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

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  1. xmesox

    Bluetooth Speakers For Playing Calls

    Birding here in South Africa, within certain terrains like the Karoo's arid nature, finding skulking birds often relies heavily on playback calls (in moderation, and with due respect to the environment of course). I've been looking for something small, portable but still good enough quality to...
  2. xmesox

    Southern African Forum

    I think SABAP2 should be pretty good for it to be honest, there's a lot of pentads with high reporting rates nearby. The best bet from the pentads looks to be Suikerbosrand where there's 2 pentads of 30%+ reporting rates.
  3. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    Are you 100% on the Common Scimitarbill? That would be very out of range, and a very strange sighting. Was it perhaps not a Green Wood Hoopoe? Which has very similar appearance, but is known to occur widely in those parts? It wouldn't be the first time one had been incorrectly ID'd as the...
  4. Malagasy Pond Heron

    Malagasy Pond Heron

    Was lucky enough to be one of the first 10 people to photograph this species in South Africa. This was only the first confirmed record of this rare species in South Africa, and one of just a handful in Southern Africa. With a critically endangered status and a population of under 6000, even in...
    • xmesox
    • Media item
    • ardeola idae malagasy pond heron south africa
    • Comments: 3
    • Category: Africa
  5. Ground Woodpecker

    Ground Woodpecker

    Great views of a Ground Woodpecker at Rooi Els. Image uncropped.
    • xmesox
    • Media item
    • ground woodpecker south africa woodpecker
    • Comments: 5
    • Category: Africa
  6. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    Clapper Lark are definitely tough. My provincial list is at 320 and I have yet to come across a Clapper Lark myself. Though I do know of someone who got one near De Hoop last week, so just a matter of chance. I asked some other locals about the Buttonquail and apparently things have been very...
  7. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    To be honest, if it was a single bird I'd have said it could have been an unusually late Steppe Buzzard, but the fact that there were two make it extremely unlikely. The Cape Buzzards and Elgin Buzzards I know quite well since I was monitoring a pair near where I stay and was involved in...
  8. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    Excellent news! I actually just dropped you a PM earlier about the Crake. Glad to see you came across it. I was there from around 1pm for the Crake. Great bird for the province (estimated less than 5 sightings). Good news about the Rock Jumper too then! Very nice. The Victorin's is always a bit...
  9. Chorister Robin-Chat

    Chorister Robin-Chat

    Chorister Robin-Chat in Wilderness, Western Cape of South Africa
    • xmesox
    • Media item
    • chat chorister robin south africa
    • Comments: 2
    • Category: Africa
  10. xmesox

    Comment by 'Guest' in media 'Knysna Turaco'

    Thanks for the kind comments everyone. Delia, the image was taken in April 2017.
    • xmesox
    • Gallery comment
  11. xmesox

    Unidentified Shearwater

    The word "Audubon's Shearwater" are ones that are being kept inside the mouths of most here looking at this bird. The bird in question was photographed just south of Cape Town, South Africa. Far from the range of Audubon's Shearwater. Well within the general range of Manx, but upon first look it...
  12. xmesox

    Pelagics from Cape Town (Simon's Town)

    Yup, both Yellow-Nosed are quite common in the waters around Cape Town. I've done 3 pelagics on Zest before, mostly around the change of the seasons, autumn. Report and Species from 21 April 2013 Report and Species from 24 April 2016 Report and Species from 5 March 2017
  13. xmesox

    Unidentified Shearwater

    I recently saw this bird on a pelagic cruise, along with quite a few other birders, and it's causing quite a bit of interest among those that saw it. Originally it was identified as a Little Shearwater based off the white eyebrow which extends from the back, above the eye, through to the front...
  14. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    Well to be honest, both are pretty much just nature. Wilderness may have 1 or 2 more shops, but it's still a small area where the focus is mainly on what you will be doing outdoors. Nature's Valley can offer you some birds that you don't tend to get in Wildnerness, like the Collared Sunbird. But...
  15. Knysna Turaco

    Knysna Turaco

    Amazing close up views of a special along the Garden Route of South Africa, the Knysna Turaco.
    • xmesox
    • Media item
    • south africa turaco
    • Comments: 6
    • Category: Africa
  16. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    I spent a week in Wilderness earlier this month (where my avatar comes from), and there's some truly amazing birds there. Mostly the exciting forest birds like the Knysna Turaco and if you're lucky Narina Trogon. With regards to the Knysna Warbler, Wilderness is definitely infinitely better...
  17. Franklin's Gull

    Franklin's Gull

    Not much of a special bird to many others around the world, however this bird is a rare vagrant here in South Africa, and I happened to be on holiday just 50 kilometers of where it was reported. Following a fast race there, managed to connect with great views.
    • xmesox
    • Media item
    • franklins gull gull south africa vagrant
    • Comments: 3
    • Category: Africa
  18. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    Another reason to go is that during strong winds you can actually sometimes pick up some pelagic birds from shore (just 100 meters or so off-shore). This week there was a cold front and managed to count a Subantarctic Skua, Shy Albatross, White Chinned Petrel and Cape Gannet from the shore. ;)
  19. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    I actually live about 5 kilometers from Sir Lowry's Pass and unfortunately I wouldn't recommend it to a tourist. There are more dangerous places (like Paarl Sewage Works and Macassar Sewage Works), but Sir Lowry's Pass can be dangerous. It is definitely worth the extra 20 kilometers to Rooi...
  20. xmesox

    2000 Birders on a Boat

    I was recently part of the Flock at Sea 2017 birding cruise, organized by Bird Life South Africa. The cruise saw nearly 2000 birders on board the MSC Sinfonia, as we departed from Cape Town harbour and made our way south into the open oceans. On board was sea birding expert Peter Harrison...
  21. Malachite Kingfisher

    Malachite Kingfisher

    Malachite Kingfisher at Intaka Island near Cape Town, South Africa.
    • xmesox
    • Media item
    • cape town kingfisher malachite kingfisher south africa
    • Comments: 7
    • Category: Africa
  22. xmesox

    Cape Town birding for a couple days

    Kirstenbosch is decent as a tourist, though the amount of bird species is relatively small (you're looking at mostly common birds, but usually decent views of some of the sunbirds). As mentioned above though, Strandfontein Sewage Works is definitely a must. Massive number of waders and water...
  23. xmesox

    Raptor ID Cape Town South Africa

    It could be a Steppe Buzzard... However... It could just as easily be a Juvenile Jackal Buzzard. In fact, there's something that makes me think it is a Juvenile Jackal Buzzard (also quite variable in plumage, and often very similar to Steppe Buzzard). If you look at the top of the wing on the...
  24. Cape Rockjumper

    Cape Rockjumper

    One of South Africa's most desired endemics, putting on a quality show.
    • xmesox
    • Media item
    • cape rockjumper chaetops frenatus endemic south africa
    • Comments: 5
    • Category: Africa
  25. xmesox

    Comment by 'Guest' in media 'little bittern'

    This is a Green Backed Heron :)
    • xmesox
    • Gallery comment
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