Animal Log of your native fauna

[Isidro]

Today I compiled a bunch of species, all very common, but has been a nice urban wildwatching day: common pigeons, wood pigeons, collared doves, serins, house sparrows, common magpies, a great tit, mistle thrushes and heard a blackcap. Saw also two species of woodlice (Armadillidium vulgare and Porcellionides pruinosus) and the first Euryopis episinoides spider of the year.

[Advicot]

Heard my first cuckoo of 2021 today! Much earlier than 2020's, that was on 23rd March 

[bmathison1972]

I just walked up into City Creek Canyon and saw:
rock pigeon
American kestrel
American dipper
common raven <call only>
lesser goldfinch
song sparrow
black-capped chickadee
spotted towhee
American robin
dark-eyed junco
black-billed magpie
fox squirrel

there were at least two other birds I couldn't ID. One was a raptor in flight (I have a hard time identifying hawks in flight)

[Gwangi]

Not sure how many animals I saw today. Spent the day at the local Blackwater Wildlife Refuge and some time tonight looking for frogs. What I can remember are...

Red-winged blackbird
Brown-headed cowbird
Common grackle
Bald eagle
American bittern
Great blue heron
Eastern screech owl
Canada goose
Tundra swan
Mallard duck
Northern shoveler
Ringneck duck
Turkey vulture
Brown creeper
White-throated sparrow
Northern cardinal

White-tailed deer
Virginia opossum

Red-backed salamander
New Jersey chorus frog
Spring peeper

Milky slug
Leopard slug
Various unidentified worms, beetle larvae, centipedes, spiders.

I got some pictures too.

Spring peeper


NJ chorus frog


American bittern


Great blue heron


Bald eagle


Eastern screech owl


Tundra swans and some Canada geese

[Lanthanotus]

Damn, that looks like a great place, ....in general I get the impression that despite the intensive land use in the USA you guys still are able to count a great number more species during a hike/walk than me(we) here in Europe. Envy you

[bmathison1972]

those photos are nice. My binoculars came with an attachment for a phone - need to try and figure it out.

The owl is especially impressive!

Lanthanotus - there is A LOT of good habitat in the US. I live at the base of City Creek Canyon in the Wasatch Front, which is essentially one of the western arms of the Rocky Mountains

[Arctinus]

Damn, that looks like a great place, ....in general I get the impression that despite the intensive land use in the USA you guys still are able to count a great number more species during a hike/walk than me(we) here in Europe. Envy you

Could that be because of Europe being more densely populated and natural habitat being more patched and scattered? 

[Lanthanotus]

Yes, that in fact, but I guess it has also a lot to do with our history.... because in Central Europe you basically cannot find a single pristine place, one that never has been touched by humans,
the few "wilderness" spots we have are also secondary habitats, while in the US (and a lot of other parts of the world), even several places in the vicinity of big townships or cities have been
barely touched. Seen that a lot in Australia and it makes such a big difference to our "overworked/reworked" European nature.

[Gwangi]

The United States is a big place, and Europeans have only inhabited it for a short while when compared to Europe itself (obviously) so we haven't had enough time to subdue all the land yet. The eastern portion of the country is far more altered than the western portion, again owing to the longer period of time that Europeans have inhabited it. Virgin forest is mostly cleared in the east, most of the larger animals are gone (or nearly so) too. Thankfully with the development of cities many rural areas once inhabited by people were left vacant, which has allowed for a lot of re-growth in the east and the return of some wildlife. It might look like pristine untouched wilderness and old growth forest, but it's not, and much of it is secondary growth. Places like where I live remain "pristine" only because they're inhospitable to humans. Swamps, marshes, wetlands. Places that can't be altered, or are now protected. Where suitable land exists much of it is a patchwork of farmland, towns and housing developments, and small woodlots. Similar to how I imagine much of Europe must be. The amount of obvious impact Europeans have had diminishes as you head westward but even there true virgin wilderness is rarer than you might think.

[Isidro]

Today I saw a flock of redpolls resting in the branches of a mulberry And a large ichneumonid wasp, very nice, I didn't caught it for photos because ichneumonids are very often impossible to ID, but now I regret to do. It was very much like an Ophion but tan instead reddish, and with creamy stripes on thorax and head

[Isidro]

Yesterday was quite interesting. I saw the usual common and wood pigeons, magpies, sparrows, white wagtails, collared doves, heard a serin, saw a white stork resting far in a tower they used to breed in, one male and one female mallards resting in the border of a fountain, a male black redstart flying over wasteland, and once in my work a second Alsophila aescularia!! (more nicely marked than the one of 17th February), and also for second time in my life, the spider Zygiella x-notata!!!! (first one was in France in 2009)

[Arctinus]

Yes, that in fact, but I guess it has also a lot to do with our history.... because in Central Europe you basically cannot find a single pristine place, one that never has been touched by humans,
the few "wilderness" spots we have are also secondary habitats, while in the US (and a lot of other parts of the world), even several places in the vicinity of big townships or cities have been
barely touched. Seen that a lot in Australia and it makes such a big difference to our "overworked/reworked" European nature.

That is really sad, actually and what I suspected. After all, I believe the forests were already greatly affected in the Roman times. But here's to hoping that more land gets protected (though, again, that's open for debate  ).

The United States is a big place, and Europeans have only inhabited it for a short while when compared to Europe itself (obviously) so we haven't had enough time to subdue all the land yet. The eastern portion of the country is far more altered than the western portion, again owing to the longer period of time that Europeans have inhabited it. Virgin forest is mostly cleared in the east, most of the larger animals are gone (or nearly so) too. Thankfully with the development of cities many rural areas once inhabited by people were left vacant, which has allowed for a lot of re-growth in the east and the return of some wildlife. It might look like pristine untouched wilderness and old growth forest, but it's not, and much of it is secondary growth. Places like where I live remain "pristine" only because they're inhospitable to humans. Swamps, marshes, wetlands. Places that can't be altered, or are now protected. Where suitable land exists much of it is a patchwork of farmland, towns and housing developments, and small woodlots. Similar to how I imagine much of Europe must be. The amount of obvious impact Europeans have had diminishes as you head westward but even there true virgin wilderness is rarer than you might think.

I imagine my country is pretty much something like eastern US in that regard. With one difference: though many rural areas or, should I say, villages are losing their inhabitants (people moving to cities/towns), I think the trend here is still more people moving to the countryside (because they want a house of their own and Slovenians really love nature). And as for the protected areas: there are quite a few, but only one national park. And that park isn't as pristine as one would think (for the reasons you've mentioned).

As for the log, well, I haven't seen much animals, lately. Or at least not any big ones. Only a bumblebee, numerous birds (great tits, blackbirds, long-tailed tits etc.), a yellow butterfly (I believe it was a clouded yellow butterfly), a flock of geese going north, I think (ooh, that was quite interesting to watch  ), a few spiders (didn't think of identifying them, only picked them up and took them outside) and heard some noise among the leaves on the outskirts of the forest (either mice or common wall lizards). It's strange I haven't seen much more animals, considering I (currently) live not-so-far from the forest (and the fact that I saw martens, roe deer, foxes, jays, woodpeckers and other animals in the past). I guess this also shows the area might be kind of degraded (fauna-wise).  Or maybe I'm just unlucky. 

Oh, I almost forgot about the herd of fallow deer, but they can't really be counted as local fauna, since they're owned and fenced in.

[Arctinus]

Yes, that in fact, but I guess it has also a lot to do with our history.... because in Central Europe you basically cannot find a single pristine place, one that never has been touched by humans,
the few "wilderness" spots we have are also secondary habitats, while in the US (and a lot of other parts of the world), even several places in the vicinity of big townships or cities have been
barely touched. Seen that a lot in Australia and it makes such a big difference to our "overworked/reworked" European nature.

That is really sad, actually and what I suspected. After all, I believe the forests were already greatly affected in the Roman times. But here's to hoping that more land gets protected (though, again, that's open for debate  ).

The United States is a big place, and Europeans have only inhabited it for a short while when compared to Europe itself (obviously) so we haven't had enough time to subdue all the land yet. The eastern portion of the country is far more altered than the western portion, again owing to the longer period of time that Europeans have inhabited it. Virgin forest is mostly cleared in the east, most of the larger animals are gone (or nearly so) too. Thankfully with the development of cities many rural areas once inhabited by people were left vacant, which has allowed for a lot of re-growth in the east and the return of some wildlife. It might look like pristine untouched wilderness and old growth forest, but it's not, and much of it is secondary growth. Places like where I live remain "pristine" only because they're inhospitable to humans. Swamps, marshes, wetlands. Places that can't be altered, or are now protected. Where suitable land exists much of it is a patchwork of farmland, towns and housing developments, and small woodlots. Similar to how I imagine much of Europe must be. The amount of obvious impact Europeans have had diminishes as you head westward but even there true virgin wilderness is rarer than you might think.

I imagine my country is pretty much something like eastern US in that regard. With one difference: though many rural areas or, should I say, villages are losing their inhabitants (people moving to cities/towns), I think the trend here is still more people moving to the countryside (because they want a house of their own and Slovenians really love nature). And as for the protected areas: there are quite a few, but only one national park. And that park isn't as pristine as one would think (for the reasons you've mentioned).

As for the log, well, I haven't seen much animals, lately. Or at least not any big ones. Only a bumblebee, numerous birds (great tits, blackbirds, long-tailed tits etc.), a yellow butterfly (I believe it was a clouded yellow butterfly), a flock of geese going north, I think (ooh, that was quite interesting to watch  ), a few spiders (didn't think of identifying them, only picked them up and took them outside) and heard some noise among the leaves on the outskirts of the forest (either mice or common wall lizards). It's strange I haven't seen much more animals, considering I (currently) live not-so-far from the forest (and the fact that I saw martens, roe deer, foxes, jays, woodpeckers and other animals in the past). I guess this also shows the area might be kind of degraded (fauna-wise).  Or maybe I'm just unlucky. 

Oh, I almost forgot about the herd of fallow deer, but they can't really be counted as local fauna, since they're owned and fenced in.

EDIT: I just now remembered I saw two common buzzards circling the neighbour's meadow/pasture yesterday, and I also saw a few turtle doves. 

Also, for some reason, I keep hitting the reply button instead of modify. I apologise for that. 

[Isidro]

I forgot to mention two days ago a flock of tree sparrows (mixed with some wood doves) in the grass of a park.
And yesterday I go to my parent's garden, the wild-type bearded iris bloomed at last, and the base of it was absolutely full of the bulb plant aphids (Dysaphis tulipae), tended of course by the ants Tapinoma nigerrimum that is a pest in my garden. I also caught a snail Rumina decollata in the act of devouring the leaves of one of my foxgrape fritillaries (Fritillaria uva-vulpis).
Today a rolled larva of Melyris oblonga appeared near my feet in same place where I writing this.

[Advicot]

First white wagtail Motacilla alba (pied wagtail is the UK race) of 2021 seen today, it was on top of the cow shed 

[bmathison1972]

Walked up City Creek Canyon again today. It was very warm and sunny and most snow melted away, which really changed the faunal make-up (several usual species not present). Did see:

1. rock dove (domestic pigeon)
2. red-tailed hawk
3. dark-eyed junco
4. American/lesser goldfinch (couldn't tell which)
5. American robin
6. cedar waxwing
7. Woodhouse's scrub jay
8. house sparrow
9. house finch
10. American crow
11. black-capped chickadee
12. European starling
13. fox squirrel
14. brook (brown?) trout
15. mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)

[Gwangi]

Took the kayak out today for some fishing and wildlife watching. Here's what I saw...

Fish
Chain pickerel
Largemouth bass

Amphibians (heard, not seen)
Southern leopard frog
Spring peeper
New Jersey chorus frog

Reptiles
Eastern painted turtle

Birds
Osprey (first one of the year)
Red-tailed hawk
Great blue heron
Turkey vulture
Canada goose
American widgeon
Wood duck
Mallard
Bufflehead
Belted kingfisher
Pileated woodpecker
Red-winged blackbird
Common grackle

Mammals
Eastern gray squirrel

[Isidro]

When I go to work is well before sunrise. Typically I heard nocturnal birds: mistle thrush and European robin was heard today. But I found also, in few minutes, the surprise of hear callings of completely diurnal birds: common serin, magpie and collared dove, in complete darkness. I also heard today a Cetti's warbler, but not sure about how nocturnal can be this species.

And yesterday, I saw the true bug Heterogaster urticae, for second time in my life (first one was in 2009). And a carrion crow flying (rare in my city! I saw no one since 2017! Even ravens are more common than carrion crows in my city, I usually see ravens every year). Also yesterday I say a bunch of 6 black kites (Milvus migrans) soaring very high in the sky. They must have just arrived from Africa! (black kites migrate while red kites are residents).

[Isidro]

Forgot to mention that the same day of the carrion crow, black kites and the Heterogaster bug, I also saw the first bats of the year. Common pipistrelles, that are the only bats where I live (they're very, very common inside the city).

[Lanthanotus]

Today:

Alcedo atthis
Saxicola rubicola
Milvus milvus
Buteo buteo
Falco tinnuculus
Ardea alba
Ardea cinerea
Troglodytes troglodytes
Phylloscopus collybita
Erithacus rubecula
Gallinula chloropus
Ciconia ciconia
Pica pica
Corvus corone
Branta canadensis
Alopochen aegyptiaca

Capreolus capreolus
Lepus europaeus