Operation Migration and the Class of 2009 Whooping Cranes have completed another arduous journey from Wisconsin to Florida! This is the second time since the tragic loss of the 2006 class to a severe storm that young whoopers were split into two groups, thus lessening the impact of a possible mortality event on a [...]
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This is Shrike Country
Shrike country is open country. Shrike country has peripheral perches, scrubby habitat, and lots of prey items. For as long as I’ve been visiting Pheasant Branch Conservancy, a Northern Shrike has claimed its snowy prairies throughout the winter months. Occasionally there’s been more than one shrike. Even though I’ve observed a shrike there just once [...]
Vortex Razor 20-60×85 HD!
Vortex Razor 20-60×85 HD
I recently spent a few hours evaluating the Vortex Razor 20-60×85 HD spotting scope alongside some of its market rivals. Considering the comparatively friendly price of the Vortex Razor scope at $1,599.00, I was curious how it would stack up against my personal favorite high-end spotting scopes. Under overcast lighting, [...]
Best $200 Binocular!
Apart from its lack of name recognition, the Atlas Optics Sky King 8×42 at $199.99 is one of the best binocular deals on the market right now. Its optical quality compares very favorably, and sometimes exceeds, binoculars that cost nearly twice the price. When I bought my 8×42 EO Rangers nearly ten years ago, I [...]
The Christmas Bird Count
Most people in the birding community have heard of the Christmas Bird Counts (aka CBC), but many probably aren’t aware how this annual tradition started. Frank Chapman, a founder of the National Audubon Society and Curator of Birds at the American Museum of Natural History, began the CBC as a way to draw attention to [...]
Using a Photo Adapter
Another method of connecting a D-SLR to a spotting scope has been around for many years, but film SLR cameras were used prior to digital. In this configuration, the eyepiece is removed from the spotting scope and the lens is removed from the D-SLR. Using a T-ring that’s specific to the camera body, the scope [...]
More about DSLR Digiscoping
Someone we need to see more digiscoping from is my co-worker Ben Lizdas of 600 birds blog. He’s made a few changes to his digiscoping rig since last time I blogged about him, upgrading from the Leica Televid 77 APO to the new Leica Televid 82 APO. This gorgeous photo of a Bald Eagle was [...]
Leave your Camera Attached!
I’m sure you’ve seen the following digiscoping practice in the field. Using a spotting scope, a birder scans terrain and habitat when something of interest grabs his attention. Perhaps it’s a shy Sora that has sauntered into the open from thick marsh grasses, or maybe a beautiful Magnolia Warbler has perched on a [...]
Barred Owl eating a Mourning Dove
Early on 9/7/09 at Pheasant Branch Conservancy (WI), my birding group happened upon a Barred Owl that was finishing off a Mourning Dove. We were able to identify the food item when it consumed one of the wings (not on the video, unfortunately). Nevertheless, a very cool observation! The video was captured via my Nikon [...]
Binocular Steadiness
As binocular magnification increases, they become less easy to hold steady. The vast majority of optics users can hold an 8x binocular steady without much difficulty. With 10x, a significant portion of users will experience discernable image shake. At 12x or above, I generally recommend tripod mounting the binocular to obtain the [...]
