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

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  1. Oregonian

    Before Sunrise

    My birding began at 6:33, with a cup of coffee on the deck. Sunrise is at 7:22, and the sky is becoming rosy. From inside, I thought there might be a Pygmy Owl calling, but it turned out to be a neighbor's chickens. Wild Turkeys started gobbling. A Wilson's Snipe was winnowing! They are here in...
  2. Oregonian

    Panama and Costa Rica February 2024

    Patricia and I just came back last week from a three week trip to Costa Rica and Panama. It was a private tour, and not strictly birding. Our guide, Fred Muller, was more of a plant guy than a birder, but he had insight into finding birds. We didn't try to cover the two countries and stuck...
  3. Oregonian

    Plumage convergence of American Dipper and Torrent tyrannulet

    There is an interesting convergence in the plumage of American Dipper (Cinlclus mexicanus) and Torrent Tyrannulet (Serpophaga cinerea) where they coexist in eastern Central America. American dippers have a uniform gray plumage in most of their range in North America. But the form in Costa Rica...
  4. Oregonian

    Looking for restaurants with feeders — Panama

    I'm traveling in Panama and would like to see hummingbirds at feeders. Shouldn't there be an international on line directory? I had trouble last month in Brazil too. Plain-bellied Emerald fro Bahia 12/31/23 below
  5. Oregonian

    Brasília

    We're going to Brazil in a couple of weeks, on a family trip. We're spending time in Brasilia, then driving to Diamantina before visiting the coast in southern Bahia. Then driving back to Brasilia. My wife and I have some extra time in Brasilia at the start and at the end. Are there ecolodges...
  6. Oregonian

    Recommending a local guide for Uganda

    Patricia and I spent three weeks in Uganda in November on a private tour. Birding isn't Patricia's main thing, so we didn't book a birding tour. In fact, the trip was sort of spur of the moment. We decided to go in October and were looking at Shoebills on November 11th. We had a travel agency...
  7. Oregonian

    Swallow Subspecies in Africa

    I'm confused by Barn Swallows we saw in Uganda last November. Field guides show white-bellied birds, but there were a lot with orange bellies, like the American subspecies. The one attached here is from Queen Elizabeth II National Park on November 26, 2022, Is this just a young European...
  8. Oregonian

    Preparing for Perth

    I'm getting ready for my first trip to Australia, almost three weeks in the southwest. I have two field guides to birds covering all of Australia, but the volume of birds that are unfamiliar to me is a little overwhelming, and so many aren't where I'm going. Are there field guides, books or...
  9. Oregonian

    Eastern v. Himalayan Buzzard, Yunnan, china 2013

    Lee and I recorded Common Buzzard four times on our tour of Yunnan in February and March. There was a split in the eBird taxonomy this summer, and eBird changed the species to Himalayan Buzzard. But it may be that Eastern Buzzard is more likely. Does anyone know of field marks to distinguish the...
  10. Oregonian

    Mexico City May 8 to 15, 2016

    My wife and I had occasion to spend eight days in the heart of Mexico City earlier this month. We were not there to go birding, but we did some, and folks here might be interested in our experiences. Uber worked quite well in Mexico City. Local people insisted that it is safer and less expensive...
  11. Oregonian

    Icterid in Colombia: Urrao Antioquia

    These icterids were in Urrao, Antioquia, Colombia on February 22, 2016. In the field, my first impression was that it was a Great-tailed Grackle, a brownish female. The bird was something like 100 yards away, and this backlit photo was all I could get before the car came and off we went. I...
  12. Oregonian

    Loons in Newport, Oregon, USA

    Here are two loons in the channel between the jetties in Newport, Oregon, USA. the one in front, on the right, appears to be Common Loon (Great Northern Diver), but the one on the left, in back, is ambiguous to me. I would call it Arctic Loon (Black-throated Diver), but there seems to be too...
  13. Oregonian

    Ground-tyrant, Jujuy, Argentina 10/22/2015

    Lee and I found a small brownish-gray bird NW of Purmamarca in Jujuy, Argentina on October 22, 2015, and I'm not sure what it is. It looks like a Spot-billed Ground-Tyrant, but the bill looks all black, lacking the light spot on the bill. I don't see other distinguishing marks; it's pretty drab...
  14. Oregonian

    Scale-throated Earthcreeper from Jujuy, Argentina

    I would say Scale-throated Earthcreeper, but there does not seem to be white in the tail. The color does not seem buffy enough for Buff-breasted Earthcreeper or Plain-breasted Earthcreeper. The tail is too long for a Slender-billed Miner. The throat and upper breast does have some scaling or...
  15. Oregonian

    Extralimital Yellow-rumped Marshbird

    Lee and I found a Yellow-rumped Marshbird in Tucuman Province, well west of the normal range. Here is our photo, from Tafí del Valle, Tucumán, Argentina. Is vagrancy known in these marshbirds? I assume we have the identification right. Are they held in captivity? Thanks for information, Jeff
  16. Oregonian

    28 days by car in Argentina - October 2015

    My brother Lee and I spent 28 days in Argentina starting on October 7th, 2015. We had a grand time. I don't think I'll find time to write up a full trip report, but some comments may be helpful to others: Argentina is a fine country for the independent birder. Getting around in a rented car...
  17. Oregonian

    Possible Pomarine Jaeger, Península Valdés, Argentina

    My brother Lee and I visited Península Valdés late last month, and at Punta Delgada, saw a large flock of terns with a few gulls and a large dark bird. Attached are photos of part of the flock, with the large dark bird, that looks to me like a Pomarine Jaeger. It has a dark cap and light collar...
  18. Oregonian

    dish-style feeders

    It was interesting to see these open-dish hummingbird feeders at Finca Alejandria - "El Paraíso de los Colibries", at El 18, near Cali, Colombia March 29, 2015. They must be easy to clean and keep full for high-volume situations.
  19. Oregonian

    Rio De Janero - May 2014

    My wife and I toured the state of Rio De Janero in the last two weeks of May, to look for birds and to photograph orchids in the wild. Her friends there have been inviting us to come, and it doesn't do to let such opportunities go by. Here is our itinerary: May 18: arrive in Rio early, visit...
  20. Oregonian

    Guide to Birds of Brazil

    Is anyone familiar with this book? It looks nice. Rolf Grantsau, Guia Completo para Identificação das Aves do Brasil - Vol 1 e 2 I have Ber van Perlo's guide, as well as Ridgely's Passerines, and illustrated checklist of non-passerines, (and Sick's Birds in Brasil), but can you have too many...
  21. Oregonian

    Botswana Lamprotornis starling

    This photo was taken in Moremi in November 2008, with Lee Harding and Lucky Garanamotse. I don't remember that we put a name to it at the time. There were Burchell's Starlings around, and I listed Long-tailed Starling, but the tail on this one doesn't look long enough for them. Is the tail too...
  22. Oregonian

    Yunnan, China - 3 Weeks February-March 2013

    My brother Lee and I toured Yunnan from February 16 to March 9, 2013, looking for birds and rare primates. We saw the target primates, Hoolock Gibbons and Sub-nosed Monkeys as well as about 220 species of birds. Wild China set up 2 weeks of the private tour (www.wildchina.com), engaging Han...
  23. Oregonian

    Herring or Lesser black-backed Gull

    Here are photos of a gull that was on the shore of Lake Michigan north of Chicago near Evanston, Illinois last Saturday, October 20, 2012. Herring Gull would be more common, and overall the smudgy brown appearance made me think Herring at first, but there are some things that make me wonder...
  24. Oregonian

    Jamaica March 17 to 24, 2012

    The orchid show in Kingston on March 23rd gave us an excuse to visit Jamaica. the trip would be my first time in the Caribbean region, so we arranged to spend the week, and do some birding. We contacted RAJ Tours (www.jamaicabirding.com) and arranged to tag along with another couple who had...
  25. Oregonian

    Go direct or stop on the way?

    So when you set off to tick some coastal birds, how do you keep from stopping at the good patches on the way, and arriving too late for optimal birding at the target locale? Saturday, I set off for Lincoln County (on the Pacific Coast here in Oregon), to add Black Scoter and Black Oystercatcher...
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