Swarovski Optik, one of the upper-echelon brands for birding and wildlife optics, is branching out into the tech world with the release of in intriguing new piece of high-tech kit. The new dG (Digital Guide) pairs cutting-edge optics with digital camera technology, integrated WiFi and automated digital identification apps for birds and animals.The family-owned Austrian … [Read more...] about New wildlife ID tech announced by Swarovski Optik
Bird Identification
Book Review: The Helm Guide to Bird Identification
Have you ever struggled to tell your bar-tailed from your black-tailed godwit? How about differentiating your dabbling ducks, or getting to grips with gulls and grebes?No matter how experienced a bird watcher you are, there are always species that will prove tricky, and there will be times (sometimes lots of them) when you're not quite sure what species you're looking at. … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Helm Guide to Bird Identification
Know your crows — how to identify corvids with the BTO
Given clear views on the ground adult crow species generally present few ID problems... but throw juveniles into the mix, and birds in flight at distance, and they become surprisingly tricky.There are clues you can use to identify crows accurately even in these situations. In this video the BTO run through the common crow species -- all of which breed here in Ireland, with … [Read more...] about Know your crows — how to identify corvids with the BTO
Bird Identification: telling black redstart and common redstart apart
The BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) has produced a superb series of bird ID videos to help birders tell commonly confused species apart. The latest instalment in the series tackles the differences between black redstart and the rarer (in Ireland) common redstart.The most likely time to encounter either of these birds in Ireland is on passage during spring and autumn … [Read more...] about Bird Identification: telling black redstart and common redstart apart
Know your Winter Thrushes: Fieldfare and Redwing ID from the BTO
Every winter our resident blackbirds, song thrushes and mistle thrushes are joined by an influx of visiting northern European thrushes: fieldfare and redwing.The birds usually start to arrive from late September / early October, and stay until early March... with some lingering a little later.Redwing are songthrush sized, and are possible to confuse with song thrush if … [Read more...] about Know your Winter Thrushes: Fieldfare and Redwing ID from the BTO
