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

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  1. J

    Camargue France

    Do you mean a local guide? The Camargue is very easy to bird by yourself if you have a rental car. If you can find a copy of ‘A Birdwatching Guide to South of the Loire including Corsica (J.Crozier)’, it covers the Camargue (and you can always checkout the maps with a look at Google Earth)...
  2. J

    32 bit float recorders

    I don't think things are not quite that simple. To use a poor analogy, we could consider that a mic is like a camera lens, where the sensitivity equate to the focal length and the directional performance of the mic, the field of view. In this analogy, gain could be considered to be like...
  3. J

    32 bit float recorders

    It is really hard to judge how ‘good’ recorders with built in mics will be. The bottom line is that most companies (including Tascam) are pretty quite in their specifications about mic sensitivity etc. Most devices are designed to record music or vocals from close to, so generally don’t have...
  4. J

    Tascam DR-07 & parabolic mic

    I don’t use the Tascam, but I would have thought that there are only a few things that could be wrong. Firstly, have you selected the input as an external mic? The manual is a bit sketchy, but it suggests that you press the menu button, then the + and - to select the Rec Settings to then set...
  5. J

    Zoom F3 and Sennheiser ME66

    Hi, For question 1 you should be able to select ‘mic’ as the input rather than ‘mic (+48v)’. So you have a choice… simple mic input and powering of the mic via the K6, or phantom power with no need for the K6 to provide power. Not sure what you mean for question 2. There is volume on the...
  6. J

    Recording noc-mig direct to laptop

    Are you looking to check the forecast and only deploy when suitable? A bumblebee cover will protect against some wind, but my main concern would be rain. I don’t think the EM272 foam or bumblebee covers really make the mic fully weatherproof. I have previously used the Wildlife Acoustics SM4...
  7. J

    Recording noc-mig direct to laptop

    Making things complicated, but the computer mic input must also provide Plug-in-Power - I am pretty sure that it will do this. PiP is not an absolute standard - I have recorders that provide 2.5V and others that can provide 5.0V. I believe that the standard allows voltages in the range of...
  8. J

    Swift spp ID, Cornwall, UK

    Just refreshed my memory by re-reading the article in Dutch Birding on the birds discovered in Spain. The features they used to confirm the ID were rather limited, and were 1/ Lack of pale throat. Interest they mention that worn Common Swifts occasionally also have a dark throat - but according...
  9. J

    Equipment discussion: to blimp or not to blimp

    Yes. I think this is easy to fix. If you are referring to my comments about making sure the kit is compatible, I was more referring to making sure that the clips in the suspension system are the right size. For example an Rode NTG5 is 19mm diameter, whereas a old Sennheisser ME67 is 22.5mm...
  10. J

    Advices on recorder and microphone

    Recording more distant birds is always difficult - use a more sensitive mic, or apply more gain, and you also will also boost unwanted noise (ambient and/or equipment self noise). Having a good signal to noise ratio (by being close), is generally the trick to better recordings. I would advise...
  11. J

    Equipment discussion: to blimp or not to blimp

    A proper blimp will provide the best protection against wind noise, as you are creating a ‘cushion’ of air around the mic. Also a suspension system is great for minimising and handling noise. The only problem can be the connection cable to the mic. Some systems come with an XLR connection...
  12. J

    Have anyone tried the new Zoom H1 essential?

    I have not tried the H1 Essential, but I suspect it really depends on how you intend to use the recorder. I cannot see a spec for mic sensitivity in the H1N, but the sensitivity of the mics on the H1 Essential is not great, so the recorder would be best for close work - I suspect that both...
  13. J

    Equipment suggestion for recording owls for research

    Yes. Lots of consumer all-in-one recorders have scant detail on mic sensitivity, but Zoom do seem to publish a reasonably detailed specification. The H5 mic is stated to have a sensitivity of -45 dB, 1 kHz at 1 Pa (which is 5.6234 mV/Pa). If you compare this with most external mics it is...
  14. J

    Equipment suggestion for recording owls for research

    If you are going to be there and operate the recorder, then perhaps you don’t need a passive recorder. An all-in-one would probably suit, but I am not sure of a make and model - they are generally designed for recording music, so may not be very sensitive and able to pick up more distant sounds...
  15. J

    Equipment suggestion for recording owls for research

    I was going to suggest a WildLife Acoustics SM4 or SM Mini, but they will both blow your budget. These are both passive recorders, so designed for research and monitoring. They come in a weather tight housing, that can be secured in place with a cable lock (rather like a trail camera). The...
  16. J

    new tiny Zoom F3 recorder

    Interesting. I sometimes see what I think are bats in my recordings, but they are not that high frequency - generally 15-20 Khz. My mics (and most mics in general) only work up to 20Khz, so even if I record at 192Khz, I don't think the mic can pick up most bat calls. I have an ultrasonic bat...
  17. J

    Help needed for Opus: identification of the species in the Wandering Albatross complex.

    Hmmm, I was recently trying to revise some of these for a trip to the subantarctic islands, and I think you will be dissapointed! I understand that the main differences are in biometrics and that identification away from breeding grounds can be impossible. I have been told that where the...
  18. J

    Namibia / Lark

    Only been to Nambia once, so no expert, but I think it is probably Sabota Lark. Chunky bill, compact shape, strong super creating capped appearance, malar stripe and lack of rufous in wing. FCL does not have a malar stripe and should show more rufous in wing.
  19. J

    Sand Plovers from Oman, 02/2024

    Just searching the net and an old article by Hirschfeld, Roselaar and Shirihai (2000), indicates there are differences in both tail pattern and wind bar pattern. The tail pattern is not really visible in the flight photos, so taking the wing bar, the bar in GSP is meant to bulge out on the...
  20. J

    Sand Plovers from Oman, 02/2024

    Very interesting. I haven't got any reference books with me, but I seem to recall that species difference in tail pattern and wing-bar have also been mooted - or has this been disproven, of only works for LSP and GSP, but not TSP? It would be great to know if all possible flight features hold...
  21. J

    Sand Plovers from Oman, 02/2024

    Nice video. The only thing I would say is that GSPs in Malaysia should be 'leschenaultii' whereas birds in Oman should be 'columbinus'. I recall (but could be wrong) that that later subspecies is less 'gangly' with a shorter bill, so I think it is harder to tell from Tibetan. The GSP in the...
  22. J

    Sand Plovers from Oman, 02/2024

    I also struggled with winter plumage birds in Oman. Looking at bill length, bulbous tip to the bill, toe projection etc. I think Greater, apart from perhaps the last photo. I presume this is a different bird which looks a bit smaller billed and round headed and may be Tibetan.
  23. J

    BirdMic Audio Demo

    I think in the demo he moves the speaker to 50m away, so not too bad (circa 150ft).
  24. J

    Shrikes of the World

    I haven’t read the book either, but as you suggest for GGS, as long as the book covers the various ‘forms’ of Isabelline Shrike, then hopefully it has value, regardless of how it labels them. If it covers differences of opinion by taxonomists (e.g ‘treated as a valid species by some...
  25. J

    Question about post-processing: getting audio-bombed

    There are a few high peaks in this recording and ‘distortion’ at one point. I haven’t checked the peak level, but I think the audio is clipped. Thunderstorms are quite hard to record as there is a large dynamic range between the quiet and loud bits. Obviously, if you normalise the whole file...
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