• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Search results

thxpress_search_the_forum Search Opus
  1. Clive Watson

    Lens repair

    Bit of a long shot this but I'm struggling. I've got an old Canon 600mm F4 lens from the early 2000s (so mark 1 I guess) which has developed a focusing fault. Does anyone know of someone who might be able to repair it? Most places I've tried (including Canon) don't want to know because of its age.
  2. Clive Watson

    Birds in flight (again)

    Looking to (possibly) get a mirrorless camera for birds in flight. Something that will make a decent job of locking properly on to, say, seabirds taken on a pelagic trip. Never used mirrorless before. Someone I know suggested an R7, someone else I spoke to recently said the R7 autofocus isn't...
  3. Clive Watson

    White-letter hairstreak

    Looking for someone to jog my memory - where is the White-letter hairstreak site in East London that's within a few minutes walk from a train station?
  4. Clive Watson

    Bird of prey sighting

    Large raptor over my mum's house in South-east London on Sunday at about 5.30pm (I was there for Mothers day so no optics and no photo). All dark, longish tail, broad, rounded wings with obvious round pale patches on the primaries. I think it was a Crested Caracara and therefore an escape, but...
  5. Clive Watson

    Camera advice

    So I find myself in need of a new camera. When I say new I don't mean brand new, that's out of my price range, forget all this 3 grand plus stuff. I was thinking something second hand maybe a couple of years old. My main priorities performance-wise are good flight photography capability and good...
  6. Clive Watson

    Cyprus in autumn

    Thinking of going to Cyprus in September or October. Can anyone advise which month is likely to be better? Mainly thinking about migrant birds, but things like dragonflies and butterflies will be of interest too. Thanks in advance!
  7. Clive Watson

    Pied Flycatchers - Strid Woods

    Quick question for those with local knowledge. I'm thinking of looking for Pied Flycatcher at Strid Woods (Bolton Abbey) at some point between 26-29 April. Would they be back on their breeding grounds by then? Thanks in advance Clive
  8. Clive Watson

    Carsington Water bird feeders

    Quick couple of questions regarding the Carsington Water bird feeders from someone who's never been - are they any good at this time of year? And can the birds be photographed OK using a 400mm lens?
  9. Clive Watson

    Willow Emerald Damselfly?

    Just wanted to get some expert opinion about this damselfly, photographed at Boldermere, Surrey, on 24/7/16. There were two emeralds, a male and a female, and since I've photographed male Common Emerald at Boldermere before, I concentrated on the female. As far as I can remember, the male was a...
  10. Clive Watson

    Yorkshire Belle trips to Bempton

    Hi everyone, I'm off to Leeds later this week and am intending to visit Bempton. I was thinking of taking a cruise on the Yorkshire Belle to get a different angle from the usual clifftop walk, but there aren't any RSPB trips scheduled during my time there. There do seem to be other, shorter...
  11. Clive Watson

    New Forest dragonflies

    Thanks to those who offered advice regarding Norfolk Hawkers recently, unfortunately I won't be acting upon it this weekend as the weather forecast looks far too windy. Instead I'd like to ask for a bit more advice about dragonflies in the New Forest for a trip in a week's time (and this time I...
  12. Clive Watson

    Norfolk Hawkers

    Anyone know of any Norfolk Hawker sightings yet this year? I'm planning a trip to the Broads this coming weekend for Swallowtail and Norfolk Hawker but whilst if seen a few reports of the butterfly, I can find no records of the latter. Any help gratefully received!
  13. Clive Watson

    Camera backpack recommendations

    Just a quick trawl for some ideas... I've got a huge Lowepro backpack which takes my 600mm f4 etc, and I've also got a baby rucksack which I got as a freebie a few years ago. What I'm looking for is something in between. Something that will take my 400mm f5.6, maybe 2 camera bodies, a couple of...
  14. Clive Watson

    Slimbridge accommodation

    I can't believe this hasn't been asked before, but I can't find it if it has so: Does anyone have any recommendations for a bed and breakfast/hotel near Slimbridge? I'm looking for value for money as opposed to opulence as the main priority.
  15. Clive Watson

    Spider ID

    Someone I know asked for an ID on this spider, so I thought I'd post it somewhere that someone could see it who knew what they were talking about. It was taken in her garden in Weybridge in Surrey (the mesh is actually from a trampoline). No idea about size, presumed fairly big. I can probably...
  16. Clive Watson

    Internationa Gull Conference

    Anyone know what happened to the International Gull Conference which was supposed to be happening in Crete last November? I registered here http://gullsofcrete.blogspot.com/2009/12/10th-international-gull-meeting.html but never heard anything back. I was looking forward to that, gotta be...
  17. Clive Watson

    Yet another Waxwing sighting

    I tried putting this on the London Bird Club website but it didn't seem to want to know, so I'm posting here in the hope that someone will see it who will be interested. I saw about 40 Waxwings yesterday in a tree by the side of the A2 just before the Falconwood exit (London-bound) at about...
  18. Clive Watson

    CB radios on Scilly

    Just a quickie... Off to the Scillies in a few weeks, for the first time in 7 years. Do people still use CB radios at all there? I don't want to dig it out and carry it around if there's no-one to talk to!
  19. Clive Watson

    Is this a yellow-legged gull?

    During a recent family day out to the seaside I decided to take the opportunity to get a few shots of some of the local Herring Gulls. I confess, I was snapping away without paying a vast amount of attention to the subject of critical bird identification, but on reviewing the shots, this dark...
  20. Clive Watson

    Monopod for a biiig lens

    Apologies if this has been done before, but I can't find any specific references : Does anyone use, or would anyone recommend, a monopod that can be used with one of the largest lenses (e.g. 600mm f4)? I'm thinking of getting one as a way of saving bulk/weight when travelling. Also, and...
  21. Clive Watson

    Large Tortoiseshell!

    Just looked at the Rare Bird map and there's a report of a Large Tortoiseshell somewhere in the East End of London! Anyone got some gen on this one? Is it twitchable? I've never twitched a butterfly before!
  22. Clive Watson

    Brown Hairstreak at Ifield

    The area near Ifield, West Sussex is supposed to be excellent for Brown Hairstreak but in a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon I drew a blank. Is there anyone who has visited this site and can give me some tips?
  23. Clive Watson

    Old film camera equipment - what to do with it all?

    During my formative photography years I collected quite a lot of film camera gear, some of it good quality, some less so, which is now all redundant. So I was wondering what I could do with it all? It's not really going to be sellable as it is since everyone is digital these days and I doubt any...
  24. Clive Watson

    Little Gulls at Hornsea

    Can someone give me a bit of advice regarding taking photos of Little Gulls at Hornsea? I've seen some cracking photos taken at this site but I hardly know the place at all. The usual kind of stuff - how reliable are they? Do they come close enough for shots with a 600mm lens? When is the best...
  25. Clive Watson

    Shanghai Airport

    I might be stopping off for a few hours in Shanghai in early October en route to New Zealand. Is there anywhere I can reach for a bit of birding - preferably with photographic possibilities - for a couple of hours? In theory I'll be there for about 7 hours but with luggage reclaim/checking back...
Back
Top