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

What did you see in your binoculars today? (1 Viewer)

Back at the meadow in late evening: had previously seen a kestrel again in a treetop by the lake, looking around intently, its tail feathers twitching and fanning out. Now the pair is perched together atop a spruce, one with a mouse that it's dangling from its beak, then transferring to its claw. (How do I keep missing the kill?) What a gorgeous bird. I hope they'll be nesting here. Lovely view even at some distance in fading light, with SLC 15x56 this time. I'm having a lot of fun with this bino; it handles surprisingly well without a tripod.
 
WOW what a GREAT day today! Migration is wide open here. Today was one of the best "quality bird" days I've had in a long time. Try 14 species of warblers. Louisiana waterthrush, blackburnian, chestnut sided, yellow rumped, black throated green, pine, palm, northern parula, cerulean, common yellow throat, Kentucky, black and white, blackpoll, and golden winged. Add to that summer and scarlet tanagers, Baltimore and orchard orioles, blue and rose breasted grosbeak, and Swainson's thrush were some of the highlights. Overall a great birding day...
 
Two-day-old mourning dove chicks being fed by mom. They nest every year outside the garage window in my dragon fruit plants. The parents are tame enough that they don't mind being observed close focus (Trinovid 8x32HD) but this photo was taken through garage window.
 

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Bonjour Edmund: if painting historic old buildings with high towers and steeples, it is always worth giving them a careful look over with the binoculars!

Regards
Patudo

Patudo, what is that bird? I am sure you know :)

Today I took a tourist riverboat and apart from ducks and swans saw a cormorant.

Large intensely black bird, swimming immersed, white patch under and behind yellowish long beak.

It kept crossing by swimming, from one side of the Seine to the other, and again back between the large and small boats.

I have no idea why it was indulging in this double-crossing behaviour :)

I also saw what I think was a largeish bird of prey near Notre Dame, powerful slow beat flight, large grey wingfeathers maybe almost 1m wingspan, but I couldn't track it long enough to detail it. My binoculars are 7x and track well, but they don't show a lot of detail at the first glance.

Edmund
 
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Yellowhammer in a late spring snowfall this morning... And a Red Kite hovering over my home in the afternoon sun.
 
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Black-throated blue, black-throated Green, yellow-throated, yellow-rumped, hooded, and Nashville warblers. Veery, wood, and Swainson's thrush. Scarlet Tanager. Ruby crowned kinglet. Warbling and red-eyed vireos. Spring migrants are here, particularly the earlier arriving ones.
 
I thought this was a good idea for a new thread on the binocular forum. Jerry

Still a good idea ... bump.

A day on the marsh today, too many to list, lots of nice Brent geese on the grazing, and waders in the margins. Weaver SS 8.5x45 today, so easy to handle and with a little extra reach.
 

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A first sighting for me today of a long-tailed bushtit (Aegithalos caudatus):
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/0A...egithalos_caudatus/Aegithalos_caudatus_DT.jpg

I watched it with my Zeiss 10x42 as it was briefly feeding on a suet ball.

After a few months of seeing birds in my garden that I already knew - like great tits, blue tits, coal tits, greenfinch, chaffinch, robin, dunnock, wren, and several larger birds that interest me less - this little bird with the strikingly long tail and its rose-coloured side and shoulder plumage was quite an exciting discovery for me.
 
Do beavers count? I've been watching a lodge for the last six months and it's interesting seeing how they alter the environment around them. They can be hard to spot because they spend so much time sitting in one place. My favourite moment all year was when I saw a blue heron grab something out of the water and immediately drop it, followed by a very indignant beaver surfacing a few feet away! At the moment I am mostly seeing mergansers and Canada geese, with occasional red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, and belted kingfishers.
 
For Binastro: Mercury seen from my office window, looking towards San Francisco. Clear night with lovely color gradients towards the horizon. I used a Swarovski 8x30b companion to verify, and then could spot it readily naked eye. About 8° above the horizon. Elusive little rascal.

-Bill
 
A first sighting for me today of a long-tailed bushtit (Aegithalos caudatus):
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/0A...egithalos_caudatus/Aegithalos_caudatus_DT.jpg

I watched it with my Zeiss 10x42 as it was briefly feeding on a suet ball.

After a few months of seeing birds in my garden that I already knew - like great tits, blue tits, coal tits, greenfinch, chaffinch, robin, dunnock, wren, and several larger birds that interest me less - this little bird with the strikingly long tail and its rose-coloured side and shoulder plumage was quite an exciting discovery for me.

These are daily visitors to our feeders, often 4 together, sometimes as many as 8, and they are the most delightful birds.

Lee
 
For Binastro: Mercury seen from my office window, looking towards San Francisco. Clear night with lovely color gradients towards the horizon. I used a Swarovski 8x30b companion to verify, and then could spot it readily naked eye. About 8° above the horizon. Elusive little rascal.

-Bill

Two nights ago and several nights before that: Venus as bright as a diamond in the west. Just stunning in the early evening.


Lee
 
A gGreat spotted woodpecker. Flew away before I could bring my camera to bear,

Spotted? Where are the spots? ;-)
Seriously, sometimes I am puzzled by the names given to creatures.
I still can't get over the Ring-necked duck. Show me the ring! Its about as evident as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The white-collared duck, ok, but not the ring-neck.

Here's what I would call a properly spotted bird. Naturally it's name does not include that adjective. These are common around our neck of the woods. The Northern Flicker. Lots of red-shafted, but there are yellow-shafted intergrades to be seen as well.

Shot last weekend, with my 'mini digital spotting scope' the Nikon p-610. I was also carrying a real spotting scope, and used the tripod, with scope locked down to rest my camera on.. Stability and high magnification are co-equal partners in a lot of endeavors, despite Rico's distant, echoing admonishments otherwise.

Off to bird!

-Bill
 

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As I was walking the dogs in the middle of nowhere (Worcestershire countryside) these 2 Peacocks nonchalantly appeared from the bushes and made a right racket when they spotted my dogs. Goodness knows where they had come from as there were no farms or houses near by.
Needless to say they weren't bothered and just strolled off into the undergrowth.
Ian
 

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