Asked and answered!
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On Mar 27, 2023, at 10:08 AM, Jonathan Ley <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
You do get what you pay for, but up to a point. Those Pulsar units are good, but pretty spendy. I got my BTH50 for about $1200 (normally close to $2000, but I got a deal). I’ve been pretty happy with it. I’d be curious to try other models though, just to get a comparison.
For example, one of the most popular thermal monoculars is the Flir Scout TK. It’s a trusted brand, but the specs on that unit are not good… I think it’s way over-priced for what it is, and not sure if it’d be effective for birding.
Anyway, check the table on my blog post for more on that.
JonathanOn Mar 27, 2023, at 9:44 AM, Steve Kornfeld <sbkornfeld@xxxxxxx> wrote:No doubt you will see more and more thermal imaging devices carried by birders
Night time
Owls – Instead of shining lights all over the place and continual playing tape to get the owl into view. Skillful use of thermal imaging gets you on to the bird much quicker
Non-owls - Great way to find roosting birds at night. Surprisingly good. I had great looks at African Pitta in Sierra Leon last year on a night roost. Never heard them during the day
Day time
Thermal imaging also works during the day. Trying to find a calling bird in a large dense bush and on and on
Non-birds – Great way to look for all animals (warm blooded) at night.
You do get what you pay for. Pulsar seems to be a favored brand (many options even there). This website does a pretty good job of explaining.
Thermal Imaging for Bird Watching - Thomas Jacks Focus (tj-focus.co.uk)
More and more birding optics stores are carrying them.
Yes, some countries are weird about them. Most are not
Steve
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From: Jonathan Ley
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2023 8:56 AM
To: Spencer Parsons
Cc: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [obol] Re: Northern Pygmy-owl at Vedanta & thermal imaging
No, that wasn’t me… not sure where Force lake even is.
I figure there have to be other birders doing this. Thermal imagers aren’t secret. But the tech has improved recently, so if people looked into it a few years back, it might not have made sense.
Plus if you want to really check one of these out, there’s really no way to do that without buying one. So, I can see how that would prevent most people from doing this.
Before I got into this, I asked around a little and someone replied “birds, and owls in particular were too well-insulated to show-up on thermal imaging.”… well, that’s totally wrong.
Jonathan
On Mar 27, 2023, at 8:38 AM, Spencer Parsons <spencerqparsons@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Were you at Force Lake yesterday afternoon scanning the foliage along the edge of the water? If so, I saw you and was very intrigued, but I’m getting over a bout of Covid so didn’t get out of my car to strike up a conversation.
If not, I believe I saw someone else there using one yesterday, so there’s at least two of you in the area doing it!
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On Mar 26, 2023, at 10:40 PM, jonathan@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I had a nice encounter with a Northern Pygmy-Owl on Saturday morning at Vedanta. I explored a large bit of the area, but didn’t find this bird until I was nearly back at my car. Photos in my e-bird report here:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S131786999
Living near Portland for 20 years, I’d never been to Vedanta. Really cool location– I need to go back and check out a couple shrines that I missed… and make a donation of course.
I found this bird using a thermal monocular – just scanning the otherwise lush green forest, and this bird popped-out. To the naked eye, the bird was barely a spec on the tip of a mossy branch. I doubt if I could have noticed it without the thermal monocular. I heard one tooting a mile away in a different area, but this one was silent, and only moving its head.
I’ve seen thermal imaging discussed briefly on obol, but not at any length that I recall. I searched for more on birding with thermal imagers, but surprisingly didn’t find too much. I’ve heard a couple mentions of them in podcasts, but just in passing.
The technology intrigued me, so I researched a bit and got one last fall. I’ve been birding with it numerous times since then. I’ve compiled my thoughts and observations into a blog post here:
I expect I’ll have more to say as I’m able to use this in other seasons & habitats.
I’m curious to hear what others think on this subject. I don’t bird with a lot of people, so I’m really not sure how widespread is the use of thermal monoculars is among birders, or if they’re discussed much.
-Jonathan
