The last binoculars I’ll ever need

First, let me apologize for the dearth of posts these last couple weeks. I’m sure most of you who have been getting out in the field all across the country have some inclination of the reason why. The birds just aren’t there, and those that can be found are either busy nursing in the next generation or ragged and molty, and in many cases both. The fact that I haven’t been in the field much the last fortnight means I’m out of ready made blog topics, and I’m not interested in digging too deeply into my store of spare posts just to keep up.

Plus I’ve had some family in town and just haven’t had the time to sit down to write. My days were spent as a tour guide to the sights of Chapel Hill and surrounding environs and discovering, via my dad, the wonders of frisbee golf. I’m not kidding when I say I’ve found just the thing to keep me going when the birds slow down. It contains all the joys and frustrations of regular golf, minus the exorbitant greens fees, and the triangle area has no fewer than 7 courses with which to test my skills. Plus, with someone of my athletic ability (limited), there’s less of a learning curve with a single disc rather than both ball and stick. I’m kind of excited about getting into it, especially as it is unlikely to interfere with birding time.

But the largest cause for excitement is, per usual, bird related. You see, after nearly a year of saving, I pulled the trigger on the biggest and most important purchase a birder can make. That which puts in one’s possession the “last pair of binoculars one will ever need”. In my case, they’re Zeiss Victory T* FL 8x42s, and they came in the mail yesterday.

It seems unfair that they came in the middle of a busy week so I’ve yet to try them out on anything more fancy that the birds in my yard. First impressions are awesome though, the Towhees and Mockingbirds are amazingly bright and razor sharp, and the long eye relief, the reason I went with Zeiss over the equally fine Leicas or Swaros, fits me like a glove. The quality is world class, which is expected with the Zeiss. In fact, the only bins I found in my search that rivaled it were the brand new Nikon EDG, which I had the good fortune to try as a test pair at my local bird store. They were exceptional, with looooong eye relief, and made me stop to think whether going with Zeiss was the right plan. But they were $400 more and not out till later in the fall, both strikes against. The Japanese have some fine glass coming out, but I look forward to many getting many life birds through these Teutonically toned barrels.

The bins are a fair bit heavier than my old pair, however, and the strap sucks with a capital S, so it’s likely I’ll be switching my old strap (which is super comfy) in for the bargain basement Zeiss model. The weight in general will take some getting used to, especially when those long days in the field come around, though I can’t see myself putting on one of those harnesses that look like something used in the Spanish Inquisition (nobody expects it!). I’ll get used to the strain, maybe even bulk up a bit. Weight training for birding, not something I would have prepared for previously…

So, all in all I’m very pleased with my new toy, and very much looking forward to their maiden voyage, which unfortunately won’t be until the beginning of next week. Till then I’ll have to make do with Song Sparrows and Grackles, but they look great.