We've Talked About Cats and Dogs ....Any Birdwatchers?
As I get older I find I am enjoying sitting on the patio and watching the birds who visit my bird feeders and my fountain. Sometimes I get feathered visitors that are unfamiliar and so I grab my trusty old K-Mart binoculars which seem to be getting heavier. (What, can my wrists be getting weaker? LOL) I think I am ready to invest in new bird-watching binoculars that are lighter in weight than these old 20 oz brutes that I've had for probably thirty or more years. Maybe new lightweight binoculars will have better optics, too. I have Googled the subject of binoculars and gone to websites where I have been overwhelmed by too many technical terms.Any BBers want to recommend lightweight binoculars that are Grandma-friendly? I'll take a personal endorsement from a fellow quilter over a four star rating on a website any day ....
Judy
posted by Judy in Ohio @ 6:40 PM
6 Comments:
I have an online friend who IS a birdwatcher...goes on field trips and so forth.If you like I can copy your question and email her with it. Lavinia-TN
Thanks, Lavinia, that would be super. You could send her my email address which is jacknox@earthlink.net and that way we won't clutter up our BB.
Judy
I enjoy the birds that come to my feeders too Judy but I don't use binoculars. Right now I only have the winter finches, blue jays, mourning doves, and small woodpeckers. In the spring and summer I get grosbeaks,robins,a huge pileator woodpecker, humming birds and some that I haven't yet identified. I love watching their antics. During the winter when they are slower moving because of the cold I hang several suet balls and hard bread seed pies on my washing line so that Miss Lucy Kitty cannot catch them because the snow is too deep. She would like to! She sits on the back of the chair watching them through the window with her mouth trembling!
Celia
I enjoy the birds but consider myself rather ignorant. I've taken a class from a nearby bird artist who has had his work in Audobon calendars. It was a classroom experience with only one field trip at the end. It was a jolly good time but should have had more field work. I have also been on a couple of field classes with a local nature writer who has been a friend for years and taught me oodles about wildflowers. The secret is to take classes like this over and over again. Also I suggest getting the Audobon recordings on tape or CD to listen to in the car each spring. Gradually it begins to sink in and you learn the songs of birds you never knew were in your neighborhood. At places like Lowe's and of course the public library you can find information about making your yard bird friendly. The best book I know of for identification is published by the National Audobon Society and is THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS. Sibley is an interesting guy by the way. He left home as a teenager without having finished high school to wander the country checking out the birds. It is too large a book for field use but gives more information about habits than a field guide. There is also a field guide by Sibley. It all takes more patience than I have and if you have arthritis in the neck (known in birding circles as warbler neck) you will probably opt for back yard observations as I have. Check out the recordings though. Some just say, "American robin" and give you the song. The Audobon tapes I got fifteen years ago discusses the subtle differences between similar songs and plays the differing points several times for comparison. That costs more but one learns so much more from it. My woods are full of warblers in the spring as they migrate north and at least I enjoy listenig.
That's a long comment from someone who hasn't followed her own advice.
Jane in NC
I've been an avid birder for many, many years. When my kids were very young we walked at Jones Beach many Sunday mornings with an Audabon group. Saw such "exotic" things as a snowy owl down from the arctic tundra and many, many warblers passing through on their migration flights. Long Island is a stop over for many traveling birds. Even saw a pair of Western tanagers in my backyard - a bit off course! Haven't been on a walk for several years but you brought back many great memories. Thanks. Margaret from Long Island, NY
I have several birdfeeders in my back yard. Right now we have lots of goldfinches. There are cardinals and whitewing doves year round. An occasional mourning dove, Inca dove, woodpecker etc. Chickadees sometimes, although not lately. Bluejays year round. Hummers in the summer. One glorious July (2004) we had a painted bunting for three days in a row.
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