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  1. J

    Which camera or phone for digiscoping?

    (Cross post - also on the phonescoping forum) I currently use a Canon DSLR set up with 100-400mm lens and for more distant subjects I digiscope with a Canon 90mm pancake lens on my DSLR body OR I phonescope with my Apple iphone XR, taking stills and/ or video. While the handheld digi option...
  2. J

    Help pls Which phone/ compact camera?

    I currently use a Canon DSLR set up with 100-400mm lens and for more distant subjects I digiscope with a Canon 90mm pancake lens on my DSLR body OR I phonescope with my Apple iphone XR, taking stills and/ or video. While the handheld digi option gives me reach and detail, the pics tend to be...
  3. J

    Langs Short Tailed Blue Pembrokeshire August

    A memorable day! Haven't seen one since! I hope I congratulated and thanked you as well as Marc. I remember we'd packed up our 'scopes and were about to leave at the time!
  4. J

    Langs Short Tailed Blue Pembrokeshire August

    Wow, fantastic record. This would be I think the 3rd UK record following one in Berks last year that I was lucky enough to go and see. Obviously there were suspicions on origin on that one at least but also some indicators that could support natural origin. See my attached magazine article on a pdf.
  5. J

    Tips for attracting newts to outdoor frog ponds?

    Put down refugia. Boards, mats, anything for amphibians to hide under that can attract them and encourage them to stay. I get regular newts beneath mine and I’m likely 3-400 metres from the nearest breeding pond. They’re good for amphibians generally and the odd small mammal. In some areas...
  6. J

    Gulls, Surrey UK

    Afraid not this time. The birds you’ve picked out are herring gulls, the one in first pic could be a yellow-legged perhaps but I can’t see any Caspians. First winter or second calendar year are better terms than ‘juvenile’ as they have advanced a stage by the winter time and have paler backs (of...
  7. J

    (not my record): Ferruginous Duck hybrid? | Greater Tokyo | feb 2023

    In Europe ferruginous frequently hybridises with Common pochard, and this is what would be suspected if this was in the U.K. indeed I found a similar looking bird locally last year.
  8. J

    UK owl list

    With a bit of imagination I can make double figures. Tawny, barn, little, long-eared, short-eared, Snowy, Eurasian scops, Tengmalm’s, European eagle & Gt horned. OK more than a little with the last one which I don’t really count - a local escapee that has been on private land for 20+ yrs! I did...
  9. J

    Western Sandpiper or Dunlin

    Same size as the semipalmated sand and similar size but slighter than the semipalmated plovers should make this a Western. I’ve only ever seen a dunlin that size once in 35+ yrs and they’re v common here in the U.K., sometimes in v large numbers.
  10. J

    anyone able to ID this fish?

    Could be a small (Jack) pike?
  11. J

    Glasses wearing and optics

    Thanks guys. Just learned what varifocals are. I'll give it some thought. As Xenospiza says it's the time thing I'm concerned about. That half second can be valuable!
  12. J

    Glasses wearing and optics

    For some time I've been fighting wearing glasses but I can fight no more! One of my concerns is the use of optics and camera gear in the field. Currently (even with eyecups down) I can't get any optics lenses close enough to my eyes whilst wearing glasses, which get in the way, leaving me a very...
  13. J

    Birdwatch Magazine on Hunting

    Totally agree. The magazine has been pretty hot on raptor persecution and hunting and should be commended for this. I don’t know what the answer is - I sign petitions as much as I can and use Twitter to keep such issues in the public eye. Although you are often in somewhat of an echo chamber I...
  14. J

    Norfolk birding

    Hi. Does anyone know where the raven hangs out at Horsey, or could it be anywhere in the area? Is there still another at Winterton? Thanks for any gen. Hoping to look tomorrow.
  15. J

    Nikon to Exit the H**Ting caper ..... ?

    Good news but they’ll have to go a lot further before i would consider buying from them.
  16. J

    Photo agencies

    Does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, using agencies for their wildlife images? I know the genre is one of the hardest to make money from due to its popularity. I’ve never used one but thinking of giving it a go. Thanks!
  17. J

    Fin Whales off Lewis

    I've only done Biscay the once, from the Portsmouth - Bilbao ferry but we had over 100 fin whales. That was back in 2001. It took until last year for me to see one in British waters. I would love to get out to those continental shelf waters north & west of Scotland, if only to finally see...
  18. J

    White-tailed Eagle takes lamb?

    There has been plenty of suspicious/ fabricated photographed evidence in the wake of the NE general licenses withdrawal/ scandal. Mainly to demonise corvids. I would imagine the chances of this being a genuine picture of an eagle carrying a live lamb are pretty close to zero. In this age of fake...
  19. J

    UK Herps 2019

    Lovely shots, John. Only ever seen the one black adder and that was twitched a few years back. I see Mr Lowen had a nice one in Suffolk a few days ago (his first apparently, and he's a big adder fan). Two years ago I saw two dancing male adders, a first for me. Having watched their behaviour...
  20. J

    Best Entry Level DSLR and Lens under £800

    Have you considered a Canon 100-400mm mark 1? Since the mark 2 came out they're very cheap - I think about £500 or so. I have one and it's agreat (if a little 'soft' compared to the prime and the zoom mark 2). The lens is way more important than the camera and you could get an older 2nd hand...
  21. J

    Red Kite with convex tail when fully spread?

    I have a photo of a black kite from Spain which is very worn and in heavy moult like this bird. It's in a right state and the shape of the tail is not just squared off but nicely rounded. Have seen other shots of funny black kites with still growing outer retrices which can also produce a...
  22. J

    Any help with Newt ID, please? UK Norfolk

    I'm not sure of the extent of variation in female great crested but I'm wondering if it could be Italian crested, which is sometimes kept in captivity. A close look at the flanks and underside would be useful but I guess it's long since gone? Have you encountered others before and is there a...
  23. J

    Where to see Long-eared Owls?

    AFAIK Deeping Lakes in S Lincs is OK to mention simply because the owls roost on the island of a lake and are therefore far less prone to disturbance. There have been up to 6 there recently. It's probably good to have a site such as this fairly public to stop them being harrassed elsewhere...
  24. J

    birders start paying for birding.

    It’s not a refuge if you’re allowed to hunt there though is it? I’m fed up of hunters claiming they’re conserving the natural world when they’re doing no such thing. Here in Britain they claim the same whilst having the nerve to shoot over nature reserves where the wildlife is supposed to be...
  25. J

    Finds Bird List Rules

    What a sad and cynical way to look at it. Horses for courses as far as I’m concerned. Such lists just add a bit of spice to birding exploits, that’s all. I don’t publish my self-found one anywhere so it’s not about the competition either.
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