Wayne Mones's Posts
I have always been this way. I want to listen to music through a good sound system, and I want to look at birds through good binoculars. I just don’t understand people who don’t feel the same way. There is no getting around the fact that great binoculars make birding more satisfying.
At 6:30 this morning, I found an injured Northern Parula on my neighbor’s driveway. He (it was a “he”) must have collided with the kitchen window. When I picked him up, he was still alive, struggling to get his bearings. While Holly and I marveled at holding such a beautiful thing in our hands and scratched our heads over what to do to help, he died in my hand. I know that tens of thousands of songbirds die during migration each year. The arithmetic of population dynamics accounts for such losses. Because this bird died in my hand, his death feels personal.
It was the weekend we have waited for all year. The one when all the Warblers show up in one place all at the same time. Holly and I spent most of Saturday and Sunday in Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island. We found all the birds we were hoping to find, plus a few we haven’t seen recently. Cape May Warbler. Canada Warbler. Wilson’s Warbler. Seventeen Warblers in all.
Beginner Mind
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few.
-- Roshi Shunryo Suzuki
Several weeks ago I posted a review of the mid-sized Vortex Fury 6.5x32 and am now pleased to add my impressions of the bigger brother in this line -- the Fury 8x42. The short of it is that people at Vortex really got everything right with this new line of binoculars. I love the 8x42 and think they are a “best buy.” It is still hard for me to believe that it is possible to produce a binocular this good for $350.
Ommateum: A Morning Walk
This moring I heard my first Yellow Warbler of 2008. On Tuesday, the first fight for a nest cavity between a gang of Starlings and and pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers. On Sunday, we saw the season’s first Blue-headed Vireo. Last week, the first Pine and Palm Warblers. The first Phoebe’s. Two weeks past, the first Flickers. Six weeks past, the first singing Cardinals.
OK, so I am a bit OCD. OK, so I love my binoculars a bit more than I should. In my defense I hasten to point out that compulsive behavior can sometimes be a good thing. Allowing a fastidious impulse to rule a small part of my life ensures that my binoculars will continue to provide the same brilliant image that inspired me to plunk down my hard earned money to buy them and that the silky smooth focus will stay that way until I pass my cherished bins on to their next owner.
I led a group of 20 people on a walk in Central Park this morning. New York is a tough place and we have tough birds to prove it.
Wayne’s List
Recommended Bird-worthy Binoculars
The Vortex 6.5x32 Fury: A Mid-Priced Binocular To Love
