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

There are many quantitative methods to determine the faintest “magnitude” or degree of darkness for the night sky at your location for astronomy. For the most part, this is mostly a matter of determining how much light pollution you have in your area, but it can also reveal some subtle differences in the quality of your site as to transparency and air stability, both of which are variables at even the darkest site on any given night.

Why is sky darkness so important? The darker the sky, the fainter the objects that can be seen with your astronomy binoculars or telescopes and this translates into more objects seen as well as more detail seen. From experience, I can tell you that even a little bit of light pollution can make many binocular or telescopic objects disappear. So, what is the cheapest and most effective way to improve the performance of your telescope? Buy new telescope eyepieces? Nope. The quickest and most effective way to turn your telescope into a larger and better performing telescope is to pack it up and travel to a truly dark sky.

How do you know when you’ve found a dark sky without resorting to methods that require you to count stars in a given section of sky? Simple. Let the Milky Way be your guide. You have an excellent sky when you can clearly and easily see the band of light that is the Milky Way stretch across the sky. This requires a location that is basically free of light pollution. If you can only faintly see the Milky Way, you still have a site worthy of setting up the telescope.

Do your telescope or astronomy binoculars a favor and see what they can do under a dark sky.

I’ve become so accustomed to writing and watching birds at the feeder at the same time, that I’m not sure if I could write without the birds. For some writers, birdwatching would be a distraction, but, of course, I am a birding nut. Watching birds at my feeders calms me and keeps me smiling and being in a pleasant frame of mind can be good for writing, despite cliches to the contrary.

If you haven’t tried feeding birds, you are missing something, that I promise you. Even if you don’t keep binoculars at the ready, like I do (though I do recommend a binocular to add to the fun), and even if you don’t know one bird from the other or even want to know, I guarantee that watching birds and other wildlife around a feeder will bring a smile to your face. It’s cheaper than a therapist and safer than taking pills and it’s something you can do right in your own backyard.

How to get started feeding birds? A great way to begin is to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology bird site, All About Birds and then to the How to Attract Birds to Your Yard section. It’s a great resource, written in non technical terms with the lay person in mind and a great place to visit, anytime. All About Birds gets this birding nut’s highest rating.

Mosquitoes are on their last gasp for the season, up here in the north country, so I am eagerly awaiting the next dark of the moon to put my astronomy binoculars to work. Now that it is getting dark, earlier, I also get to start using the binoculars earlier in the evening, too. Kick in those crisp north country nights and you can’t lose. No doubt about it, fall is my favorite season for using astronomy binoculars.

Fall is also prime observing time for the wealth of open star clusters it brings to view and, of all deep-sky objects, open star clusters are my favorite targets in the binoculars. The large field of view you get in a binocular makes a binocular a perfect instrument for those wide, extended open star groups, such as Melotte 20, better known as the Alpha Persei Moving Cluster. Just try to fit that big cluster in a typical field of view of a telescope eyepiece. Not going to happen, nor will you get to see both star clusters in the Double Cluster at the same time without a binocular. In other words, there are some objects best seen in telescopes, but there are some objects best seen in binoculars. That’s why many of us use both for astronomy. My favorite? Depends on what I want to see, of course.

Do you keep a list of all the new visitors to your home? Some people I know do just that, though, I am not one of them. I’m a little too casual in my style for that sort of thing. As close as I’ve come, given that I am so crazy into birdwatching has been to keep a list of all the new birds that have visited my yard, though, these days my back yard bird list is more mental than written. I do, though, like to keep an eye on the yard, as I never tire of seeing birds all day. That’s why I keep binoculars handy at all times.

There is much more to see than birds, though, even in urban back yards. The day crew, so to speak, is pretty obvious – squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, maybe a deer, now and then, but what about the night crew? I promise that many, many people would be shocked to know what is prowling their back yards at night. No, nothing dangerous, just quite different than what we see by day. Even when living in the big city, I have seen raccoons, coyotes, opossum, fox, skunks and other nocturnal wildlife running down the sidewalk in front of my apartment. I can identify them by their silhouettes and how they walk, since I have seen these animals all my life. It would be fun, though, to see them in a bit more detail, so, lately, I have been thinking of adding some night vision equipment to my observing gear. Top of the line night vision monoculars and binoculars can be quite expensive, especially Generation III night vision, but the new digital night vision viewers are actually quite affordable and getting better all the time. Some of them, such as the Yukon Digital Night Vision Ranger are actually quite close to Generation II night vision devices.

Of course, this is the north country and I am not sure what I will do when I spot a bear in the yard, some night, but only one way to find out.

Never quite sure how it happens, but I’ll take it. That sums up my thoughts on how birds that have never seen a bird feeder can adapt so quickly to a bird feeder. When I first put up our feeders in our new place, some two weeks ago I had a day or two of concern when the birds seem slow to discover the feeder. I watched and waited, scanning with my binoculars for hours and no birds. Now, I practically have to run a gauntlet to fill the feeders. Yesterday, I took the feeders down and laid them on the ground while I installed another squirrel baffle and darned if the birds didn’t land on the ground, right next to me, two feet, away, to continue feeding. While I stared, open-mouthed, a Chickadee actually tried to land on me, while it waited for its chance at one of the feeders. That’s definitely birdwatching, up close and personal.

In retrospect, I should not have been concerned about my bird feeders being a success – this is about as wild a spot as I have ever chosen to feed birds - but I also know that, when it comes to feeding birds, there are no guarantees. I’ve certainly had my share of mediocre results feeding birds over the years. As I sit writing this, however, I am enjoying one of my successes; a Pileated Woodpecker has loudly announced its arrival and I count four other species working the feeders as I type with one hand and scan with my compact binoculars in the other.

Life is good.

No matter what the weather, we keep an eye on our bird feeders just outside our windows and watch the birds, squirrels and chipmunks and, now and then, they are joined by deer.

Yes, even on a rainy day, our bird feeders are quite busy. Birdwatching at our place never takes a holiday. You’ll find binoculars upstairs and downstairs, near the windows and my spotting scope is setup, ready to go at all times for a digiscoping pic or two with the digital cameras. No great pics, yet – we have so busy remodeling – but they are coming. This morning, a Pileated Woodpecker put on quite a show, but was gone before I remembered that I had left our digital point and shoot camera in the car. Okay, next time …

Just some binocular notes, today.

Congratulations! You just bought a nice binocular … or is nice binoculars? Is it any more correct to say that you just bought a Nikon binocular or Nikon binoculars, even though you only bought one Nikon? Actually, you can say it either way. “I just bought binoculars,” or, “I just bought a binocular," conveys the same meaning. I don’t think the grammar police will be watching and, besides, if you just bought a binocular or binoculars (one), you have a right to say it anyway you want, as far as I am concerned, since you paid for them. As for me, I most often use the word, binoculars, whether I am referring to one or several. As to other words with a “bi” prefix, you are on your own.

Lately, I’ve been trying to recall any incident where a binocular or binoculars changed the course of history. So far, I have yet to uncover any reference to a binocular or binoculars making the difference, in, say, a battle, though I the military has been using military binoculars for well over a hundred years and I have no doubt that binoculars have been a much used tool in combat. Recently, for instance, I’ve sold some binoculars to troops in Iraq who used them to scan the road ahead for possible mines. I’d like to think I sold some binoculars, then, that saved some our folks from injury or even death, but, of course, they didn’t get back to me with the results, nor should they have done so. As long as they got home safe, it’s good enough for me.

If you wear glasses and want to use binoculars, you will learn about a binocular feature called “eye relief” rather quickly. Eye relief is the maximum distance your eyes can be from the eyepieces of a binocular and still see the entire field of view. If you wear glasses, long eye relief is good, short eye relief is not. Why? With glasses over your eyes, you can only get your eyes so close to the lenses on the eye pieces of the binocular. A binocular that only offers short eye relief means that your eyes are too far back from the eyepieces, thanks to your glasses, to see the entire field of view.

The good news is that most binoculars, these days, even compact binoculars and specialty binoculars, such as astronomy binoculars, actually offer long enough eye relief for use with glasses. No need to settle for a binocular with short eye relief if you wear glasses. Just check the specs for a given binocular. What you want, if you wear glasses, is a model that lists a minimum of 15 mm of eye relief. Due to the variation in people’s facial structure and thickness of their eyeglasses lens, some folks can get by with a little less, some will need a little more, but 15 mm is a good place to start. I, myself, manage quite nicely with 14 mm of eye relief with my plastic eyeglasses lenses which tend to be thinner than glass lenses.

Can’t I just take my glasses off when I want to look through a binocular? Generally a bad idea. That moment you take to remove your glasses is often just enough time to for a target to disappear, as when birdwatching or wildlife watching. Then, too, if your eyes are as bad as mine and you don’t locate the target with the binocular, you have to put the glasses back on to spot the target, again and then back off to use the binoculars. Worst of all, what do you do with the glasses when you are not using them?

I once had a binocular that had very short eye relief, but I otherwise liked it so much I put up with removing my glasses when I wanted to use it. One day, I was out birding and spotted a bird I suspected was a new bird for my list, so I wanted to check it in the binocular, ASAP. I set my glasses down on a convenient bush and went to work with the binoculars. When I went to retrieve my glasses a moment, later, they were not there. The glasses had fallen into the thick undergrowth of knee high grass. Not good. There I was, alone, forty miles from any major road, no glasses, which I desperately need to drive my car and, worse yet, it was getting dark. Down on my hands and knees I went. Thirty minutes, later, in the dark, I found my glasses buried in the grass. It was a case of sheer dumb luck. That was the last time I went into the field with binocular that was not useable with eye glasses.

We're back in Milwaukee for a few days on business and, I have to say, it hurts. Didn’t even bother to bring along the astronomy binoculars, birding binoculars or a spotting scope, given that I no longer have bird feeders out, here in Milwaukee and those northern skies make these city skies look sick, as far as astronomy goes. For sure, I have been spoiled beyond all reason with just a small taste of our new north woods life. Don’t mean to be so hard on Milwaukee – it has been a good place to live if you like the city – but this country gal needs to get back to the north country she loves. I don’t care if I ever live in a big city, again. I am free, at last.

Of course, I did bring a little equipment, city or not. After all, there is always room for one of my compact binoculars and even one of my point and shoot digital cameras in my pack and I’ve lived in the city enough to know that some types of wildlife don’t mind city living, at all. It pays to have a binoculars and cameras at hand when they make an appearance, as in the case of this Fox Sparrow in the pic from last spring. Just happened to see another one of these under the rose bushes while eating breakfast, this morning, though my compact binoculars. Wildlife, as always, is where you find it.

I have had bird feeders and have been an avid back yard birder nearly all my life, but my current bird feeder and birdwatching layout is certainly the most picturesque and so, far, right up there with the best of them in terms of activity. This is a result of having a yard situated right in the middle of a forest, rather than the usual suburban backyard. My north woods feeders got off to a slow start – took a while for the wild birds to pick up the feeder habit – but they are rocking, now. Between the Chickadees, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Goldfinches and Blue jays, there is always a bird or two at the feeder.

A bit of thought actually went into the placement of my feeders. First, and foremost, it had to be attractive to the birds – not too close to the surrounding forest (birds at a feeder get nervous with trees directly overhead), but close enough for birds to risk leaving the security of the forest to visit the feeders. Second, the feeders had to be easily visible to me from the house and/or deck. Hey, I’m paying the bill and it gives me something to write about and that is part of my job, after all. Oh, yeah, my feeders are easy to see with the binoculars and, especially the spotting scope, which allows me to take a pic with one of my digital cameras by way of some digiscoping when the birds are cooperating.

Time to put another pot of coffee on and enjoy the show.

Have to say, it’s fun having a yard in the middle of a forest. We not only get plenty of interesting birds, but we also get visits from other wildlife as well. Yesterday, for instance, during the rain, four deer just walked right out of the forest into our yard. I guess word is out that there is plenty of bird food and corn at Joanie and Bill’s place. (Deer feeding can get out of hand and, quickly, so I don’t put corn out, every day.) Just a matter of time before we see raccoons, I suspect, and who knows what else. The element of surprise is definitely a big part of birdwatching and wildlife watching.

As exciting as this can all be, back yard birding and wildlife watching is really an informal kind of thing. No need to buy special binoculars, either – just about any binocular you have at hand will probably work to keep an eye on the feeders and the yard. My favorite binoculars for yard work, though, are compact binoculars. I leave the bigger binoculars for more serious, destination style birding and so on. The key is convenience and accessibility. When you get a surprise visitor, there is no time to run to a closet, fish binoculars out of their case and run back to the window. My compact Nikon LX 10x25 binocular is small enough to leave right on the kitchen table, full time, ready to go and they’re small enough not be in the way at meals and so on. Oops! Gotta go. There’s a ….

One of my new harmonica students is a Rhinelander native and she filled me in on the local northern Wisconsin scene. Everything she told me reassures us that we made the right decision to move as regards cross country skiing, bicycling, fishing and the Rhinelander community in general. The local birdwatching and astronomy I have also discovered, on my own, to be top notch. Believe me, my birding binoculars and astronomy binoculars have not seen this much use in many years.

This is what I always dreamed retirement might be, though, to be honest, I did not expect retirement would be. Until I met Bill, I just assumed I would live a very Spartan existence, perhaps wandering around a bit, stopping here and there to do some birding and maybe some fly fishing and always grateful that I had the good sense to buy binoculars and other outdoor gear of the highest quality when I had the chance. No way would I be able to buy quality binoculars like that, living on essentially what I could get from social security. Just good to know that what I do have in the way of binoculars, spotting scopes and telescopes will last me the rest of my life. Quality is indeed the best value in the long run.

Living up north has required me to adjust my seasonal clock, somewhat. Here it is, barely mid-September and the forecast is for possible freezing temperatures or, at least frost, overnight. The trees, especially the maples, are also beginning to show some color. Ordinarily, this is all October stuff in places I have lived, previously. I am not sure how this affects bird migration, though I am definitely keeping an eye on the birds and will have a much better idea of this north country seasonal pattern by this time, next year.

In the meantime, there are still plenty of birds that stay here, year-round to keep things interesting. Last night, for instance, I grabbed the astronomy binoculars for a few minutes of impromptu observing from the deck and was greeted by the call of a Barred Owl. That’s actually a first for me while doing astronomy. In the past, while using a telescope or astronomy binocular at night, in the suburbs or agricultural areas, I have often heard calls from Great-horned Owls and, now and then, Screech Owls, but last night was my first astronomy session accompanied by a Barred Owl. This makes sense, of course, since the Barred is an owl of extensive forests and that describes our location, perfectly. It also demonstrates that there is a strong listening aspect to birding - when birdwatching, it pays to keep your ears and your eyes open!

By the way, the astronomy, last night was also fabulous. Have seen more with my Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe in the short time we have been up here in the north country than I did over a couple years of observing in the big city. I am home at last.

I expected to get some new birds in the yard when I moved, up here, to the north woods of Wisconsin and I have not been disappointed. My binoculars are my constant companion and each day seems to bring a new birdwatching surprise. Still, it is as much the old, familiar birds I haven’t seen as much the new birds I have seen, that surprises me. Where are the House Sparrows, the Starlings, Grackles or even the House Finches that were constant visitors to my suburban Milwaukee yard? I don’t particularly miss any of them, except, perhaps the House Finches, but the absence of these birds just reinforces the fact that I am not in Kansas, er, Milwaukee, anymore. Yes, this is a profoundly different world and habitat, this north woods, and, oh, how I love it.

As for other wildlife, we did have deer in our suburban Milwaukee neighborhood, for instance – they lived in the park, across the street – but we did not have them living right on our property as we do now. “Our” doe and her two fawns live right, here, on our seven acres and I see them each morning, out on the lawn. The doe isn’t thrilled to have us, yet, but I suspect she’ll adapt to our presence, quickly enough, when she discovers all the corn and sunflower seeds I have spread on the lawn to attract birds. Of course, I’ll be watching with my spotting scope and digital cameras, ever hopeful of getting more nice pics.

My bird feeders are in and filled with seed and suet. My binoculars and my spotting scope are ready and the feeders are well situated for some digiscoping. Now all I need are a few birds to get the party rolling.

Not at all sure how these north woods birds will respond to my feeders. These are, essentially, wild country birds, rather than the suburban birds that made my Milwaukee back yard feeders an instant success, but, from experience, I know that there are no guarantees with birds, bird feeders or even birdwatching, for that matter and sometimes you need to do some tweaking as to location and type of feed to attract the birds. Okay, I’ll just need to be patient. It’s only been forty-five minutes, after all, but I do want to see that first bird at the feeder. Call me sentimental.

Maybe I should have a grand opening of sorts. Party at Joanie’s place. The first customer gets their picture taken by an expert in digiscoping (me) and a write up in a blog about binoculars, birding, astronomy (mine). How could any bird resist such a chance to become famous?

The cable guy just installed internet, so this is my first blog from our new home.

I am on the deck with my laptop and have a view to the lake. There is a breeze out of the east, blowing gently through the birch, maple and white pine. The only other sound is the chatter of a red squirrel and a Chickadee. Temperature is in the low 50s after an overnight low of 36 and it sure felt like it when I was out with the astronomy binoculars, last night. This morning, I exchanged the big Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe for my beloved Leica 10x25 BL, which is sitting next to my computer as I write. This is birdwatching heaven, after all, and I don’t want to miss any of the action. Also have one of my small digital cameras at the ready, should an unexpected visitor make an appearance. Who knows? Last night, for instance, the coyotes had a songfest somewhere to the north of us.

As I write, Bill is working in the basement on one his projects and just humming, away. He is happiest when he has tools in his hand and a list of projects. Roscoe, our dog is sitting on the lawn, soaking up some north country sun. When I finish my writing duties, I have a ton of unpacking to do, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll head out on the lake and see if I can interest the fish in a fly.

I am home, at long, long last.

Starting to see some warblers, now, as I count down my last days as a Milwaukee resident. Better late than never, of course, though I'm sure my birdwatching will continue without losing a beat when we settle in, up north. Have seen some Redstarts, Yellow-rumped and Black-and-white Warblers and a Veery, right in our garden, this week, plus some Kinglets and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Have also noticed some blackbird flocks starting to build and just more bird activity, in general. Oh, yeah, fall is certainly on its way.

Yes, I will miss Milwaukee. The bird watching in Milwaukee has exceeded my expectations. I had selfishly hoped that the birds would hold off moving until we got our moving done, up to our new place in Rhinelander, but, of course, my feathered friends don’t check with me on these things. That means that I will have to wear my birding binoculars full time as we pack the vehicles and go about the job of driving up to our new home. That's really nothing new for me - I am used to wearing binoculars during spring and fall migration as a daily piece of my wardrobe.

Okay, for the next week I will have to do my birding on the run, so to speak, but no way am I going to call off my fall birding. Birds have the right of way when it comes to my priorities.

Fall birding! You either love it or hate it, thanks to the presence of young birds and their developing plumages, not to mention the fact that that birds are relatively silent, since the breeding season has passed - no falling back on calls or songs to identify many species. Thus, fall birding and birdwatching brings some identification challenges you don't see during the spring migration and even the best bird guide won't bail you out. Why? It's impossible to include illustrations or pictures of all the possible variations and still have a guide small enough to earn the label of field guide. At the end of the day, then, you sometimes just settle for “pretty sure” on an identification of a young bird, painful though that may be.

All the same, I tend to look at fall birding and bird watching in a positive way. The challenge of identifying young birds just adds to the fun and it also gives me a justification for spending big bucks on that premium birding binocular. Average birding binoculars won't do the job, right? (Actually they will, but don't tell my husband.) Besides, is there a better way to spend a morning than a walk through the fall woods, binoculars around you neck and bird guide in your pack? I don’t think so.

When folks think of binoculars, they tend to think in terms of birding binoculars or hunting binoculars or astronomy binoculars or marine binoculars and so on, but shopping binoculars? Okay, you can find articles on how to buy binoculars, in general, but don’t look for articles on how to buy shopping binoculars.

What is a shopping binocular? A shopping binocular, for instance, is a binocular that you can use to check store hours posted on a door from a distance. I don’t know about you, but the lettering on these door signs are not readable to me unless I happen to be standing in front of the door. That means I have to find a place to park the car and take a walk. With my shopping binocular that I carry in my purse or leave in the glove compartment, I can read the sign at great distances. Saves time and the hassle of finding a parking space. I’ve also used my shopping binocular when in very large shopping complexes to identify the stores on the other side of the shopping complex. Again this saves a lot of time and effort and allows me to shop more effectively.

As for the binoculars, the best shopping binoculars are compact binoculars because of their convenience. No need for large binoculars or even expensive binoculars, for that matter. I’ve even used inexpensive monoculars for shopping. The point is to carry a shopping binocular at all times. If you are a shopaholic, you’ll be glad you did.

As common as binoculars are – the number of households with binoculars must number in the millions – there are very few, if any, sayings or slogans about binoculars. Binoculars are not part of our folklore. “The bigger the binocular, the harder they fall,” may be true, especially if you drop giant astronomy binoculars on your foot, but you’ll never see those words printed on a bumper sticker. “Don’t look a gift binocular in the mouth”. I would never question anyone who gives me the gift of a binocular, of course, but not sure where the mouth is located on a binocular. That one just doesn’t work. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” If we are talking about my birding binoculars that I once left on an important birding trip, very true, indeed, but that old saying is about people, not binoculars and, no, I don’t value binoculars more than people, despite what anyone who reads my blogs may think. I sleep with my husband ay night, not my binoculars.

What’s it going to take for binoculars to earn their own saying? I suspect a celebrity will have to step in and help by committing a faux paux with a binocular in public. Maybe the president will look through a binocular backwards and say the end is in sight or something. Better, yet, maybe the binocular industry could have a contest for the best binocular saying. How about, “When you come to a binocular in the road, take it.” I sure would. "Your teeth are like my astronomy binoculars - they come out at night." Okay, I’ll quit.

It amazes me how often I need to set the diopter on my binoculars to better match the changes in my eyesight. (The diopter is the setting that allows you to adjust the focus on each individual barrel of the binocular since most folks have one eye stronger than the other.) No, I am not diabetic (diabetes can cause serious changes in vision), but I do have allergies this time of year and with all the meds and eye drops I take, my vision does change a bit. Then, too, even if you have perfect 20/20 vision, your vision can change, slightly, when you have colds and so on. In other words, it doesn’t hurt, now and then, to check the diopter adjustment on your binocular, especially if you have a full day of binocular use ahead of you. Even a slight adjustment in the diopter setting on your binocular can save you some eye fatigue after a long day with the binocular, though a properly collimated and aligned binocular comes, first, in terms of eliminating eye fatigue. (Ultra precise alignment and completely fatigue free viewing is something you are more likely to experience in an expensive hunting or birding binocular, but even cheap binoculars need to be aligned, closely, to be useable.)

In fact, you should adjust the diopter on your binocular with the idea of reducing eye strain rather than improving image sharpness. Yes, there usually a slight difference between the sharpest diopter setting and the most fatigue free diopter setting. It will depend on your eyes and your particular binocular, of course, but, in the long run, the most fatigue free setting will serve you best. One way to make sure you get the most fatigue free setting is to keep both eyes open when you make your diopter adjustment. That best simulates the way your two eyes work, together, when not using a binocular and makes for the easiest viewing. Just RELAX your eyes – no squinting, not even a tiny pinch - then adjust for sharpness.

Good viewing.