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

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  1. markgrubb

    A week on North Uist

    North Uist has been a place I’ve wanted to go to for some time. My grandmother was born there and emigrated at age 16 to British Columbia to work as a maid for a wealthy family. There she met my grandfather who came from Dundee to prospect for gold. Things did not work out for them, they married...
  2. markgrubb

    Gull North Uist

    J'm really bad at gull id. Came across this white winger today. Think it is glaucous. What age is it? Bit puzzled by the all pale bill
  3. markgrubb

    Odd finch on feeder, Edinburgh

    On my niger feeder this am. ? redpoll that's got pollen/paint on it's head? Looks quite pale too. Can't quite work it out Any advice welcome
  4. markgrubb

    Blue headed or Channel wagtail, Lothian

    I came across this bird yesterday morning at Dunbar Quarry in East Lothian. It was one of two very similar birds. I thought blue headed wagtail but a more experienced friend has quite reasonably raised the possibility of channel wagtail. I'd be grateful for any comments
  5. markgrubb

    Corsica in June

    This is not intended as a proper trip report as I was away on a family holiday. Most trip reports are from earlier in the year so I thought I would note how I got on with the main sought after species and sites in early summer. I organise and run student exams so I can’t get away on holiday...
  6. markgrubb

    A 5 mile stretch of Borders road

    I've been out of action for the last 2 months and my only birding has been a desultory 200m hirple round to the local loch and hide to usually not see the bittern that is skulking there. So with things getting better I set off to my favourite stretch of the Scottish Borders just out of Lothian...
  7. markgrubb

    Good general European butterfly book

    I'm looking for a decent not too large European butterfly guide. Not to big and portable for holidays-something to help me identify butterflies when abroad. I've had a quick look through Amazon and nothing leaps out at me. The Collins guide seems a possibility but gets poorish reviews. Any one...
  8. markgrubb

    Birding in Asturias

    I'm off on a family holiday in July to Villaviciosa in Asturias. Has anyone birded in the area? I can't find much information in trip reports other than references to the Picos mountains and the high altitude birds at Fuente De. The Ria Villaviciosa looks as if it is potentially good as it is a...
  9. markgrubb

    Falcon id

    I saw this bird in a field this am. It sat with it's back turned to me the whole time I saw it. I can't figure out what it is. The head was a definite orange colour, white cheeks, dark patch around eye
  10. markgrubb

    Scone Palace's Hawfinches

    Just watched this on the Scottish programme Landward on BBC iplayer-it will only be playable for the next few days- watch here at about 22 mins and 45 secs
  11. markgrubb

    Accommodation in Extremedura

    I'll be heading off to Extremedura in April for 5 days birding with my brother. On previous visits to different areas I've had good experiences of casa rural type accommodation. Ideallly we would like to be somewhere we can get up early and see some birds such as sandgrouse/bustards-and that...
  12. markgrubb

    Birding near Mancester by public transport

    I will be in Manchester next weekend and have the Sunday free to go birding. I'm staying fairly centrally in Manchester. Would Martin's Mere or Marshside be the best reserves to get to by public transport? I will probably only have my bins. Any advice from locals would be appreciated
  13. markgrubb

    Fuerteventura in summer

    There have been a few trip reports done from Fuerteventura but relatively few from summer and from the north of the island-so here’s my tuppence worth. The trick for our summer holidays is to get somewhere not too hot (wife dislikes real heat), somewhere that has something for a hormonal...
  14. markgrubb

    Atlas listing-the tetrad you live in

    There is a good thread on Atlas listing in general. I thought I would start a new one on the area where you live. I live on the east side of Edinburgh with a nature reserve nearby in the tetrad-NT27W. In 88-94 73 species were recorded. The area was surveyed by another person. Most tetrads in...
  15. markgrubb

    Aiguamolls D'Emporda & Cap De Creus

    My brother and I have both been working fairly long hours recently and have had no annual leave for the last 6 months. So we took a couple of days off and looked for somewhere on the continent that was not too far to travel. The plan was for some relaxing birding (not dawn to dusk) and for some...
  16. markgrubb

    As 2008 comes towards its end what were your birding highlights?

    Not necessarily the rare or unusual...... What were your best birding experiences in 2008, the moments that gave you great pleasure For me 1. Waxwings-the last month has seen good numbers here in Lothian and it's been a huge privilege to see them on an almost daily basis 2. Spring-late...
  17. markgrubb

    Bins and scopes-myths and reality

    I enjoy most of the threads on BF but the ones that stick in my craw are the ones relating to optics. As a fairly ordinary ability but not that experienced birder it strikes me that the optics you have have little influence on what we see or how we see it. I have Nikon Monarch bins that cost...
  18. markgrubb

    Dotterel flight call query

    I was at Torness in E Lothian yesterday. On getting out of the car I heard a bird flying over. It was calling continuously- a piping call with a descending note repeated quickly. 3 expereienced birders heard it too and the consensus was that it might have been a dotterel. I listened to my Roche...
  19. markgrubb

    Soiuthern Tenerife, June/July 08

    Family desires for warm but not too hot weather and also a place suitable for teenagers meant that I found myself heading for Southern Tenerife for my summer holiday. I had read a couple of trip reports, such as Edwards recent one from just 6 miles down the road and it filled me with a little...
  20. markgrubb

    Wood of Cree, Dumfries and Galloway

    I spent the last day of my spring holiday in Dumfries and Galloway and had time for a morning at the RSPB reserve at Wood of Cree near Newton Stewart. I had been there 2 years ago in autumn and it had been a bit disappointing birdwise though it is beautiful woodland. At the car park I got out I...
  21. markgrubb

    Shetland query

    I am lucky enough to be going to Shetland for 5 days starting on the 8th of May. I have never been before and my knowledge of the islands is poor. My wife is not a birder as such but is very much into wildlife. We are staying on the main island. Can anyone advise on must see places. We will have...
  22. markgrubb

    Simple non rare pleasures-your experiences

    I am as Simon Barnes would say a "Bad birdwatcher". But still those of us like myself who have questionable birding skills have occasional wonderfull birding moments-not seeing rarities but just seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. So, what are they for you. Those valued moments. Here are...
  23. markgrubb

    Four from BF go to Spain-March 13-17 2008

    Day 1-Llobregat Delta and the Dry Plains of Lleida Thurs am saw me fly into Barcelona airport at lunchtime to meet my 3 companions for the holiday- Helenelizabeth2, Will Bowell and Andrew Whitehouse (aka the good, the badself and the ugly-I will leave you to work out which is which) for the...
  24. markgrubb

    2007-your 3 favourite non twitching moments

    Well as the year draws to a close what were your 3 best non-twitching experiences of the year? For me 1. Witinessing my first ever Little Auk passage at Dunbar in East Lothian- I counted 475 with my bins/naked eye in an hour but there were many,many more further out at sea. Birds yards in...
  25. markgrubb

    Nikon D70 problem

    I have been having problems with my D70 for 2 or 3 months now. When I switch it on I get the letters CHA on the screen and it won't work. I've heard that reformatting the card can help and did so with the camera. No success. Eventually last week I tried the card in an old digital camera I have...
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