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

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  1. Johann Sebastian Bach

    How to REALLY reduce your carbon footprint

    It's NOT plastic bag use. It's flying. It's eating meat. It's good insulation. A fascinating study, making some sense out of all the opinion flying around.(o)< http://https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-reduces-our-personal-co2-footprint-we-have-clue-frank-bilstein/ Peter
  2. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Birding/Twitching and Global warming

    Has the insistent and urgent voice of climate change modified your birding behaviour in terms of travel? If so, what changes have you made? Could you share any insights into travel alternatives (I heard recently that London to Cadiz return rail fare is about £250). Patch birding, of course, is...
  3. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Extinct bird re-evolves (apparently)

    Not an April fool spoof. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bird-extinct-back-from-dead-madagascar-white-throated-rail-a8908211.html Peter
  4. Johann Sebastian Bach

    China no longer wants the UK's plastic waste

    From the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42455378 "Michael Gove admits he was slow to see the problem coming" - as if it's a new issue. Peter :-C
  5. Johann Sebastian Bach

    What it's like to be on the receiving end of a twitch.

    A different perspective: My daughter feels her privacy's been invaded by people twitching the Waxwings in Whiteley, Hampshire. Yesterday, a group of 6 birders was about 10 metres from her front window, with bins, scopes and cameras pointing at her house. She didn't know that the object of...
  6. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Should you tick "heard only" birds?

    A report on a local Bird Info Service read: Tawny owl (heard only) The word "only" implies that the observer may not have been sure of the i/d [but this species has an obvious call which sounds unlike any other common British bird]. I've seen the same (heard only) comment attached to records...
  7. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Malta - hunting ban rejected in referendum

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32274233 Peter :-C
  8. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Birds' Adjectives and Verbs

    I watched a perky robin this morning, upright in the sunlight and wondered about the fact that the word "perky" described him perfectly. Blue tits scrambled over the nut feeder and a pheasant sidled cautiously into view. Anyone like to suggest other adjectives/verbs/adverbs which suit...
  9. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Birdsong volume and pitch

    Listening to the glorious sound of birdsong on a sunny spring day made me wonder whether they have to sing louder in our polluted sound-scape. The background sounds of a few hundred years ago must be considerably quieter than today's racket of cars, aircraft and so on. The (probably...
  10. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Gamekeeper found guilty of poisoning BOPs

    There is a photo of the gamekeeper who's been found guilty of these crimes here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11135056/Gamekeeper-guilty-in-worst-case-of-bird-of-prey-poisoning-in-England.html To me, his 10 week suspended sentence seems unduly lenient...
  11. Johann Sebastian Bach

    If birds could make lists......

    Turning things around, I wonder how the Aves community would do homo sapiens or primate watching. Imagine being an Arctic tern and seeing how many primates you could spot in a year...... Would they go twitching? (or is that what's really happening with avian vagrants - are they actually...
  12. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Raiders of the Lost Auk, et al

    As U.K. birders sharpen their pencils awaiting the arrival of vagrants, I thought there might be time to extrapolate film and book titles into avian forms. For example: Raiders of the Lost Auk Snow Finch and the Seven Dwarf Herons Magnificent Butcher Bird D. H. Laurence's Sons and Plovers...
  13. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Design your own bird

    If you could combine plumage, size, song and behavioural characteristics of any bird into a single creation, what would you come up with? For example, a goldfinch's head on a rosy starling's body with the song of a ring ouzel and the fight of a woodpecker [called a Grousy pecker]. Let your...
  14. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Make up your own bird names

    UK birders are currently enjoying a beautiful Red-flanked Bluetail. Apart from being a really gorgeous creature, its name is a perfect description, giving a true sense of the colouration of the little gem. I was wondering about re-naming (just for fun) certain species to give them a more...
  15. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Cameron Bespolka RIP

    Really sad news to hear of the untimely and tragic death of Cameron. An up-and-coming young birder, he had already made contributions to BF, Hampshire birding news and his local patch. Sincere condolences to his family and friends...
  16. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Late arrivals at the Birders' Ball

    A comedy radio show in the UK features the "late arrivals" sketch. An example might be a late arrival at the hospital ball: Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Mr & Mrs Thesia and their daughter Anna Thesia. Get it?:t: Just to get us started on the Birders' ball, what about: Ladies and...
  17. Johann Sebastian Bach

    UK 400 club to close??

    According to the acting deputy chief constable, the chief may be forced to close down his elite organisation. http://www.britishislestwitching.com/apps/blog/show/7556960-premiership-bird-club Should we: care; have an official day of mourning; elect a new chief constable? Peter;)
  18. Johann Sebastian Bach

    How many twitchers does it take to change a lightbulb?

    The Rare Birds Info thread currently has people discussing the skill-set needed for a twitcher. One response gives: There is absolutely no skill is twitching. Skills include: the ability to read a pager, drive a car, use a mobile phone, read a map, programme a sat nav and book tickets/check...
  19. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Eurasian Bitterns

    I have a friend who's writing a book on Eurasian Bitterns and he's seeking information on their breeding behaviour. Apart from the "Herons" tome, can anyone point him in the direction of publications on the species or papers covering aspects of mating? If anyone knows of an acknowledged expert...
  20. Johann Sebastian Bach

    What's your favourite bird name?

    Andalusian Hemipode. No idea why, especially since it's not exactly a stunner. Peter
  21. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Worst ever bird report

    As a combination of pointlessness (the six figure grid ref for a very common bird in the observer's own garden); the spelling; and the rather bemusing statement, I offer this for a "worst of" award. (Taken from a UK County Bird News.) 15/03/13 13:20 Coal Tit - 2 [Location] [Grid Ref] hopeing...
  22. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Posting news of common birds

    Do you list everything you see on the internet, or do you use some discretion? My local county site provides valuable information about less common species but also has, this week, included news of a single: Song thrush (on the ground) and Robin (on the ground near nest box). On both...
  23. Johann Sebastian Bach

    What are your goodwill and bad-will moments?

    In this season of goodwill, I thought I'd ask: what's the nicest thing you've ever done when bird watching? what's the nastiest thing you've ever done when bird watching? Peter
  24. Johann Sebastian Bach

    U.K. twitchers need a rarity - NOW!

    Regular readers of the Rare Bird Information forum will know what happens when there's no "real" news. The provenance of a rare duck is discussed in the minutest detail, along with its possible hybridisation: The putative Bombay duck in Pagham harbour has a faint abrasion to the fourth primary...
  25. Johann Sebastian Bach

    Sketching common birds from memory

    Can you draw a blue tit (or a goldfinch) without first looking at a field guide? Are you able to get the blues, yellows and grey/black bits in the right place? I pose the question knowing that I'd probably get it wrong, despite seeing such common birds countless times each day. It may well be...
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