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I was lucky enough to spend most of last week on the lovely Isle of Wight for the first time. I had contacted the county recorder for some recommendations and these were spot on (thanks Robin) and the Derek Hales website is really useful too http://iowbirds.awardspace.com/IOW.htm The birding...

Ask as many questions as you can - it is the only way you will ever learn, and don't worry what people think if you have an ID book on display. I have received many looks of derision from birders in hides when they see me with my battered Collins guide next to me but I don't care because I carry...

I am not entirely sure about the size of the canon 400/5.6 but I do have a Lowepro Top Loader 75 AW ...

UK Racing rings normally have the prefix NPA, NEHU, NWHU, SU, WHU or GB, to identify which federation the owner was a member of (there are others but none feature a single R) so probably not but a picture of the leg & ring if possible may help to identify the bird or determine the rings origin...

Sometime around September 2008 if memory serves me correctly. Karl

I use this Lowepro Toploader Pro 75 for my Canon 20D with 70-200 f2.8 and it fits with room to spare so your rig should be fine too. http://www.lowepro.com/toploaderpro http://www.digitalrev.com/en/lowepro-toploader-pro-75aw-7438.html It is a superb case that has given me many years of...

Months at a time I am sorry to say, 8 months looks the longest from my bird logs - during the last 3 years I have birded less than half a dozen times but double that over the last 2 months - hurrah ! Karl

. Rather than a quick-unpick you may find it better to invest in a couple of 1mm crochet hooks which will be perfect for what you need and have no sharp edges to risk injuring the birds...

Hi Alastair - I have had a look at the reference number for your tripod and it is listed as one of the new series 2 Gitzo models. The blurb says it has a "Power Disc" for safer head lock and this appears to emulate the Manfrotto system of having screws to tighten against the bottom of any head...

That was so cool - I personally think he was mad to try it but cool nonetheless

Hi, Extraction from mist nets is indeed one aspect of ringing that can understandably be very daunting for the trainee ringer as there is always a fear that incorrect technique could cause injury or fatality. For me, I was taught to release the legs first and wherever possible it was the first...

For macro work I always used a Manfrotto 322RC Heavy-Duty Ball Grip head - to be fair I also use this head for a lot of scope work too and it is amazing. My setup was a Canon 20D, battery grip, Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro, Canon MR-14 ringflash, cable release and there was never a moments...

Hi David, Depending on the capacity of the hard-drive than you may find the easiest way to transfer the data across is to pick up an external USB hard-drive caddy, which will allow you to remove the drive from your desktop and simply plug it into the new laptop. These can be picked up for...

Josh - you may wish to consider a non-waterproof scope, which will be cheaper, and add a waterproof stay-on cover to remain within your budget. As for tripods another bargain looks to be the Dolica at just $35...

Hello and welcome to Birdforum. You may wish to consider the Bushnell Spacemaster which is well within your budget and has received a lot of really good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Degree-Collapsible-Spotting-Scope/dp/B0001GMIRG/ref=sr_1_3?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1313172831&sr=1-3 I...

Aha - beers on you then :-) Karl

As your profile shows you are from Tavistock then there may be some useful contacts here: http://www.devonbirds.org/node/373 as there are a number of Devon ringing groups but I am not familiar with the geography of Devon or how mobile you may be. Karl

To be fair I think Ansel Adams would still be using a plate camera and hand retouching the glass negatives but I am grateful that as a lad I attended a camera club where one of the leading lights was a devotee of the zone system and where I had a solid grounding in the basics of photography. Of...

Hi Roy - I had the opportunity to try out both the 24 and 14 before I decided which one to buy. I found that although the 24 is a more powerful unit and has the ability to give a greater range of effects, for me it was just too much of a faff and too bulky for my requirements. I bought the...

I have owned a fair few sets of binoculars over the last 30 odd years which have covered a wide range of magnifications but my current bins are a set of Leica Trinovid 10x42BN which I have owned nearly 10 years and which I use for everything from back garden birding to seawatching. I find they...