Thermal monocular for finding birds (3 Viewers)

[karljohnson]

Hi group,
I'm a birder in the uk,I regularly visit scotland and have been thinking about buying a budget thermal monocular for searching for things like capercaillie in woodland. I'm just wondering if people think this is just a waste of money or a tool that could help,thanks for any comments,
Karl

 

[Mono]

We have a look at this thread...

Night vision equipment for mortals

Looking for advice on night vision equipment which is practical to use in the field and still within a price range of a normal birder. So far, I did not bother with night vision equipment, because I thought that it is - too expensive - field of view is very small compared to binoculars, so...

www.birdforum.net

 

[wllmspd]

Certainly good for finding warm things, but best at night or with overcast weather as rocks and other things can warm up in the sun and generate false positives. For creatures that like hiding or are well camouflaged it’s a good tool to have.

 

[Fritz73]

Hola! Welcome to Birdforum

 

[Schneppe]

Yes, to find birds that like "to hide", i.e. bitterns or snipe, it is a very useful tool.

Fabian

 

[wllmspd]

I’ve pulled lots of snipe out of reeds with mine. It’s fun to tell people how many there are there and let them try to locate them all

 

[Andy Adcock]

I saw them used to great effect in Colombia for Antpittas and on one occasion, roosting parrots which were shrouded in mist, silent and motionless.

 

[Chris G6 UXU]

Hello and welcome to the forum, enjoy and all the best.