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

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  1. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Let's hope it finds a mate! Mission accomplished (I said to my wife this morning that today's goal was to find the first vultures of the year!) , well timed too - just before the rugby final starts, the first 81 Griffon Vulture passed overhead, a nice group of seven very high (flying hidden...
  2. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Marsh Warbler was easy for me at our previous place, a boggy area with sedges and reeds less than 100m away held up to four pairs most years. I've found them about 3kms away from here so it's one that's a likely addition one day (I hope). Some welcome sun and blue sky this morning, thrushes and...
  3. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    A sad sight greeted us this morning, the rocks behind which the Coal Tit were nesting had been dislodged/ scrabbled out and fallen down to the ground and the nest destroyed, just a couple of juv. feathers left. I’m assuming a Pine Marten is the culprit though next door’s cat might have done it...
  4. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Despite this very wet and cool May, there's evidence of successful breeding here too, best was seeing FOUR Black Woodpecker flying past the house the other evening, making a lot of noise, so surely a family. Other juvs/families seen in the past two weeks are Long-tailed Tit, Greenfinch...
  5. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Haha, as I quickly learned, it’s always good to delight the French side of the family ;) Just been doing a bit of garden tidying ( I love the French name for a strimmer, une débroussailleuse!), the moment I stopped there was a male 78 Common Redstart singing in next door’s cherry tree. For...
  6. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    I wonder whether I’ll see it tonight even this far south, well, not tonight but rather early tomorrow as I’ll be up at 03h45 to go and help with the annual Black Grouse census ( I’ll probably be too bleary eyed to notice). What a thrill for those that witnessed it for the first time! Another...
  7. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Well, I suppose there’s a very remote possibility that it was a Sooty Falcon ;) Being in the far east of France we’re lucky to get RfF regularly in late Spring, if the weather worsens there can be several stuck for days in the Arve valley down from Chamonix. Poor old Tetley the Black Grouse was...
  8. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    For the third time this year, another nearly mega, ie. just the second of the species for the Garden List: 77 Red-footed Falcon a male heading determinedly North just before 6pm. The only previous one (in 2021) was an early May bird too. This year is seeing good numbers through Corsica and...
  9. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    I’ve been ‘scoping towards two isolated pines on the E flank of Sulens mountain the past week or so (when visibility permits) to see if history would repeat itself after last May’s Garden lifer, finally a clear blue dawn today and bingo, it’s back, 6 days later than last year: 75 Rufous-tailed...
  10. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    A nice surprise on yet another cool and wet day, only the second ever Spring record for here of a 73 Spotted Flycatcher perched up atop the trees across the road about 100m away. Earlier a male Linnet posed just outside the kitchen window and the Blue, Great and Coal Tit pairs are busy...
  11. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Nice one Frank, at least you identified it to species which is more than I did with my Harrier sp on Saturday ! :rolleyes:
  12. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Haha, good job I’m the calm type as a Pallid was seen near Geneva (c45kms North of here) mid- morning and another seen early afternoon about the same distance SW of us. Otherwise my face would be as red as Red Kite and my mood as black as a possible Black Kite ;)
  13. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    I dream that one day a Sand Martin will get a bit lost and wander up here… Anyway, they say it’s the early bird that gets the worm, my problem today being that this particular early bird (me) couldn’t tell which ‘worm’ (bird) I had! 06h50, chuffed after successfully spotting a Cuckoo on the...
  14. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Lovely stuff Frank, I may have asked before, in which département is your property?
  15. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    No Hobby for me yet, but three falcon species today (apologies in advance for one of my epic rambling posts): With a consistent end of April total of 72 species in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as today dawned I was looking at a below-par YTD of 67, having only added 7 during the month. It may strike...
  16. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Tell it that it’s not polite to talk during meals ;)
  17. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Not quite as quick as a flying Osprey I’d guess :unsure: !
  18. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Congratulations W, that is quite early for up there, I imagine you're not seeing many dragonflies yet! I've only ever had one Spring record here in 8 years, last May in fact. But I've seen two falcon sp this week, a male Peregrine the other day and a smart Kestrel seems to have taken up...
  19. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Hahaha. Ooh excellent, I hope to see an Osprey here one day, geese or gulls much less likely though! Snow here again overnight and frosty first thing, but it may be warming up tomorrow, hope so as I’ve run out of bird food to provide.
  20. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    All getting rather frustrating here with snow showers of varying intensity and very cold nights, -4C at dawn this morning. Had a fruitful walk to the village and back (except for the fact that the bakery was closed, my main objective was to buy bread…) with lots of Linnet and some Water Pipit...
  21. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    'the wife'? Tut tut Frank, very old school ;) As we expect in April, the snow has melted fast in the sunny intervals, at least at our 1000m altitude, no frozen Wryneck discoveries thankfully. I've gone on (at length, I know!) about the value of steaming dung heaps when snow's on the ground, the...
  22. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Lovely stuff as always BM, here I’m not sure how yesterday’s Wryneck will manage in this morning’s conditions (see photo at 07h20)! Now where did I put away that snow shovel…..
  23. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    After a week in UK (breezy and wet Devon then breezy and sunny London) we've come home to snow showers and much cooler temperatures so I was very surprised to see a Wryneck late this afternoon as it crept around outside the kitchen window, successfully finding insects despite it being only 5C. I...
  24. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    I got to 64 species on 7 April last year, but thanks to this Sahara dust-laden warm air current the past few days I'm ahead of the game with number 67 Barn Swallow this afternoon, two days later than our earliest ever here in 2022. More Wryneck calling going on today, early afternoon one...
  25. Richard Prior

    Garden / Yard List 2024

    Aargh, talking of Ibis……….. Whilst still just a callow youth I developed my two main life passions, birds and rugby, so yesterday seemed to have shaped up to be a good day, three additions for the year finishing with the Cormorant at 15h45 and then continuing with the Stormers vs La Rochelle...
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