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

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    UK 2005 Year to Date List

    Does one exist anywhere? All birds that have occurred in the UK so far this year? Or should I just email LGRE for his personal yearlist?;) Rgds D PS- if not, can we start one here? Should be interesting.
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    Cuckoo parasitising Yellow Wagtail?

    Heard an interesting story this morning from another birder about an area now devoid of Cuckoos. Apparently their main hosts were YW's and as a result, Yellow wags declined to the extent that there are now no Cuckoos. Interested to hear any thoughts on this..... Rgds
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    The clock that wakes you when you are ready

    Could be a tempting purchase for birders....... From The New Scientist 14 April 2005 NewScientist.com news service Emily Singer writes ARE you a real grump in the mornings? Do you wake up every day feeling tired, embittered, aggrieved, and all too ready to hit the snooze button? If...
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    Twitching- Added Value

    I'll start by mentioning I've never been on a twitch per se.;) I imagine this must have happened some time. (the Titchwell redpolls?) You and several hundred others are twitching a rarity- amongst those several hundred are some of the finest birders in the country. With such a...
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    Birding's Magic Numbers

    UK400 Club- Is 400+ species in the UK still a badge of 'excellence' as it seems once to have been? (Folk may now have seen 400+ species but could they ID them all themselves for instance?) Is it becoming devalued? This is not an anti-twitching post but I'm interested. And what's the...
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    Soundscape:The White-tailed Sea Eagle

    Radio4, 1545 GMT. The 1st of 5. Paul Young narrates the first of five evocative programmes following the lives of three pairs of White-tailed Sea Eagles as they struggle to survive and raise their chicks in Scotland. 1/5. Fierce autumn gales and icy storms prove a challenge to the sea...
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    Reports from a Patch

    The Post Office truck left early this morning, leaving sackloads of birthday cards, fanmail along with bills and letters from banks asking me to borrow even more money. Oh, and a pizza menu. (Feel-good factor, 1/10) Weather good it seemed, sun shining through occasionally, mild and dry so...
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    Bird Eye Colour

    I'm sorry if this seems a really really daft question- if it seems that way- it's because it is. Why do different species of bird have different colour eyes? What function does the colour of a particular bird's eye serve? This stuck me when looking at plates of Owls: Ural Owl, Strix...
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    BF Members' Monthly Summaries

    BF Members' Monthly Summaries- to 31 Jan 2005 Blimey! Groundhog Day! This summary thread is dedicated to the memory of the great Charles Harper. All figures as at 31 Jan 2005. A few are off to a cracking start! How about...
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    Congratulations Simon!!

    He's too modest to tell, so I'm going to do it for him. An inspiration and example to us all- Works his local patch unceasingly and without complaint, and today turns up a stonking male Stonechat. On top of the Whinchat and Black Redstart he unearthed earlier this year. Just goes to show...
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    Birding in Beds

    It was with some fear and not a little trepidation that I decided that I would start my life list again yesterday morning. Why? Well, looking back over my older notes, there is often no context to my sightings, just the name of the bird under a date and site title. I often can't remember the...
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    List Integrity

    Hi all, Apologies if this subject has arisen previously. I was going through my life list yesterday evening, (it took all of a couple of minutes) as I am concerned about the integrity of a couple of ticks. I know I am the keeper of my own list and police it myself, but I'd appreciate the...
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    Sex Ratios of Wintering Pochard

    Hi all, I have been speaking to a very knowledgeable chap about the following problem. Does anyone have any further information as to why there are a higher proportion of male to female Pochard, (Aythya rufina) wintering in NW Europe? I have heard several theories, namely; That males...
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    Gull ID Book

    Hi all, I'm after a Gulls of Europe ID Book and have looked at the Peter J Grant- Gulls: A Guide to their Identification. However, someone told me a new guide had recently been published after a recall due to errors in the text! Does anyone have any recommendations as to which is...
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    Sponsored Daylist

    Morning/ afternoon/ evening all, Bear with me here, this is just the germ of an idea at the moment. Christmas is soon upon us and we'll all be putting on a few pounds, so here's how we can lose a few pounds and raise a few pounds for charity at the same time. We could all go out for one...
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    Left with Teenagers

    Hi folks, Saw a very odd thing this morning, made me late for work in fact. On a small green near my home some kind soul had thrown out some bread, quickly attended to by a gang of bachelor Starlings, noisily feeding and scurrying around in their bad-tempered way. Amongst them were 3...
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    Window Alert

    Found this. Anyone tried it? Does it work? http://store.yahoo.com/windowalert/
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    Migration Dates

    OK all, a bit of fun and a test of our prediction skills: Choose 3 migrants you haven't already seen this year and then PREDICT the dates you will see them. This must relate to birds seen on your LOCAL PATCH, not on special trips. Let's see who gets the most accurate predictions. Honesty...
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    Most Bonkers Bird

    I wasn't sure what forum to put this thread in so I just closed my eyes and stuck a pin in it. Please move it if it's in the wrong place. I was out in the gales on saturday by a local pit and about 20 yards away were 7 Ringed Plovers. You know how you hunch your shoulders up in the cold...
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    'Cool' Birding Destination

    OK, help required from regular overseas birders, please. I've saved up enough cash to be able to afford a dream birding holiday. About £3000, (€4400). But I'm not sure where to go. The criteria is this: 1. It can't be too hot, (I cease to function in the heat). 2. I want to see the...
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    Birder's Books

    Went to the local library at the weekend and as luck would have it, I spotted a book called 'Birder's' by Mark Cocker and I have to say, I didn't put it down until it was finished. It was brilliant. Humorous, heart-warming, tragic and utterly accurate. I sincerely recommend this book! Does...
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    Wintering Warbler

    This may be 'old' news to some, but I've just heard a report, (confirmed by many it seems) of a wintering Willow Warbler yesterday in Kent. Does anyone know of this species overwintering before, and what do you think we can expect to overwinter next if these mild 'winters' continue?
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    Death following me around

    Whilst on a birding walk on saturday, I happened across 2 dead swans on the river, a dead fox by the side of the road, and then no more than 50 metres further, a small twitching bundle of feathers in the middle of the road. I investigated and found an injured Robin. Already feeling rather...
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    What the..........?

    As a relative novice I'm often confused by bird nicknames, such as Leo, for instance, (took me ages to work that one out), but for 3 days days now I've been stumped by PG TIPS- I've even done a google search but to no avail, so I'm just going to have to show myself up as the dumbass I...
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    Dead Cormorant

    On saturday, I happened across the carcass of a dead cormorant. It seemed freshly dead, and when I inspected it more closely, it was headless. (The head was nowhere to be seen). My initial thought was fox predation, but it's chest feathers had been plucked and gnawed through to the chest...
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