heading towards Burton Marsh! Had I chased after them, I would probably have caught up with them as they flew over the whole length of Wirral. Can’t win them all!

 

Birds
388. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Also saw a bunch of goslings, this is the earliest I've ever seen them.

 

Saw a bunch of goslings like 2 weeks ago, early for us near NYC aswell

 

Birds
139. Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)

 

Back in south-central Alaska and a winter resident which has eluded me thus far…appears at my backyard feeder:

14: Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)

later that evening circling overhead has they come in to the mudflats along the Knik Arm…

15: Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)

excitement builds as these harbingers of Spring arrive, the next morning on my way to Anchorage I pull into the local Mac’s for a sausage biscuit and OJ excitedly anticipating….

16: Mew Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus)

and onward to Anchorage where enroute to an appointment I pull into the parking lot at the Westchester Lagoon and observe the many dedicated birders with their expensive optics and in a short 15 minutes spot…

17: Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
18: Ring-neck Duck (Aythya collaris)
19: Bufflehead (Bucephalia albeola)
20: Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)
21: Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
22: Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

and several, in sharp contrast to the smaller Mew Gull….

23: Herring “Cook Inlet” Gull (Larus argentatus)

Should start racking up the seasonal migrants and breeders pretty fast now….

 

As I prepare to get the spotting scope out on the pier, I figure'd I'd make a post detailing what I saw at Chewacla State Park the other day. Like some past trips, this was a dedicated herping expedition, and I was joined by a much more knowledgeable friend equipped with a homemade snake hook. This trip was a bittersweet one, because while I saw a huge amount of wildlife including several lifers, I also sadly had my binoculars stolen when I wasn't looking (I had placed them down on a rock when I was scaling down). These binoculars were Eagle Optics and on the older side - certainly not the best on the market, but ones I had grown up on, and ones that had remained reliable for more than a decade. I was very upset to see them taken. Fortunately, this summer my uncle and I will be going on most birding trips together, so we can share - I'll be investing in another pair of Eagle Optics soon. What a disappointment.

However, the day was far from a total bust! Birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates - all were seen, and many groups had several new lifers! The highlight of the day was easily the Northern Cottonmouth - I spotted it coiled up on the side of the trail only about 3 feet from me. Certainly got the heart racing. My friend managed to pick it up with the hook and move it closer to the water to protect both the snake from getting run over by mountain bikers, and passerby from a painful bite. This is only the 2nd wild venomous snake I've ever seen, following the Timber Rattler last year at Oak Mountain.

Birds:
66. Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) - 4/17/24
67. Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) - 4/18/24
68. Purple Martin (Progne subis) - 4/18/24
69. Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) - 4/18/24

Reptiles:
4. Southeastern Five-Lined Skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus) - 4/18/24
5. Ring-Necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus) - 4/18/24
6. Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) - 4/18/24
7. River Cooter (Pseudemys concinna) - 4/18/24

Amphibians:
8. American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) - 4/18/24

Invertebrates:
44. Eastern Harvestman (Leiobunum vittatum) - 4/16/24
45. Lovebug (Plecia nearctica) - 4/18/24
46. Southern Devil Scorpion (Vaejovis carolinianus) - 4/18/24
47. Eastern Dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus) - 4/18/24