Category Archives: Background

Thermal Monocular Review: Topdon TS004

Background, Year 12

I have been trying out a friend’s thermal monocular for a few days. These devices have made amazing advances in the past few years both in terms of capabilities and price drops. While I am NOT recommending the purchase of this device, the Topdon TS5004, that is not because I was not impressed with the thermal vision scope. I was impressed. Let me explain …

From a practical standpoint because of the high prices that had to be paid to obtain decent thermal imaging, thermal scopes used to only be available for the military. For us “non soldiers” the cost did not justify the price. However, prices have fallen dramatically. As of today, the Topdon TS5004 can be bought for around $400 (Amazon link … for your benefit … not sponsored).

My tests involve multiple trips into the forest to try out the device on Les and Amy, my resident Great Horned Owls. Given Amy has now nested, I always knew where she was located; and both afternoons that I spent hiking right before sunset, I knew where Les was perched. Thus, I cheated. I already knew where two owls were located, which allowed me to easily test the thermal scope. Amy lit up like a Christmas tree. Compared to her surroundings the scope showed that something was definitely throwing off all kinds of heat … infrared light. However, I could NOT tell that what I was seeing was an owl:

  • I was close to the nest … within 30 yards, but obviously not up in her nest tree
  • Amy was the ONLY item within my field of vision with a heat signature. This would not be unusual in the Minnesota forest in the middle of the winter. It is a tough environment. Not a lot of life can survive our extreme winters. It is actually -18F right now as I type out this post at 6:00 am … long before sunrise at 7:20 am. Thus, the scope definitely made it obvious something was alive within my field of view.
  • I have talked about “field of view”. The Topdon has a narrow field of view. In its best quality mode there is zero magnification, but still a narrow field of view. It does have digital zoom of 2x, 4x, and 8x, but you would never be able to uses those magnifications if you were in a search mode (i.e. you did not already have some object pre-located upon which you wanted to zoom the monocular)

I also looked for Les, the male Great Horned Owl, which I knew was perched on the other side of a very tall white pine. Although I knew the bird was at the top of the tree, the thermal scope could not tell something was perched on the other side of a large tree trunk … not surprising or unexpected.

In my estimation a thermal scope will not assist your birding efforts. It obviously can not be used while driving. Even upon stopping, the field of view is small. A better use of your time and resources will be to better learn bird habitat, and invest in a really good pair of binoculars. I like Nikon Monarch binoculars. Good binoculars have a decent field of view, and allow you to quickly scan thick cover for birds.

I have, however, seen some cool thermal scope setups. A local bird guide has two scopes mounted outside his car pointing towards each side of the road, and the scopes are in turn each connected to tablets within his car. Thus, this guide can drive roads slowly and obtain the benefits of thermal scopes. Please understand these scopes do not work through glass; they must be outside. Understand that thermal scopes definitely work during the Minnesota winter. The heat difference makes living animals jump out even in daytime. During summer months, or in warmer climates these devices may not work as well during daylight hours.

Here are a few more links, videos and an image which will allow you to learn more about the Topdon TS004. Once again, for the price I am supremely impressed with the technology obtained for the price, but I personally would not yet find one useful. My Topdon photo shows you my hand because I wanted everyone to understand the size of the thermal scope. My image shows the device is not complex … only four buttons: Power, Mode (different kinds of light displays), Magnification and Picture. {this device does NOT take good night photos … it is a scope, not a camera}

If you would like to learn more about Les and Amy, my local Great Horned Owls, including downloading a free PDF version of the children’s picture book I authored and photographed about their owlets, browse to this page on my website. Amy is pictured immediately below. The image was taken at exactly the same distance as from where I evaluated the thermal monocular, but with a 350 mm zoom lens on my Sony A6300 (530 mm full sized sensor equivalent)

Thank you for visiting 365DaysOfBirds. Rich Hoeg, the owner of this blog loves nature. You will never find a single advertisement, sponsored link or pop-up on this site. Learn more about Rich and his quest to bring the outdoors to his readership.

Wilderness TrailCam Recommendation: Meidase P70

Background

Folks have been asking me for my Wilderness TrailCam recommendation. Here finally is my recommended camera:

  • The Meidase P70 (Amazon link – not sponsored – no money to me)

This TrailCam is Meidase’s most basic unit and during the Fall of 2024 may often be purchased for around $40. You will need a basic Simm card (32 gb is fine) and I learned purchasing a cable lock is a good idea. No matter how remote, a camera if unlocked may get stolen. I use a cable lock from Master Lock which costs about $12 (Amazon link).

My Meidase P70 in the Superior National Forest (You are able to see my cable lock and the included strap which secures the camera to the tree. I have looped the strap because I do not want any excess strap to blow in the wind and trigger motion events.)

This begs the question … “Why am I recommending this camera?”

  1. Remote TrailCams rarely have a cellular signal. If your camera is NOT being used for security, do you really need instant notification via your phone? A camera with cellular notification will cost significantly more money, not to mention the required cellular plan for the camera. Thus, why pay for features you really don’t need. Basic cameras often have the same features as the higher priced models.
  2. The Meidase P70 takes good photos and videos. However, the same rules apply to TrailCam placement as any camera.
    • Place the camera with the sun in mind. (Sun behind the camera, good. Sun facing the camera, bad!) I realize the sun moves across the sky during the day, but here in northern Minnesota from October through April, the sun is normally is the southern part of the sky.
    • Learn wildlife habitat for TrailCam placement. Choke points on trails with difficult terrain off trail will see more activity. Animals are not dumb and prefer expending less energy rather than more when moving. Natural bridges over streams and creeks are great spots … think beaver dams, downed trees, etc. Mammals will use these bridges.
    • Motion detection is a great, but remember when leaves / foliage move in the wind and if they are to close to your camera, these items will trigger recording / photo events.
    • Place your camera pointed “at an angle” to any trail. This allows the motion sensor to trigger events before any wildlife is directly opposite the camera. I have my cameras take 2 images and then immediately start a 30 second video. I repeat without delay if the camera still senses movement.
  3. Hiking in to swap out simm cards and batteries on TrailCams is normally fun time in the outdoors!
  4. Even though Solar Array options to power Meidase TrailCams are available, I have found battery life to be decent even with cold northern Minnesota temperatures.

I do own one Meidase P80 Trailcam which has both WiFi capability, but I am NOT recommending the P80. It costs $40 to $50 more than the P70, AND the app’s WiFi connection is ONLY to the TrailCam’s own very local WiFi network … NOT your own WiFi network. Thus it is 100% impossible to remote connect into this camera and manage it. You must be within about 45 feet of this camera and use “its” network.

The P80 does allow you to manage the camera … change settings and offload images / videos w/o touching the camera. However, if I have to be right next to the camera, why not use my own hands to change the SIMM cards and make any desired settings changes?? I do have to unlock my cable lock on my P70 and remove the cable to make changes, which does not take me very long, and I do not feel is an onerous task.

One thing the P80 did allow me to do is take screenshots of the settings via the app, but please understand all settings options are 100% identical on the P70 with the exception of now WiFi options.

I felt it would be useful to show the settings and my preferred options. While the screenshots are taken from my P80’s app, remember these options are identical between the P70 and P80. The menu interface is exactly the same. An “orange slider bar” indicates the option is “on”. A “gray slider bar” indicates I have turned that option “off.”

Here are some examples images and videos from my Meidase P70:

Bull Moose

Cow Moose

Canada Lynx

Timber Wolf (video link for email subscribers)

Canada Lynx (video link for email subscribers)

End of post

Health Update

Background

Thank you for all your prayers and best wishes!

A medical report … a good one considering I spent 10 days in the hospital last month.

Great News! I had a heart inspection procedure this morning. The doctor slides a small echocardiogram device down your esophagus and closely examines all one’s heart valves. Long story short the other valves are leaking only a moderate to a small amount which means no medical action is necessary. Many people live with this kind of leakage their entire lives. My cardiac team will monitor, but there are no concerns at this time. When you combine that with the fact that my heart ejection ratio has gotten much better, my outlook is good (I received a new heart valve for one ventricle 4 years ago via open heart surgery)

Finally the medical staff believes everything that landed me in the hospital for 10 days last month were one off events that should not reoccur. When I do need a medical procedure in the future which requires me to come off my blood thinner medication, I will now have “bridging drugs” to protect against clotting and a mini stroke.

I am VERY happy, and have even taken a 13 mile bike ride over the past few days and numerous 2 to 3 mile hikes. Considering the prostate surgery complications which racked my body with severe infections and came close to killing me, life is even more precious. In short my birds await me!