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

Recent content by Ruby

  1. Ruby

    Gull - Sussex UK

    Hi, Can anyone give me some guidance re: the gull on the right end of this group? I noted at the time its white head, dark eye, slightly darker mantle and taller, upright posture - all good features for Caspian Gull.... But I also couldn't really see the expected bill-length and head shape, so...
  2. Ruby

    Marrakesh and E Morocco

    I didn't think it looked much like a Glossy Ibis, and I've seen plenty of those.... Bit of a nuisance that it came and went before I had any chance of getting a pic... I did mean to mention the species count... Finished up with only 46 species, but there were quite a few that got away, as I...
  3. Ruby

    Marrakesh and E Morocco

    Here's a fairly typical example of the fertile areas that you would come across from time to time....
  4. Ruby

    Marrakesh and E Morocco

    Hi Dave, Whilst the overall habitat is pretty dry and barren, we were very surprised about the number of quite large fertile areas which seemed to be based around quite a few decent sized rivers. Certainly there was enough wetland for us to be seeing Great and Little Egrets for example...
  5. Ruby

    Marrakesh and E Morocco

    Hi Steve, Thanks for the feedback..... Yes it WAS very frustrating driving past so many potentially good birds but, in fairness, we had taken the decision to do a tourist tour, rather than one aimed more specifically towards birds or wildlife, so we kinda knew what we were letting ourselves in...
  6. Ruby

    Marrakesh and E Morocco

    An interesting stop in the morning was the Tinghir Gorge, which is an impressive narrow 300m high cleft that contains a spring-fed river. There were a few Martins flying about, which I found difficult to get a decent look at, but one came down to gather mud, and my tentative id is Crag Martin...
  7. Ruby

    Marrakesh and E Morocco

    Phase 2 was to be a 3-day trip up and over the High Atlas Mountains and ending up at the edge of the Sahara Desert…. It was by no means a birding trip (too expensive!) but did hope to see a few good birds along the way – and so it proved. We were sharing a minibus with 4 non-birders for the...
  8. Ruby

    Marrakesh and E Morocco

    Hi All, Just back from a week in Morocco.... definitely not a birding trip, but you've always got your bins, so did see quite a few good birds, so thought I'd post a trip-report here in case it might be of use to others thinking of heading out to this increasingly popular holiday destination...
  9. Ruby

    Wigeon - or American? Surrey UK

    Hi All, Watching what I at took to be a juvenile Wigeon when it started to make an unfamiliar call - a kind of barking which sounded like halfway between a Mallard and a Crow.... I'd never heard this call before, and it was quite unlike the usual fluting whistle. I had a listen to the call of...
  10. Ruby

    Willow Emerald Damselfly?

    Hi All, If anyone wanted to go look for Willow Emeralds at Spynes Mere, now is probably a good time.... I did a butterfly survey round there yesterday, and counted 39 Willow Emeralds! If anyone is interested, we also have Brown Hairstreaks there - this one was photographed this morning, but we...
  11. Ruby

    Willow Emerald Damselfly?

    No problem Paul, Here's a link through to the web-site - which is a bit out of date as rgds species lists etc, but there is a site-map on one of the links on the menu on the right side of the screen.... http://holmethorpe.blogspot.co.uk/ I believe the first sighting was in an area which is...
  12. Ruby

    RFI Cliffe Pools

    Thanks Larry, Unfortunately, it wasn't very good conditions for dragonflies - it was pretty warm, but mainly overcast and quite a strong wind. In the event, I saw very little - several Common and Ruddy Darters, a single Emperor and highlight being my first Migrant Hawkers of the year - like...
  13. Ruby

    RFI Cliffe Pools

    Hi All, I am thinking of going to Cliffe Pools tomorrow - mainly for birds, but I have heard that it's a good place for dragonflies, with all 4 species of Emerald damselflies being seen. It's many a year since I've been there, but seem to recall it as a pretty big place, so was interested in...
  14. Ruby

    Willow Emerald Damselfly?

    Hi Clive, Only just seen this! Re: Willow Emerald in Surrey... I found them here on the Holmethorpe/Nutfield Marsh area (NE of Redhill) in 2015 - but I don't believe that was the first sighting, I subsequently heard of a guy from BDS who had found some the previous year. I've also heard tell...
  15. Ruby

    Duck - Surrey UK

    Hmmm.... It does look quite Mallard-ish, but I thought the bill looked rather odd.
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