Reviews
New Product: Solar Trail solar powered camera trap
The Solar Trail camera trap is a boom to wildlife watchers who want to leave their cameras out in the field for a long period of time without the worry of the batteries going flat. The trail camera has a rechargeable battery that is kept fully charged up by an attached solar panel. It was [...]
Springwatch rustles a few feathers over nesting
Just catching up on yesterday’s BBC Springwatch programme and it appears that one of the items has caused a fair bit of controversy on the internet forums and in the media. The culprit was a feature on field craft on how to find bird nests. Sadly lots of people are complaining about the feature and [...]
Book Review: A Naturalist’s Guide to the Mammals of South East Asia
A Naturalist’s Guide to the Mammals of South East Asia : Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam by Chris R Shepherd and Loretta Ann Shepherd John Beaufoy Publishing, Oxford, England Price : 9.99 British pounds in UK only Book review by Shubhobroto Ghosh, Senior Programme Officer, TRAFFIC India, WWF India, [...]
Review – Stealth Gear one man photographic hide
I’ve never used a professional portable photographic hide before for wildlife photography. For me a bit of camo netting is quick and easy to use and light to carry and if you can find some suitable branches you can usually make a pretty efficient makeshift hide. It was with some trepidation that I chose to [...]
David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities
David Attenborough is back on prime time TV with his BBC series Africa. But his fans need not be disappointed when the series comes to a close as he has a brand new series starting later this month on Eden. Called Natural Curiosities the series is exclusive to Eden. Starting on 29th January Sir David [...]
From Whales to Rhinos the wars continue
Whale Wars on Animal Planet – part of the Discovery Channel and countless satellite and cable channels – has been a massive success with many viewers. It was only a question of time before that same formula was taken out to other endangered species. The fight to save the rhino is the next step for [...]
TV Review: Wild At Heart the final episode
Finally I’ve had the time to catch up on some Christmas viewing through catch up TV. For me the highlight of the season had to be the final episode of Wild At Heart. It was a feature length 90 minute episode that finished a much loved series about a vet in Africa. The final episode [...]
Review: Hama Cable Release For Digital Cameras
The Hama cable release for digital cameras is a universal cable that has both benefits and negatives. If you are willing to make a few easy adjustments to your digital camera then it can be a really useful gadget especially if you are into digiscoping. If you use a compact digital camera for your digiscoping then keeping [...]
TV Review: Branson says get up and walk out if restaurant has shark fin on the menu
With the choice of english speaking TV a bit limited at the moment I stumbled on Bloomberg TV while hunting around the cable stations. The Asia Business programme was showing an interview with Sir Richard Branson. There was a lot of discussion about the environment and wildlife in relation to the Asian region and Sir Richard [...]
Review: Praktica 20-60x zoom spotting scope
This review covers my latest spotting scope from Praktica – the B00514 which is the angled zoom scope with a 77mm lens and 20 to 60 times eye-piece. It’s an easy to use spotting scope that is ideal for beginners or those looking for a good general workhorse spotting scope that is rugged and can be [...]
TV Review: Natural World – Tiger Island
The Natural World series on BBC2 can always be relied on to provide highly entertaining and informative programming. Just what is needed as we head into the Olympics. Tiger Island was all about the Sumatran tiger – but with a difference. This programme looked at a local millionaire businessman who wanted to rehabilitate man-eating tigers, so-called [...]
DVD Review: The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
With my latest Amazon commission gift voucher I opted to get this series of DVD of my childhood hero and it finally arrived yesterday. So last night I settled down to a Jacques Cousteau undersea fest. And it was as good to watch last night as it was 40 years ago. This box set contains all of Costeau’s [...]
TV Review: Secrets of our Living Planet BBC2
If the first programme of the BBC nature series Secrets of Our Living Planet is anything to go by I think the BBC has another major ward winning wildlife programme in its portfolio. The series, presented by Chris Packham, is both educational and entertaining presenting the science of ecology in an easily understandable but not [...]
TV Review: Springwatch 2012 BBC2
Well what a difference a week can make in the world of wildlife. Coronation Street had its tram wreck and Emmerdale Farm had its plane crash so a change in the weather appears to have wiped out half of the staring cast of this years Springwatch. If the new broods were not starving to death [...]
TV Review: Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket Channel 4
As a bit of a foodie who is concerned - to a limited degree – on how our food is produced it’s great to see Jimmy Doherty back in action again. This time it’s a short series where he is working to try and produce a high welfare version of three of Tescos biggest selling foods. The three foods [...]
TV Review: Indian Ocean and Simon Reeve
There’s been a quietly entertaining and informative programme on BBC2 each Sunday night for the last few weeks. Indian Ocean with Simon Reeve follows Simon on his travels around the Indian Ocean and calls in on the countries that border it. There has been some really good eye-opening sections in the series and last weeks [...]
TV Review: BBC1 Panorama Ivory Wars
The last 3 or 4 years has been particularly bad for elephants as poachers hunt them down for their tusks. It’s big business and profits runs into many millions of pounds each year. tonight’s Panorama programme took a look at the very real war that is going on between wildlife conservationists and the criminals behind the [...]
BBC documentary leads to campaign to end trade in slow loris
After hosting a BBC Natural World documentary revealing the plight of the slow loris in Indonesia, a top primatologist has started a campaign to cease the trade in this particular threatened primate. Anna Nekaris, the host, is Professor in Primate Conservation at Oxford Brookes University and specialises in lorises, nocturnal mammals and Asian primates. In the programme Jungle [...]
TV Review: Natural World Zambezi
There are some rivers around the world which at the very mention of their name brings to mid majestic and vibrant environs. One of those rivers is the great River Zambezi. Despite being very much a seasonal river the Zambezi is an essential water source for the wildlife and people of 6 African countries. The Natural World [...]
Book Review: Pink Boots and A Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer
There’s not many biographies that I get to read that makes me disappointed when it comes to turn the light off but this book is one. It’s a great real-life adventure as possibly one of the most unlikely people becomes an accomplished National Geographic reporter. Pink Boots and a Machete tells the story of Dr Mireya Mayor, the daughter [...]