You could look into the small low cost FLiR PathFindIR cameras, they are fairly low resolution, however I have used one successfully on a medium sized HL Octocopter. This camera is limited under ITAR regulations to a maximum of 9Hz refresh rate. There are a number of other options available, such as Optris PI450, FLiR Tau, FLiR Photon 320 (precursor to the Tau), VegaTech IR module cameras, etc...

Have you looked into NDVI imaging for agricultural use? The openSource community have had some great work done in this area, a great example is the South African Conservation Drones team, who use this setup quite often for DEM and vegetation analysis on African farmlands. See:  http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/conservation-drones-feature-in-aljazeera-earthrise-series

Thanks Shaban and Luke for the suggestions.  I got hyperpectal for UAV, now wants to hook up micro TIR cam into the same copter. Anoter potion I got is LWIR Camera for UAV, though FPA resolution is not high ( 640x480) . got few more options but bit unexplored as they are quite new. 

Hi Chandrashekhar,

We are looking into the same question but with application towards detecting wildlife - tern chicks, in particular. We are a few steps behind you so don't have answers yet, but we hope to be testing some units this summer.  Can keep you posted as we learn more, if interested...

Cheers, Diann

Thanks Diann, interesting application, I guess TIR could detect live nests with chicks! My colleague at OU used FLIR TIR for counting birds on the fly. Lets keep in touch!  

You can go for the FLIR IR cameras. We have two however for the standalone images

Emile,

Thanks for the info on another TIR cam! sounds good. 

Thanks Sara, any experience flying it with quadcopter or any small UAV (PL less than 1kg)?