OpticsBlog – Thoughts and reviews of binoculars, telescopes, scopes, sights, and much more - birdwatching, astronomy, target shooting - pretty much anything related to optics, nature, and life!

Managed to do some astronomy late Friday night. Sky was clear, but the dew was heavy, so went with the astronomy binocular, instead of a telescope. Did one session just before midnight and another session three hours, later (couldn't sleep, anyway). Spotted all the late fall/winter goodies in the way of binocular open clusters, including the ever-fabulous Pleiades, then on to Melotte 20 (Alpha Persei group), M34, M35, the Hyades and just barely managed M41 in Canis Major, though that was tough one, being low in the sky. Will, of course, visit all of these in more detail when I get a better night, but still great to kick off the fall and winter observing with so many great binocular open clusters in one night.

Seeing a male Wood Duck in all its splendor makes any optical instrument look good, whether it be a binocular, spotting scope or camera. Is there a more beautiful bird for a photographer? This weekend I managed to stumble on a flock of Woodies on a small pond and managed to get within about ten yards of them. No, just had my binocular, but I would have paid just about any price for even a small digital point and shoot camera. That's something I normally carry, but just left at home in my rush to hit the trail and enjoy the nice fall weather. Never be in a hurry.

Being a fan of small optics - compact binoculars and smaller spotting scopes - I am sometimes asked if I miss the big stuff. Absolutely. Nothing quite as sharp as a big binocular or spotting scope when you want better image sharpness and brightness, but, for me, that extra size and weight is a real penalty. If I could get that big Kowa 883 to a local marsh on my bicycle, safely, I might buy one. That's a lot of weight, though, to carry in my backpack and I'm sure not going to strap a quality optic to a bike rack. Of course, if someone wants to carry a big binocular or spotting scope for me, that would be fine, too.

I think I'm getting a rep for some of my birding statements, like "Birds are where you find them" and "If you always bird in the same place, you will always see the same birds." I guess I am living proof of how these statements work, given that I have lived and birded in so many different places, literally from one coast to the next with many stops in between. I suspect that my wandering lifestyle is, in part, motivated to see new birds. One thing for sure, though. The best birding binocular or spotting scope won't add more birds to your list unless you are mobile enough to get them into different habitats. Even if you don't wander as much as I do, you need to move around as much as you can within your local area to find those slices of habitat diversity that get you different birds. See 'ya on the trail!

For me, one of the most enjoyable parts of astronomy is finding and naming constellations and stars I see in the sky, above. Indeed, my favorite duty as a former tour guide at a small, local astronomy observatory, was taking our visitors on a tour of the night sky before showing them a telescope or binocular. By last count, I have memorized the names and locations of over 100 stars, though I have to brush up, now and then. As a result, the night sky long ago became so much more than a place for me to use an astronomy binocular or telescope. There is nothing like stepping out under the stars and feeling "right at home" with all you see. Even if I never touched another binocular or telescope in my life, I could spend hours under a sky filled with stars and never stop smiling.

I often speak about spotting scope quality and the relationship between it and spotting scope price. What do I mean by quality? Typically, I mean optical quality in terms of how well ground, figured and polished all lenses in the optical system, including eyepiece lenses. It's also a matter of quality control and how stringent the specifications. To produce one quality premium spotting scope objective, for instance, usually means rejecting many objectives that don't meet the specs. This drives the price up, rapidly. Cheaper scopes allow lower quality objectives to pass and far fewer lenses are rejected in the assembly process. This keeps the price down, but also the quality. There is no shortcut or magic at work. If you want a premium spotting scope with premium performance, you pay a premium price.

Birds are where you find them and this last weekend they were found in some unlikely spots. After three days of heavy rain, many of our local streets and parking lots flooded. A little strange seeing waterfowl swimming up a suburban street, but there they were, just the same. So what binocular or spotting scope do I recommend for waterfowl swimming up a street, between parked cars? I can safely say any birding binocular or spotting scope will work, but I strongly recommend it be waterproof. So what was Joanie doing, riding a bike and birding in pouring rain, compliments of Hurricane Ike remnants? Enjoying the ride, of course.

Greatly pleased to see the Gitzo tripod line added to our website. Not sure how many of these premium tripods we will sell, but being able to offer the Rolls Royce of the tripods is a real treat to an old photographer like me. I like Gitzo, not just for that super Gitzo quality, but also for all the innovation and technology Gitzo puts into their tripods and tripod heads. Gitzo is so much more than just a name. If you are a photographer of any experience, even a casual glance of the Gitzo product line reveals that these are made by folks who live and breathe photography. I am almost tempted to buy a camera just to have an excuse to buy a Gitzo.

Riding a bike as much as I do - it's my only form of transportation - has been both a blessing and also something of a challenge for my birding. Riding a bike has definitely added to my birding in that it gets me back on trails I can't reach by car and it also allows me to cover more miles than I can cover on foot. Exploring on a bike has allowed me to discover birding spots I never would have found in a car. On the other hand, no car means I have to think twice before carrying a big binocular and, especially, a spotting scope and tripod. As a result, the optics I tend to use these days seem to be shrinking in size. To substitute, I have been using better technique. Might say I have been in a "more birding with light optics" mode this last year.

Okay, so you bought a cheap telescope, only to discover that your new telescope came equipped with even cheaper eyepieces. How do you salvage a cheap telescope and make it more useable? I always start with the eyepieces. A good way to upgrade any beginner's telescope is to add an eyepiece kit, such as the Vixen 39200. You get three eyepieces with useable focal lengths and a fanny pack, all for about $100. The eyepieces are a Plossl design, far superior to the cheap designs packaged with most beginner's scopes.

What constitutes a good area for birding in terms of species seen? The answer, of course, is arbitrary and relative to the birder, but for me, I consider a location where I can list 200 species plus in a years time to be a good birding area. In all my travels, I have seen some areas that were great for one bird group, but a bit sparse for other bird groups. Right now, for instance, my northwest suburbs of Chicago location is great for warblers, only fair for sparrows and waterfowl and downright poor for shorebirds. It takes habitat diversity to rack up 200 species a year and my current location just doesn't offer it. Oh well, have binocular and spotting scope, will travel is my lifestyle. I'm a born wanderer and will move on, someday. Right, now, though, more birds to see in this area.

Looking forward to the holiday season, here at OpticsPlanet and that means getting stocked up on beginner's telescopes. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone offered a simple, yet easy to use beginner's telescope, no bells and whistles, no advertising hype, just solid quality? That's a pretty good description of Vixen telescopes, in general, and the Vixen R130Sf with Vixen Porta Mount. This 5" reflector uses a true parabolic mirror - not a cheap spherical mirror plus a corrector lens. Best of all, you get a well built and well-designed mount - far superior to the usual flimsy mount supplied on starter telescopes. This Vixen is what a good beginner's telescope should be.

It's the little things that can make such a difference when it comes to astronomy with a binocular or telescope. On my patio, for instance, just setting up my astronomy binocular or telescope a few feet to one side or the other of a maple tree can reduce light pollution, tremendously, except in winter when the maple is without leaves. In the summer, though, I have the lights on the tennis court and they don't go off until 10:00PM. Of course, the bats that work the lights keep me entertained until the lights go out. Summer also means the gal above me on her deck and her potted plants, which manage to trickle dirt down on my telescope or binocular, so I need to be ever vigilant, there. Yeah, definitely the little things.

"Birds are where you find them." To be sure, birds don't read field guides and birds don't always follow our notions of where the should be, but as long as their needs are being met, birds will not pass up an opportunity. I've always known this, but it still surprises me, now and then, to find birds in some most unlikely places. This weekend was a great example.

I was biking in a local park on a paved bicycle trail that wound around a small pond. Very typical suburban park setting - lawn manicured right to the edge of the pond. The trail was crowded with joggers and other bicyclists and music was blaring from a public pool, nearby. Nevertheless, I did my usual scan with binoculars, knowing that birds might still be present. Sure enough, there were a few shorebirds working the edge of the pond, picking for insects in the rocks and silt. Wow! Wish I had brought the spotting scope.

First bird was a Solitary Sandpiper at about 20 feet. This one would have been a great pic had I been digiscoping. Next bird, down the shore at about 20 yards, proved to be a Short-billed Dowitcher, but the bird was alone, not in a flock as I usually see Dowitchers. Nearby was a lone Least Sandpiper, yellow legs, droop tipped bill and all. Had a nice long look at all birds. Even got the call down on the Dowitcher when a gal and her dog flushed it on down the shore.

Okay, not exactly my idea of an idyllic marsh setting, but, like I said, birds are where you find them. As hard as it is to find shorebirds in my area, I'll take whatever Earth Mother sends my way. I am one very grateful birder.

The waning crescent moon reminds me that we are nearing new moon and that means I should be getting out to do some astronomy. For me, September marks the unofficial start of the fall astronomy season - one I love, dearly. It's more than all the great constellations and the treasures they hold for my astronomy binocular or telescope, it is also means that I can observe earlier with each new evening. As much as I love summer, waiting till it gets dark sometimes puts a crimp in my daily routine. Regardless, I make the best of what each season of the year brings into view. My binoculars and I will soon be spending a lot of time in Cassiopeia, Perseus and Andromeda. Look out open clusters, here we come!