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

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  1. Alastair Rae

    HBW Alive dead?

    Back to life again. I should have been a bit more patient.
  2. Alastair Rae

    HBW Alive dead?

    Anyone subscribe to HBW Alive? I can't reach the site anymore.
  3. Alastair Rae

    Swarovski customer service

    I managed to snap off the mounting bracket on my HD 65 mm so I took the scope along to my local Swaro dealer. They sent it off to Austria for a repair estimate and it came back completely fixed for no charge! I'm flabbergasted that they'd fix a 15 year old scope for nothing. Amazing customer...
  4. Alastair Rae

    RSPB reserves' "latest sightings"

    Like the fact that the word "bird" doesn't appear on their magazine cover any more and that several reserves have removed their "what's about" boards and others are decorated with any sort of wildlife as long as it's not a bird.
  5. Alastair Rae

    RSPB reserves' "latest sightings"

    Am I the only person annoyed that many RSPB reserve web sites have "latest sightings" pages that haven't been updated for over a year? If they're not going to keep them up to date they might as well not have them. Maybe this is related to the complete absence of "what's about" info at some of...
  6. Alastair Rae

    Eudonia murana?

    From an MV trap in Snowdonia.
  7. Alastair Rae

    Pug, Herefordshire

    Found this in a hedgerow. I'm worried that my SX50 has got the colour balance wrong as I don't recall it being as colourful as this. Or maybe close-ups bring out more colour than the naked eye.
  8. Alastair Rae

    Are Lithium Polymer batteries too dangerous?

    Ok, maybe I'm convinced it's not a ticking time bomb. But I think I might have to spend a tenner on an ammo box to charge it in just to keep my better half from worrying. (And me too). Thanks all.
  9. Alastair Rae

    Are Lithium Polymer batteries too dangerous?

    Do you take any special precautions when charging them? And if they're so safe why does the manufacturer say not to leave them unattended?
  10. Alastair Rae

    Are Lithium Polymer batteries too dangerous?

    I just double checked and there's a manufacturer's sticker saying not to leave unattended while charging. I'm sending it back.
  11. Alastair Rae

    Are Lithium Polymer batteries too dangerous?

    The case is ABS which I assume allows for some swelling. I still have a nagging worry. Even those Li-Po charging bags have big warning labels saying don't leave them unattended and place on non-flammable surface. I'm going to have to return it and find a heavy and bulky but safe sealed lead...
  12. Alastair Rae

    Are Lithium Polymer batteries too dangerous?

    The manufacturer's instruction leaflet with the battery didn't mention any of this. The retailer included an additional sheet saying not to leave the battery unattended while charging. That got me searching the net and found all sorts of dire warnings. If it helps, the battery in question is the...
  13. Alastair Rae

    Are Lithium Polymer batteries too dangerous?

    I can only assume from the lack of replies that either I'm the only poor sod on BirdForum stuck with one of these batteries or people are baffled by my concerns.
  14. Alastair Rae

    Are Lithium Polymer batteries too dangerous?

    I've just bought a 12V actinic trap and lithium polymer battery pack. Li-Po batteries are marketed as a lightweight alternative to lead acid but the safety warnings are pretty dire. I've seen warnings like batteries should NEVER be left unattended while charging; do not charge overnight...
  15. Alastair Rae

    Long-tailed Blues - Sussex

    Nice smart specimens. Are these colonising or vagrant?
  16. Alastair Rae

    Urban UV

    I found the Gypsy Moth in the middle of Caledonian Rd N7. I had to wade into the traffic to pick him up! Photo here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/merula/20494705996/ Back on subject, I think I'll be looking at a 15W Heath trap.
  17. Alastair Rae

    Urban UV

    Thanks for that Martin. We've been getting a few moth sightings in our courtyard which has a some trees and bushes. My partner has had one migrant moth come to her office stairwell lights and we found a Gypsy Moth in a nearby street. I was hoping a trap would turn up a few more. I wonder if I'm...
  18. Alastair Rae

    Urban UV

    I want to run a moth trap in the shared courtyard outside my ground floor flat. There's a nice dry overhang I can use but I don't want to dazzle the neighbours nor attract too much attention from passers-by. My main concern is how black is "black light". And how does the visible light vary with...
  19. Alastair Rae

    NZ Seabirds and El Niño

    We're off to NZ in Feb 2016. Apparently there's a very big El Niño building. Is it likely that seabird numbers will be down or am I just being over anxious?
  20. Alastair Rae

    Azure Hawker + Chequered Skipper?

    I believe the flight times of these two species overlap a bit. Could anyone suggest the best time and itinerary to see both in Scotland? Or is that mission impossible?
  21. Alastair Rae

    Death Valley California - Duck like bird

    A duck seems a bit unlikely. The DV bird list doesn't have much in the way of ducks in the Summer http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/upload/Death-Valley-Bird-Checklist.pdf
  22. Alastair Rae

    Bush Lark Southern India

    I think the large bill and buff (rather than white) in front of eye would make this Jerdon's.
  23. Alastair Rae

    New Year's Day

    We were out on a wet and windy Hampstead Heath, London at 08:30. Managed 31 species before rain finally stopped play. Sadly next weekend is looking rubbish.
  24. Alastair Rae

    Red-billed Gull in China

    Ah! A quick check on Avibase gives five different Chinese names for BHG. With a little help from Google translate, I see that one is "red mouth gull" (hóng zuǐ ōu if pinyin renders here properly).
  25. Alastair Rae

    Red-billed Gull in China

    The Guardian newspaper often gets bird ids wrong. It carried a photo short yesterday with text "A tourist feeds red-billed gulls by the Dianchi Lake in Kunming in China. Tens of thousands of red-billed gulls have chosen to spend winter in Kunming in recent years." But isn't Red-billed Gull...
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