Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Q How do I choose a spotting scope?
A
There are two basic scope designs: straight and angled. I used a straight scope for the
first 30 years I birded. A straight scope makes it easy to home in on your bird unless it
is well below you (as when you're birding on a ridge or bluff) or quite high up. Straight
scopes are not easy to share with large groups, or even with family members, unless
everyone is close to the same height. Tall people have to scrunch down to see through a
scope set up for a short person.
I bought an angled scope in 2005. There was definitely a learning curve in figuring
out how to get the bird into the view because you have to look down into the eyepiece
to see a bird that is straight ahead. But now that I'm used to it, I'd never consider going
back. Angled scopes, like porroprism binoculars, have one fewer glass element, and that
gives them a slight edge over straight scopes optically. Also, when a bird is very high or
very low, it's easy to rotate most angled scope models in their housing so you can more
comfortably look through the eyepiece sideways. And when the scope is set up for the
shortestperson,thetallestonesdon'thavetoscrunchdown—theycansimplybendover
a bit to look down through the eyepiece.
Most birders use zoom eyepieces on spotting scopes. These are usually configured to
magnify 20× to 60×. I usually prefer using a fixed 30× eyepiece, but the zooms are quite
satisfactory for most people and have a broader value in a lot of birding situations.
The objective lens of most spotting scopes ranges in size from about 60 mm to about
85 mm. As is true of binoculars, spotting scopes with larger objective lenses gather more
light than scopes with smaller ones. The less expensive the scope, the more important it
istogetalargerlenstoensureyourimage isbrightandcrisp.Ifyoucan'taffordthebest,
theruleisjustliketheruleforinexpensivebinoculars—thebiggertheobjectivelensand
the lower the power, the clearer and brighter your view will be.
Q How do field trip leaders get so fast at finding distant birds in their scopes?
