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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.

    (Googles) Kurdish wheatear looks highly plausible. Thank you.
  2. 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...
  3. Carless

    Indian Roller

    Thanks both of you. Now I look at some photos, I'm pretty sure I remember the meaty for a kingfisher beak. And, it was acting like a kingfisher. I'm pretty confident in this ID now. Thanks again.
  4. 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...
  5. Carless

    Himalayan Balsam vs. Reeds

    Trampling can cause damage. But, it is also my experience that the balsam, if left, will push the reed/rushes out anyhow. I've made that mistake before of leaving balsam in a reed/rush bed and next year there's just balsam and nothing else. So, I'm not convinced that just leaving the balsam is...
  6. Carless

    Himalayan Balsam vs. Reeds

    Thanks. I've done a lot of balsam removal in the past (and present). This issue here is one particular stand/bed of rushes. it's in an area which does flood, but is dry now. I have no control over how much water floods the are and when. I can't use herbicides as it's on public land, not my...
  7. 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...
  8. Carless

    What sort of foxes are these?

    Thanks. If I don't go now, then I simply won't get the chance to go for years. My passport is clean and boring, as I usually travel on my UK passport. (Which wouldn't be problematic - Germany, Japan, Czechia, New Zealand, Austria.) Not having a visa can cause other problems. There was a trip...
  9. Carless

    What sort of foxes are these?

    Just bringing this thread back to life. It's taking ages, but I should have my visa for Iran in my hands tomorrow, and I leave on the 15th of December. I'm not sure how much wildlife watching I'll get as time is limited, but at least after all this time (first plan was Easter 2017!) it seems...
  10. Carless

    Swifts, swallows, martins

    That's good to hear. I was mainly concerned that the populations may have crashed.
  11. 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?
  12. Carless

    The mismeasure of ape social cognition

    Could you give a summary of the findings? There is an abstract, but it is not very clear as to exactly what the research is and what the results are. It's clear from the abstract that they're talking about the mismeasure of social intelligence in apes, and whether or not humans are superior to...
  13. Carless

    What sort of foxes are these?

    @Jos. Thanks for the offer of advice. I'm planning to go next Easter (which I note you describe as the ideal time to travel there.) I was meant to go Easter this year but life got in the way. Generally I think I'm well prepared and know most of what I need to know, but there is always more to...
  14. Carless

    What sort of foxes are these?

    Thanks very much to all who answered, but in particular Jos Stratford. I've read your 'spring' tour report, and will read the others. It takes me some time as I don't know birds that well, and stopped to google birds often. Some really interesting birds there, e.g. the Goliath herons and the...
  15. Carless

    What sort of foxes are these?

    NZ passport! Provided that I arrive at a major airport I don't need a visa ahead of time. People who only have a UK passport need to get a visa and, due to some government level tit-for-tat, need to go on an organised tour. There are lots of trip reports on the interwebz.
  16. Carless

    What sort of foxes are these?

    Thanks very much. After reading your post, I googled Ruppell's fox again. And immediately found this page: http://www.mekshat.com/vb/showthread.php?182843-الدليل-المصور-للثدييات-في-المملكة-العربية-السعودية which google translate reveals to be a list of mammals in Saudi Arabia. Boy, do they have...
  17. 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...
  18. 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...
  19. Carless

    Seven egrets

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

    Meadow warbler nest usage UK

    Damn, I meant reed warbler. Major brain fart there. Yes, there's no way I can wait until mid-August as the balsam will have seeded. I really need to do primary clearing by the end of June and finish mopping up by the end of July. I also can't just leave it, as the balsam is decimating the...
  21. 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...
  22. Carless

    UK Herps 2015

    I've never seen a slowworm. How might I go about seeing one (without excessively bothering said slowworm or causing ecological harm)? I live in Leicester, if that's relevant.
  23. Carless

    Nest in reeds - Leicester UK

    The nest I saw had no eggs in it. Did you look at the picture on the webpage and think that was the nest I wanted to identify?
  24. 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...
  25. Carless

    2015 UK Orchids

    Last weekend we went to a moderately local wood, and saw early purple orchids for my first time, that I remember. There was another orchid species there as well, but as it wasn't flowering yet, we couldn't identify it. What really impressed us was the number of orchids around, they were...
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