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

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  1. Benedict Macdonald

    Kazakhstan bird guide / driver-guide

    Hi there, I am planning on visiting Western Palearctic Kazakhstan (Uralsk south to Atyrau) in June 2024. The guide recommended to me is sadly now trapped in Russia so I wondered if anyone could recommend any good driver/guides for Kazakhstan. I know most of the sites, so it's most about...
  2. Benedict Macdonald

    Mauritania (WP - 3-12 April 2024)

    I will be arranging a specialist trip with 2-3 vehicles/guides this April to connect with the following target species, but as always very happy to build more into the itinerary. This trip is deemed safe with good guides, and relatively straightforwards. The on-ground costs are estimated to be...
  3. Benedict Macdonald

    Major issue with East Coast Binocular Repairs - 5 month delay returning binoculars!

    Hi all, Just wondered if anyone has had any recent experience of East Coast Binocular repairs? I sent in my Zeiss HT 8x42 bins almost five months ago (July) with a broken focus wheel that required a part from Germany. Every time I phone, they never seem sure where the binocular is, and never...
  4. Benedict Macdonald

    EGYPT - taking optics into country? Latest intel needed

    Dear all, Was quite far along with planning a northern Egypt trip this week when my fixers got back to ask for photos of my bins, camera and scope, ran them back the border authorities and came back saying, you cannot legally take optics into Egypt. I am aware of 100s of birder visits to...
  5. Benedict Macdonald

    CAPE VERDE 22-30 JULY *Final*

    Hi all, Very much looking forward to this much-postponed trip and looking for keen birders to join. I'll be covering Santiago first, for all land endemics, coastal species and sea-watching, before moving to Sao Nicolau for the Raso/Branco section as well as land-based seawatches. I will use a...
  6. Benedict Macdonald

    Urgent - Birding Ireland this weekend for WP Rares

    Hi there, I am keen on a companion (either Ireland or UK) interested in flying UK-Ireland for 2 days WP listing, targets being: DC Cormorant Northern Harrier American Coot Forster's Tern Semipalmated Plover Please DM me asap if keen, this seems a really good chance to see a lot of quality...
  7. Benedict Macdonald

    WP Trips 2022 - Mauretania (Apr); Urals (Jun); Turkey (Jul), Batumi (Sep), C.Verde (Nov)

    Evening all, After several years of non-event overseas birding I am keen to up the ante in 2022 with some WP trips. The last major pioneering trip I did was in 2017, to Azerbaijan, where I refound caspian tit, and in February this year will be joining a group of Dutch birders to try and see...
  8. Benedict Macdonald

    Finland/Arctic Norway c.16-25 Mar 2019

    The dates are still flexible within a week or so, but in late March I’ll be doing a 10 day trip to northern Scandinavia for some great northern birding and a great chance of charismatic mammals too, not to mention amazing vistas and photo opportunities. My specific targets are 8 species which...
  9. Benedict Macdonald

    Verde - 20-27 October inclusive

    Have now moved this trip forward, and shortened slightly, for autumn half term. Also far better chances of seabirds and red-footed booby. B
  10. Benedict Macdonald

    Gibraltar - Ruppell's Vulture & Elegant Tern

    A short trip report with detailed GPS details of how to locate Ruppell's Vultures around Tarifa, Spain and Gibraltar area now available via my website at www.ben-macdonald.co.uk Also notes on breeding Elegant Terns, Iberian Chiffchaff and Woodpecker. B
  11. Benedict Macdonald

    Borneo: Mulu & Bako National Parks

    A report on the many species of note observed in Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, in September 2016 and 2017, during a filming trip, is now online via my website and attached to this posting. It outlines lowland primary rainforest species seen in Mulu and montane specialities seen climbing...
  12. Benedict Macdonald

    Turkey Mini-trip Jul or Aug (Fish Owl, Babbler)

    This would just be a quick trip of 4 days max in-country to see the following: Fly UK to Antalya Brown Fish Owls (guided or boat as seems best - can discuss) Fly internally to Birecik Iraq Babbler / Chestnut-shouldered Sparrow (Birecik) Drive 3 hours to Nemrut Dagi - Kurdistan Wheatear Fly...
  13. Benedict Macdonald

    Georgia Armenia 7-19 September 2018

    Anyone who has read recent reports (see Azerbaijan) on Birdforum will know I'm scaling up my birding efforts in the WP and am now planning the second part of a Big Caucasus trip for this September. Three birding areas will be targetted: The Yerevan vicinity of Armenia (Armash, Mt. Aragats &...
  14. Benedict Macdonald

    Sumatra: Leuser Ecosystem

    Report attached from a filming visit to Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra. Includes some notes on charismatic mammal fauna (Sumatran orangutan, tiger and Siamang etc.) and around 100 bird species recorded during the trip, including a variety of fruit pigeons, hornbills, drongos, hawk-eagles and so on.
  15. Benedict Macdonald

    Netherlands (LWFG Special) - Dec 2016

    A specialised winter trip report to locate wild wintering Lesser White-fronted Geese. Report focuses on this species in great detail, with GPS sites for the two key wintering areas and explanations of how the birds move around and where to find them in different months (Dec-Jan best). Also in...
  16. Benedict Macdonald

    Mongolia (Hustai NP) - June 2016

    A short trip report on Hustai National Park, Mongolia, in summer. This was a filming trip so lots of field time but without specifically targeting any species in particular. That said, the park provides an excellent cross-section of Mongolian steppe wildlife, not to mention a third of the...
  17. Benedict Macdonald

    Astrakhan Steppes (WP Russia) - 2016

    This report might interest those who feel like exploring a new and relatively little-known corner of the Western Palearctic: the steppes north of the Caspian Sea. In fairness, most of these species, and some more steppe birds, may be encountered with more ease in Kazakhstan, but thought it was...
  18. Benedict Macdonald

    Eastern Poland 2016 online (GPS Guide)

    Following yesterday's upload, I'm pleased to say Eastern Poland (April 2016) is now online via my website (search Ben Macdonald and go to Birds section, navigate to bottom of page). Hopefully it will make its way here in due course. Full GPS details as always. Detailed and up to date...
  19. Benedict Macdonald

    Azerbaijan & Nakhchivan (inc. Caspian Tit)

    Regrettably this trip report cannot be pasted into BirdForum, and hopefully will not be removed as a result, but for the community here, there is now an extremely detailed Azerbaijan 2017 trip report available on my website. Search for Ben Macdonald and then visit the Birds section of my...
  20. Benedict Macdonald

    Cape Verde clean-up: 1-9 April 2018

    Dear all, Last year I advertised for a trip I had planned to Azerbaijan, a difficult destination, where on a trip in June we found virtually all of the country's birds including locating caspian tit, for the first time since the late 1970s I believe. This year I'm planning another 'military...
  21. Benedict Macdonald

    Dark Chanting Goshawk - historical biology

    Having rediscovered Caspian Tit in the Hyrcan Forest in Azerbaijan this June, it has become apparent that in some cases, breeding species in the WP can, occasionally, be rediscovered by travelling into extremely remote or unstudied habitats where the original cause for decline elsewhere...
  22. Benedict Macdonald

    Cape Verde - 8-15 April 2017

    Hi all, At the risk of dominating this smaller corner of the big world that is BF, I am doing a fairly short-notice trip to Cape Verde for a week. Firstly, it's important to note that flight prices are rising exponentially, I booked a good deal to Sal from Manchester with Thomas Cook and there...
  23. Benedict Macdonald

    Big Caucasus Trip - Ben Macdonald

    Hi all, Every year I aim to do one big, comprehensive regional trip in the Western Palearctic. This generally involves going for all possible target species, with really serious GPS-based planning, masses of research and usually seeing all the target species in a region at any time of year...
  24. Benedict Macdonald

    Serious Western Palearctic Trip THIS May

    I am a keen WP traveller and tend to run tightly-organised, intense WP birding trips. Think GPS for all sites, the latest 2015 gen, 6 hours sleep maximum and a lot of travel over the course of a week. Just returned from Israel, with 40 lifers and 160 species in 7 days, from Steppe Eagles in...
  25. Benedict Macdonald

    Insurance for Kit - Help

    Evening all, I wonder how the thousands of birders out there insure their kit so that if their car is broken into, they are mugged etc., they are covered. For many birders, kit comes to well over £1000 and currently my car contents insurance does not cover beyond this, whilst my house...
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