BinocularsBlog – Advice on Digital, Waterproof, & Compact Binoculars for Bird Watching, Sports, Astronomy, Night Vision, & more!

I’ve always maintained that the choice between 8x and 10x in binocular magnification is largely a personal preference and that is still my position. That little bit of extra detail that 10x binoculars deliver is not enough to make a difference as far as what you can see and it typically comes at the cost of reduced steadiness and narrower fields of view compared to 8x binoculars.

That said, I own more 10x binoculars than I do other magnifications, even in my compact binoculars where steadiness is even more of an issue than in full size birding binoculars or hunting binoculars. Why would I choose to go 10x in compact binoculars knowing they are noticeably harder to steady than 8x compact binoculars?

I like the balance, better, on 10x compact roof prism binoculars, compliments of their longer barrels. That little bit of extra heft in your hands aids in steadiness. My 8x compact binoculars tend to be a bit flighty in my hands, by comparison. This matter of feel in the hands is, admittedly, a subjective thing, but like I said, the choice between 8x binoculars and 10x binoculars is a matter of personal preference.

About the pic: two of the world's great compact binoculars, the Swaovski Pocket 8x20 on the left and the taller Leica Ultravid 10x25 BL on the right.

I have a rather notorious reputation for sending laptop computers to an early grave by spilling coffee on them. I can’t write without having a coffee cup nearby, so what’s a girl to do?

Fortunately, most binoculars are built of better stuff than laptop computers - I know because I have put my binoculars through the same kind of unintended spill test many times. Over the years, my birding binoculars, compact binoculars and even my astronomy binoculars have had unexpected rendezvous with a wide variety of liquid or semi-liquid agents, ranging from peanut butter, mayonnaise, diet soda, coffee (always coffee), pasta sauce (I keep a binocular in the kitchen) and just about anything I may have for lunch when wearing binoculars around my neck. M binoculars have also survived unintentional dunkings in lakes and streams.

It’s not that I am a klutz (though, by now, you probably have that impression). In fact, I tend to baby my binoculars. It’s just that I use binoculars on a daily basis and, after forty plus years of binocular use, accidents do happen. Nevertheless, I am proud to say that I have yet to send a single binocular to an early grave with one of my spill tests.

Now, if someone would please make a laptop computer as tough as a binocular, I would be grateful.

Some of my friends who have aquariums in their home claim great things about the therapeutic benefits of aquariums and I can’t say I disagree with them. For me, watching fish in an aquarium is very relaxing. Unfortunately, I just don’t have a green thumb, so to speak, when it comes to maintaining an aquarium. I’ve sure tried, but any self-respecting fish would be better off with someone else at the aquarium controls.

Besides, I already have my own therapeutic counterpart to an aquarium with my bird feeders. Watching birds through my binoculars and spotting scope from the comfort of my own kitchen as I sip coffee is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable things I do. This form of birdwatching ranks very high on the old therapy scale in my book. All I have to do is keep the feeders filled and clean them, now and then, and I manage to do that quite well. When I do slip up and let the feeders go dry, the birds don’t die, at least. It’s not like accidently unplugging the aquarium, which I’ve been known to do.

Maintaining bird feeders is so simple a child can do it and, in fact, getting kids setup with a bird feeder is a great way to spark an interest in wildlife. Next thing you know, the little ones will be asking for their own birding binoculars and field guide and they’re off to a lifetime of enjoyment watching birds. Now, that’s what I call a great gift.

A home is not normally considered a great place to do birdwatching and view wildlife, unless your home is in the north woods like ours. Birding binoculars are always within reach and my spotting scope is just steps away. We are happy campers, right in our own home, so to speak.

Does this mean you have to pack up all your belongings and head to the north woods to enjoy wildlife from your home? No, not at all. I’ve lived in urban areas and suburban areas, too, and even in the biggest city, I’ve always had an opportunity to view wildlife with binoculars and spotting scopes from my window (and I am talking wildlife, here, not my neighbors).

Okay, you may not see bears, moose and otters, as we sometimes do, but you’d be amazed at the variety of wildlife that you can see in the binoculars, once you start to look. Squirrels and rabbits are present in just about every yard, of course, but even while living in Chicago, I regularly saw coyotes, deer, raccoons, bats and opossum right from my apartment window. A short walk to a city park pond and I could see muskrats, beaver and even a mink, now and then.

Many wildlife species have an amazing ability to make themselves at home in the big city, right along with the rest of us. If you live in the city, buy binoculars if you don’t already have some and take a look.

About the pic: deer needed in the snow, taken from our bedroom window!

Birdwatching in the winter is very much a come and go affair. Your bird feeders can be filled with goldfinches and redpolls one day and they are gone the next. That’s all part of the fun, though and yet another reason to constantly watch the feeders with your binoculars.

Still, as much as I love watching the feeders with my binoculars during the winter months, I’m a bit anxious to be out in the woods, again, birding binoculars in hand, actively checking the trees for migrating warblers. That’s still a good three months away, but thats what winter dreams are made of for a gal who loves her bird watching.

Our north woods of Wisconsin do get warblers, though not quite the diversity you see in the southern hardwoods and farm country to the south. While living in the Chicago area, for instance, I remember one day when I recorded twenty warbler species and a number of days when I managed to see fifteen species. That’s a lot of warbler action in the binoculars, just about anywhere.

Okay, back to watching birds at the feeders. We still have some three months of winter to go. That's a lot of cabin fever.

Okay what is the animal that is sleeping in the pic? Is it a dog? Is it a fox? Maybe a coyote? One of our dogs?

Actually it is a deer and I took the pic with one of our digital cameras from our bedroom window, no less. Our bedroom window looks out on a hillside and I was close enough to get the pic of this backside view of a bedded dear with the lens on our Panisonic Lumix set at 400 mm focal length, no tripod needed, because I braced the lens against the window.

Some of our neighbors consider deer to pests and some don’t. We’re ones that don’t. Oh, for sure, planting a garden in our neighborhood means also putting in a lot of fencing, but we thoroughly enjoy seeing wildlife in our binoculars and spotting scope. That’s one of the reasons we chose to retire in the north woods, after all.

That’s why Bill and I have binoculars scattered all around the house, just in case something interesting makes an appearance. Most of these binoculars are compact binoculars, but I’ve also been known to leave my larger birding binoculars in a convenient location, too. It’s always been my opinion that a gal can’t have too many binoculars and now that we are living in the north woods, I can prove it.

After weeks, okay months, of seeing the same species of birds at our bird feeders, I just happened to be checking on the feeders with my Nikon Premier LX 10x25 binoculars and (drum roll), I spotted a Common Redpoll. Now redpolls may be common at some locations, but our yard isn’t one of them. I do expect to see a few redpolls every winter, but this current winter has been slim pickings as far as bird diversity at the feeders, so seeing the Common Redpoll in the binoculars was a real treat.

That’s birdwatching for you, though. You can get lulled into thinking that all you’re going to see the same old birds in the birding binoculars that you've been seeing for weeks and then, without any warning, a new bird makes an appearance. I love this element of surprise in birding. It truly does keep things interesting.

By the way, thee redpolls appeared just before the arrival of a polar cold front, which I regard as not being a coincidence. As always, it pays to keep an eye on the weather forecast if you are a bird watcher.

About the pic: I was lucky enough to do some digiscoping, this morning and got these two Common Redpolls at my feeder.

I’m out in the snow and the woods on an almost daily basis, mostly to ski and/or work our dog, but I always carry binoculars (usually compact binoculars to lighten the load) for the sake of bird watching, especially bird watching for raptors (birds of prey).

Hawks, falcons and owls have always fascinated me. Could there be anything more magnificent to view in the birding binoculars or birding spotting scope? I don’t think so, at any rate. To me, these birds are the very essence of wild and untamed.

This has not been a good winter for raptor watching, however, and I suspect one reason is lack of a food supply. For instance, I haven’t seen rabbit tracks in the snow in nearly two months and I’m out in the snow almost daily. Maybe that's why I haven't seen hawk or heard an owl at night for a long time. Then too, the woods seem especially devoid of songbirds, this winter, with the exception of our yard, thanks to bird feeders I keep filled.

The woods, as always, are lovely, dark and deep, but this winter, they are also rather quiet.

Birdwatching can actually be an arduous undertaking if you elect to head to the jungles, climb mountains or visit polar areas in pursuit of rare birds. On the other hand, I don’t know of too many outdoor activities that you can also enjoy right from the comfort of your living room or kitchen, provided you keep the binoculars handy and have a window to watch birds in your backyard. This time of year, especially, is when I do most of my bird watching indoors, thanks to my bird feeders.

Winter is considered to be a slow time of the year for birding in northern areas of the country because a great many bird species migrate south for the winter. This means that winter is the season that presents the least variety of birds for your birding binoculars and also the lowest number of birds, overall. Feeding birds improves your odds of seeing birds, immensely, both in terms of variety and numbers.

Our northern Wisconsin winters are especially bird poor. In fact, I could bundle up, grab the binoculars, and head out into our snowy woods and look for birds and still not see as many birds as I can by just sitting in my kitchen, binoculars in hand, watching the feeders. I still bundle up and head outdoors on a daily basis to go skiing or run my English Setter and when I do, I always carry at least one of my compact binoculars to see what birds I can. Most of the birds are back at our bird feeders, though.

When it comes to binocular accessories supplied with a new binocular, there are some binocular accessories I always use and some binocular accessories I never use.

In the always use category, the most important binocular accessory is the binocular strap. This is a binocular accessory that is supplied with all binoculars and rightfully so. In the world of binoculars, the number one culprit for damaging a binocular is dropping a binocular while in use or putting a binocular in harm’s way while in use. Both possibilities of damaging a binocular can be completely eliminated simply by making it a habit of using that binocular strap. I use the binocular strap on all my binoculars, from my smallest compact binoculars right on up to my largest astronomy binoculars. The only time I don't have a binocular strap around my neck is when mounting a binocular on a tripod, as in the picture. The binocular strap, however, never comes off the binocular.

Next, in the always use category or, at least in the almost always use category, is the rain guard or eyepiece covers. The only time I don't keep the eyepieces on my binoculars covered is when I am actually looking through my binoculars. Why? The eyepieces on your expensive birding binoculars or hunting binoculars are directly exposed, not only to the elements – rain, snow, dust – but also to whatever abuse you inflict on them, be it peanut butter from your sandwich or scratching caused by other gear you happen to be using at the time. If you instal your binocular rain guard properly by attaching it to only one strap, you flip it off the eyepieces as you are raising your binoculars with no loss of time.

In the never use binocular accessory category, for me, at least, are binocular objective covers. In forty years of NOT using objective covers on my binoculars, I have yet to scratch or damage an objective lens on my binoculars. On the other hand, I can promise you that messing with the objective covers is one sure way of alerting birds, deer and other wildlife to your presence. Those precious extra seconds it takes to mess with objective lens covers on your binoculars will cost you opportunities in birdwatching and hunting and general wildlife viewing. On my binoculars, objective lens covers stay in the box, permanently.

Another never use binocular accessory are the cheapie lens cloths that often come with lower-priced binoculars. While I give manufacturers points for supplying a lens cloth, the only type of lens cloth that is useable on binoculars for cleaning purposes is a microfiber lens cloth, such as the Carson Stuff-it At that price, you can't afford not to have one for your binoculars. If your new binocular does not come with a bona fide microfiber lens cloth, my suggestion is to round file it and get the real thing.