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

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  1. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    Finally got to Grandborough this morning to see the shrike, sadly no show from the merlin by the time my toes had had enough (still pretty cold despite the thaw). I had already popped by to see the bewick's off the A428 (16 there at 8am), so headed on to Draycote - a drake smew, great northern...
  2. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    IT was minus five when I got to Draycote this morning - I'm not too sure that an open top bus would have had many takers. I couldn't find the smew - it's now turning into a real bogey bird (haven't seen a drake for five years). But I did find a female common scoter off Draycote Bank, and the...
  3. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    One good sighting there at least Gareth - I've been going to Napton Res and Ufton Fields for more than five years, and have never seen a water rail at either! I'm choosing to believe it's all down to bad luck.
  4. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    I don't think the fisherman who wandered in front of the hide at 11am this morning was affected by the wind direction. I think he just completely ignored the conservation area and strolled along the entire shoreline from one side to the other in order to save himself a five minute walk via the...
  5. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    It wasn't :-C Still, I'm not going to dwell on a missing Osprey - Draycote's Pectoral Sandpiper was indeed a splendid bird, and so was the Bar-tailed Godwit over at Rainbow Corner. This county listing lark is starting to appeal again. Did someone mention a Spotted Crake...
  6. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    Oh come on guys, stop the good birds. I missed the 2006 Osprey, but I'll get slaughtered at home if I head off to Brandon after a full morning at Draycote. Might be worth it though ;)
  7. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    Thanks John. I don't put the hours in to deserve the luck (funny how the two things often go together), but you never know. Come to think of it, I don't think I've got Ruff in Warwickshire yet (and I'm not sure I've got bar-tailed either!), so I'll happily take any two from that little lot!
  8. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    Thanks. I can't remember the last decent bird that was close enough and lethargic enough to hang around waiting for me! Addendum - a quick scan through my blog suggests it might have been a Great Skua at Draycote, December 2006. I really must get out more.
  9. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    OK, so after failing to add anything to my pathetically small county list for about three years, a long-staying Pec Sandpiper seems like reason enough to set an early alarm tomorrow. Does anyone know if it was still at Draycote today? And can I have those three Curlew Sands back pls?
  10. hornet

    Warwickshire farmer wins prestigious wildlife award

    Absolutely - good work folks. My local patch includes quite a bit of Warwickshire farmland, and I've seen evidence of this kind of work over the last couple of years - wider margins, shaggier hedges and some wetland creation - pools in low lying areas etc. No coincidence then that a couple of...
  11. Dunnock at Brandon Marsh

    Dunnock at Brandon Marsh

    • hornet
    • Media item
    • Comments: 1
    • Category: Britain & Europe
  12. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    Glad you like the photo - apparently it took me four hours sitting under a bush in a cold wet field to get it ;-) Sadly however, we both both know that I've neither the talent nor the patience to get a shot like that. Fortunately Steve Seal has, so credit where credit is due. Thanks to Steve...
  13. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    Made it out this morning for my first birding in ages - thank God that Crane at Cropredy hasn't been in a hurry to move on. What a fabulous bird. Came back via Napton Reservoir - a couple of Sand Martins turned up, a couple of Chiffchaffs were calling (although I heard my first one there nearly...
  14. hornet

    Comment by 'hornet' in media 'Winter Jay 2'

    A nice swansong for the trusty FZ20 - I've always struggled to get a decent Jay shot. I look forward to seeing how the transition to DSLR goes. Who knows - I might be following in your footsteps some time.
    • hornet
    • Gallery comment
  15. hornet

    What are THE best Reverse Porro Compacts?

    Because it is the best of all the models I've tried. I wasn't trying to be definitive, just helpful.
  16. hornet

    What are THE best Reverse Porro Compacts?

    Opticron Taiga - among the best compacts I have used, regardless of type or price. About £85 - outstanding value. Bought a pair for my parents last Christmas and nearly didn't hand them over!
  17. hornet

    Anybody else have a blog?

    I don't think you'll run short of birding blogs to read! Mine is below.
  18. hornet

    Olympus 550 results

    Over the last 14 months, I have learned to use my superzoom, a Panasonic FZ20, from scratch. The photos I take now are much much better than the ones I took in the first few months. And I am learning new tricks all the time. Practice is everything, whether using a superzoom or a DSLR. A DSLR...
  19. hornet

    Scope for newby - £200 budget - MM2?

    I cannot recommend the hdf lenses highly enough for the MM2. It's a great little scope with either the 18x or zoom hdf, but I really don't know if I could use it much with the standard zoom - too dark and narrow for me. Although my 'main' scope is a Zeiss Diascope, it hardly ever goes out these...
  20. Blue Tit

    Blue Tit

    • hornet
    • Media item
    • Comments: 0
    • Category: Britain & Europe
  21. Reed Bunting

    Reed Bunting

    • hornet
    • Media item
    • Comments: 1
    • Category: Britain & Europe
  22. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

  23. hornet

    West Midlands/Warwickshire local patches.

    Well done, that's a fair effort by public transport. :clap: Certainly puts me to shame - I live on the 63 route and still drive there. I shall make the effort to follow your good example, like I've been meaning to for ages. The good thing about it is that now the cafe is there, you can at...
  24. hornet

    New Olympus super zoom Vs?? any suggestions

    Thanks Pete, that passed me by. Seems like a good little camera too, although like I think all the other models mentioned it has no hotshoe for external flash. I don't use it often but I'd really miss that feature. Work looking at though David.
  25. hornet

    New Olympus super zoom Vs?? any suggestions

    Hi David, On paper it looks great, and the online review looks good (if genuine, take these things with a pinch of salt - I'm sure the early reviewer is genuine, but there are a huge number of phony reviews, PR blogs and so on out there). I'd wait for just a little bit more evidence - a DP...
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