Watch the Birdie!

Garden Bird

Now that spring is here, the birds have begun their morning songs and you might be curious, as I am, about which bird is making what call. But... can't see the birds for the trees?

The two top suggestions by http://www.birdwatching.com/ for getting birdwatching binoculars are: Get the Best, and Try Them out First.

I have a pair of powerful binoculars that I used the first time I ever went spring bird watching. I got marvelous details of leaves, but couldn't see the birds 10 feet in front of my face. They were just too powerful. Birds were flitting from branch to branch just above me, but I couldn't see them for all the leaves. My binoculars were good for watching objects very far away, like battleships, one outdoorsman informed me.

A birder took pity on me when she saw my problem and loaned me her Steiner birding binoculars for a couple of minutes so I could ooh and aah over the sharp image of a small brown and white bird walking in a brook 15 feet away. With the birding binoculars, I could see the bird clearly even though it was almost camouflaged by brown twigs, brown leaves, and the mud of early spring water.

The binoculars cost her a pretty penny, the birder told me, and the lens were made of crystal. (I looked Steiner up on the Internet and see they do have specially polished lenses).

Anyway, good binoculars for bird watching cost from $300 to $1,000. So, if you buy the best, be prepared to empty your pockets!