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Re: Birding Optics; habitat management for birds, and a thrasher



On Tue, 7 Mar 2000 Joefisher@aol.com wrote:
> 
>         One of the least heralded, but most satisfactory, pair of binoculars 
> is the Bausch & Lomb 7x26 Custom Compact. Hold it, before you start laughing! 
> I have B&L Elite 8x42's - a very fine glass, but it costs $825 ! The Custom 
> Compact costs $255. (Current prices at American Birding Assoc. Sales) How do 
> they compare? The Elites have a 6 foot close focus, the Compacts a 10 foot; 
> the Elites a 368 ft field of view, the Compacts a 320 ft. field of view; the 
> Elites weigh 29 ounces, the Compacts 13 ounces!   O.K., so how about 7x26 vs. 
> 8x42? If one wants a small, light-weight, high quality glass at less than a 
> third of the price of an Elite, go to a good binocular store and try them 
> both, side by side. You will be amazed at how little difference can be told 
> in good light.

I would warn people to note the final phrase Joe uses, "in good light". 
This is often the difference between $300 and $1000 binoculars. 
Unfortunately, it is also a difference which is hard to test during store 
hours. Two pairs of binoculars (or two spotting scopes) may seem 
indistinguishable in a parking lot in the afternoon, but then differ 
greatly in image quality between sunset and full-dark at the woodcock 
lek, or in the deeply shaded interior of a rain forest. It's pretty silly 
to spend $800 or more for binoculars which will sit in the kitchen for 
feeder-watching their whole lives; but if every individual bird counts, 
say if you are planning a trip to the tropics somewhere, or taking a job 
as a professional bird counter (which I was doing when I bought my 
Swarovski spotting scope), it's probably worth the extra money.

Durability is the other frequent difference between cheap, mid-priced, 
and expensive binoculars, and is even harder to measure while comparison- 
shopping in the store. My $300 Orions, bought last summer, already have a 
dent which has slightly comprimised the waterproofing; I doubt it would 
have happened if I had spent the extra few hundred for Swarovskis.

Meanwhile, my old Optolyths (the 7x40s, an old birthday present from 
before I bought my now-stolen 8x40s) picked out a Brown Thrasher in the 
yard this morning. I haven't seen one at the feeders since last fall 
sometime. And you know, this coincides awfully well with the CHBC 
checklist's transitions of this species from "fairly common" to 
"uncommon" and back again...

One last thing: I found mention on the Georgia listserv archive of a 
booklet for land owners and managers on how to manage habitat for birds. 
For anyone who owns a few acres and wants advice, read on:

--------------------------------------------------

Subject: Habitat Management for Forest Interior Birds
EJ Williams <EJ_Williams@MAIL.DNR.STATE.GA.US> 
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2000 09:51:49 -0500

The Conservation Science program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
recently published the first in a series of habitat management guidelines
designed to help land managers and owners manage and conserve
habitat for birds.

'A Land Manager's Guide to Improving Habitat for Scarlet Tanagers and
other Forest-interior Birds' by Ken Rosenburg, Ronald Rohrbaugh, Sara
Barker, Ralph Hames, James Lowe and Andre Dhondt, is now available
for $5.00 (to cover costs of printing and mailing).

 This 23 page publication was published in cooperation with the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Partners in Flight. To place your order
call (607) 254-2440. Please let them know if you were a Project Tanager
participant between 1993-1996.

--------------------------------------------------

Good birding,

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/