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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. Carless

    Small black/white bird near Ranya/Dokan Iraqi Kurdistan.

    I saw a small black/white bird from a taxi somewhere between Koya and Slemani in Iraqi Kurdistan. It was sitting on stoney ground. Fairly evenly divided into black/white though perhaps a bit more black. It's possible that it might be dark brown rather than black. If the black/brown bits were...
  2. Carless

    Indian Roller

    Sorry to come back after a long time with a question. I think I might have just seen an Indian Roller. I was walking over a bridge in Koya, in Iraqi Kurdistan. There was this most amazing flash of bright turquoise wings. Like a British kingfisher, but on steroids. There were a number of...
  3. Carless

    Himalayan Balsam vs. Reeds

    Hi all. Near me there is a stand of reeds, which is being colonised by Himalayan Balsam. Currently the balsam is starting to grow. Last year's dead reeds are still standing but I can see no sign of the reeds sprouting. What is the best method of removing the balsam so that the reeds will grow...
  4. Carless

    Swifts, swallows, martins

    This year we seem to have seen remarkably few of any of these birds. We're in Leicester, in the UK. I thought it might be being discussed here already, but didn't find a thread with a search. Anyone else noticing the same?
  5. Carless

    What sort of foxes are these?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJCknhL15dQ&t=57s The location is Iran. I don't think they are Turkmenian Foxes as Turmkenian Foxes have regular sized ears. They look a bit like Fennec Foxes, but they are only found in Africa. Though, I've seen other youtube videos of foxes in Iran that the...
  6. Carless

    Distribution of Cinnabar Moths Question

    We regularly have cinnabar moth caterpillars on the very small amount of ragwort we have in the back garden. We get huge numbers of them for the small amount of ragwort, and end up trucking in replacement ragwort when they have stripped it. What's curious though is how rare the caterpillars...
  7. Carless

    Seven egrets

    Seven egrets, all at once. Until recently, it was uncommo to see even one.n
  8. Carless

    Meadow warbler nest usage UK

    Reed warbler nest usage UK When will reed warblers be finished on the nest? I'm clearing Himalayan balsam from an area that used to be a reed bed before the balsam out-competed it. There are some reeds around the edge, and I've seen a reed warbler checking out what I'm doing. I'm concerned it...
  9. Carless

    Nest in reeds - Leicester UK

    Today I found a small and rather perfect looking nest in some reeds. It was attached to one of last year's dead reeds. There were no eggs or chicks in the nest, it looked long unused. Looking at nests online, the closest I could find is a reed warbler's nest. However, the nest I saw looked...
  10. Carless

    Impatiens species of some sort?

    An unusual plant has started growing in some areas where I have cleared out Himalayan Balsam. The flower looks very much like the flower of Himalayan balsam, but it is a dark orange. The stems again look similar to Himalayan balsam, but the leaves are smaller, especially not as long, and seem to...
  11. Carless

    Common/Eurasian Crane

    I didn't know that there was a reintroduction programme for these until I saw one in fields near to the River Severn. That was a serious WTF? moment.
  12. Carless

    Thrush-like bird, Leicester, UK

    I got a good look at this one, but am still clueless. It was a bird shaped and sized like a smallish thrush, maybe redwing sized. It acted like a blackbird, flying across the path in front of me, froze on the ground a bit, then skitting into some undergrowth on the bank of a river. But the...
  13. Carless

    3 Ducks, Leicester UK

    Three ducks. Two with mallard green heads, blue mallard-like greyish beak, and a chocolate brown body. The other more of a black body with a chocolate brown head, also very mallard shaped. I assume they're something domestic, are they?
  14. Carless

    Dropped Binoculars out of collimation?

    Dear all, I have a pair of 20x60 Tento binoculars, which we've had for some years. Unfortunately, my partner dropped them onto concrete. They now have double images. I'm not knowledgeable about the workings of binoculars, but figure that it won't be worth the cost of getting them...
  15. Carless

    Underwater Camera

    I would like to be able to take underwater photographs and video. I was very surprised to see how cheaply these can be bought nowdays, e.g. the Kodak Easyshare, at about £70. But, the video on that is only VGA, and the zoom appears to be digital only. I'd like to take 1080p video, not only...
  16. Carless

    Aldi Zoom Binoculars Pt 2

    I'm trying to respond to this thread, but can't because it's more than 663 days old http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1411542#post1411542 In the above thread, I was asked to respond after two weeks, then two months, then two years after buying a pair of Aldi Zoom Binoculars. It's now...
  17. Carless

    Seal Watching Trips @ Hunstanton UK

    I'm interested in going on an organised seal watching trip (amphibious vehicle) @ Hunstanton, UK. Or, I would be if I was confident that these trips were conducted in an ecologically sound manner. Does anyone know if these organised trips are likely to be ecologically sound, or unsound?
  18. Carless

    Feeding wild ducks

    The times article on feeding water birds such as ducks mentions the problems of a diet which is too high in white bread. The same article mentions that cake crumbs are a better option. I have a cake cooking in the kitchen which is fundamentally a white cake recipe, but made with wholemeal flour...
  19. Carless

    Critique my (UK-centric) Sporcle quiz?

    Hi there. Could anyone give me feedback on my quiz to guess the common names of British birds from their Latin names? I wanted to keep the quiz as small as possible while still including the most well known birds. Not sure if I made the correct choices. Also, I may not have remembered all...
  20. Carless

    Red Kites in Leicester

    Has anyone else seen a Red Kite over Leicester?
  21. Carless

    Quick start?

    How do people get photographs of birds (and other animals) before they move? I keep on finding that by the time I've switched the camera on, removed the lens cap, aimed, and zoomed, the bird or other animal has moved on. Does anyone here apply any "strategies" for this sort of thing? Here's a...
  22. Carless

    Feeding the birds in the back garden

    At present we're feeding birds in the back garden each morning. But, what happens is that over time, all the smaller birds get pushed out by the pigeons. Are there strategies that would allow the robins, dunnocks, sparrows, tits etc. to get food, but not allow the pigeons to completely take over?
  23. Carless

    Long Eared Owl @ Rutland Water

    A whole lot of people, including myself and my family, saw a long eared owl at Rutland Water today. If there's anyone out there who took a photo of it, would it be possible to get a copy?
  24. Carless

    Bird on Everest

    I'm watching a DVD of an Everest climb. They're climbing the north side, and were just reaching the last base camp at 8000 metres. And there was a large bird flying around. Looked like a moderately large raptor, but could have been a large crow/raven I suppose. What kind of bird would be flying...
  25. Carless

    Grunting/snorting sounds

    Last night while in a local park, about 11:30pm, I heard some grunting noises coming from the bushes. Sounded mammalian, like a pig grunting and snorting but "smaller" and higher pitched, as you'd probably expect if you thought of a very small pig snorting and grunting. Which animals are likely...
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