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

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    YouTube clip of massive Baltic Sea fall migration

    Hello all, I stumbled on this yesterday and was amazed. It seems like so few of these types of videos exist out there, showing the migration that's observed out in our oceans and seas. In this clip there are hundreds, if not thousands, of little migrants. Seems like the vast majority are...
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    2021 Eilat migration report

    Hello all, I stumbled across this great presentation on YouTube about last spring's Eilat migration. Some really staggering numbers, especially the thousands of Corncrakes! The first 20 minutes or so have most of the migration report, but much of the other presentation is highly informative...
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    Possible Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull? Pennsylvania (USA), 21 Feb.

    Hello all, Back to my photos, which are awful with my current phone. Unfortunately the birds were also quite distant, at least 400m off. I did have good views through scope at 60X, though. Two birds here. I'll try and post sets of each one. Bird #1, I think, may be a 3rd-winter Lesser...
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    Glaucous, hybrid, or ??? gull - eastern Pennsylvania, USA, 12 Feb.

    Hello all, I'm posting this for the finder (Jason Hall), who has been asking around for opinions on this gull seen at Green Lane Reservoir, Pennsylvania on 12 February this year. Birds were sort of distant and he was working with low light, but still managed some photos of this white-winged...
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    Cooper's or Goshawk on a terrible photo? - Pennsylvania (USA), 7 April

    Hello folks, I was doing some migration watching yesterday and saw several Accipiters pass by. One initially caught my attention as a bulky bird, giving a near-Red-shouldered Hawk impression while one a glide. Nearly all the previous Goshawks I've seen have reminded me of Red-shoulders. The...
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    What is going on with this Mallard? - Pennsylvania (USA), 21 February

    Hello all, Another odd waterbird that I'm posting here. This Mallard was very unusual in that it had a female-type body but glistening green head and bright yellow bill. I thought that an "intersex" bird and/or older female (is that the same?) would show some green on the head and a muted male...
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    Just a 3rd yr Lesser Black-backed Gull? - Eastern Pennsylvania (USA), 9 March

    Hello all, One LBBG caught my eye today among 15 or so in with Ring-billeds. I thought it looked odd with such a bold bill ring, but Sibley's guide illustrates 3rd yr as showing this feature. I couldn't locate it for certain after it flew, finding one bird with a bill ring but also the red...
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    Female wigeon ID, Pennsylvania, USA - 5 Feb.

    Hello all, I'm appealing to the European crowd to ask if there's enough in my photos to call a female Eurasian Wigeon. I've looked at multiple resources, including this great article that I think has been referenced before on this forum (http://www.azfo.org/gallery/EUWI_article_...
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    Odd Lesser Black-backed type gull today (12 Jan.), eastern Pennsylvania, USA

    Hello all, I observed an odd gull this afternoon at my local reservoir, unfortunately in fairly poor light with the setting sun. Hopefully I'll get back tomorrow and it will still be there. Here are the comments I entered after arriving home: "Flew in during late afternoon, arriving slowly...
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    Raptor ID from BBC video - Tanzania

    Hello all, I was watching a decent BBC nature film on a man-made waterhole in Tanzania and came across this ID puzzle. Here's the video, with the bird appearing right around the 52-minute mark: In the film, the bird is called an Augur Buzzard, but late in the video I glimpsed their Excel...
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    Goose hybrid (Snow X ???), Pennsylvania, 7 October

    Hello all, I saw this goose yesterday among the increasing autumn/winter flock of Canadas at my local reservoir. My initial thought was Snow x Canada, but I'd appreciate more opinions. Here are my points for and against Snow x Canada: For: Very Snow-like head color and shape Mostly pink...
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    Great Skua from Shetland seen in Newfoundland, Canada

    Hello all, Thought the British folks on this forum might appreciate a North American band recovery from Shetland. I noticed an eBird checklist from 14 August off the coast of Newfoundland. The pictured Great Skua had a readable band! According to the observer, the bird was banded on Fair Isle...
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    Costa Rica birds and more, field trip style! - Dec. 28 to Jan. 12

    Hello all, I've just come back from one of the trips of my lifetime and I'd like to share a bit of how it went. I travelled to Costa Rica with six other students and a professor from my university as part of a Field Biology course. We covered a marvelous range of habitats during our journey...
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    Less-than-stellar photos of Pennsylvania birds... Can you guess them?

    Hello all, I've just started using a Panasonic Lumix camera. Sometimes the results are wonderful, but often they are not! Looking at these images reminded me of some quizzes that used to run here about North American birds, so I thought I'd start a thread. Feel free to guess, no limit to...
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    2 recent lifers in Pennsylvania

    Hello all, I was really happy this month to see two butterflies that were high on my wanted list. Several weeks ago I had an exquisite Juniper Hairstreak, and today I had an American Snout in my yard! As a quick aside, did there used to be a general "butterfly lifers" thread somewhere?
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    Outstanding Razorbill movement, plus a few Dovekies, in Cape May, New Jersey

    Hello all, It has been reported on the New Jersey birding listserv that there are unprecedented Razorbill numbers passing Cape May now. Back in mid-late December, 4,000+ were counted (north- and southbound) past the Avalon Seawatch in 8 days just as the season was ended. Another 3,000+ were...
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    2019 AOS Committee Proposals

    Hello all, Perhaps this is better off in the Taxonomy sub-forum, but I thought it would reach a wider audience here. Please feel free to move it if needed. Hopefully "Part 2" of this article will be out soon. Certainly some surprises (Peterson's Sparrow, anyone???), but also some expected...
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    Your opinions on a possible Gadwall X Mallard, eastern Pennsylvania, Oct. 26

    Hello all, I saw a duck at Green Lane Reservoir back in late October that struck me as odd. It was definitely mostly Gadwall, but a few features suggested Mallard hybridization to me. First, it had a striking yellow-buff head that contrasted sharply with a dark gray (sometimes green) crown...
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    Massive Amur Falcon roosts discovered fairly recently in India

    Hello all, I read this article today and found it tremendously interesting (please let me know if the link doesn't work)...
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    New for the yard - Meadow Fritillary!

    Nice to have a Meadow Fritillary in the yard today! My first ever sighting of this species, and rather overdue. Nothing else besides Cabbage Whites afterwards.
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    Spring Migration in Eastern Pennsylvania

    Hello all, I had so much fun with last autumn's migration thread, I decided to start another one for this spring. As the Great David Attenborough said in the BBC series Planet Earth, "Creatures are stirring" (though he referred to cicada larvae:)). My local Green Lane Reservoir has been very...
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    How was this year (2017) for British rarities?

    Hello all, A bit of a dumb question here. I've been birding for at least 10 years, but only started following European and British rarities this year. It was fascinating for me to see how many N. American birds reach the opposite shores of the Atlantic (especially compared to European birds...
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    Small Plant With Berries for ID, Eastern Pennsylvania

    Hello all, Yesterday I found a plant in my yard that I don't think I've seen before. It is fairly small (maybe 1 foot tall) and it has dark berries. I would appreciate if someone could tell me what it is. I have attached a picture that includes the leaves and berries of the plant.
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    Does Anyone Count Dead Birds As "Lifers"?

    Hello all, I was wondering if a lot of people will count a dead bird as a "lifer". I have only one example that I can remember right now. During my stay in Greece this past May, I watched as a dead Squacco Heron drifted in to shore from a small gulf. I only had binoculars with me, so until it...
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    Capitalization of Common Bird Names?

    Hello all, I thought I would bring this subject up as I think about it a good deal when looking at books/websites and seeing bird names capitalized fully, partially, or not at all. In a magazine that I get (Birdwatchers' Digest to be specific), bird names are capitalized in two ways. Either...
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