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bird watching
Click on the image on the left to skip to our range of Bird Watching Binoculars
Bird watching is a fantastic hobby for all ages and a great family activity. It can be anything from watching birds in your garden or local park to travelling to exotic locations all over the world to see some of the most rare and beautiful birds on this earth.
To get started all you really need is a good pair of binoculars, sensible out door wear and a well written and illustrated bird guide. Of course, the more adventurous you become the more kit you may want to invest in. Remember, if you are going to be spending increasing amounts of time outdoors, you need to make sure that you are warm, dry and comfortable as you may be sitting or standing stationary for some time. As with any outdoor pursuit it is best to also keep a small first aid kit, some spare dry clothes, some food and water to hand too. A good waterproof rucksack is ideal to keep your kit in. There are some now that you can keep you photographic and optical kit in as well as these other essentials from manufacturers such as Lowepro and Tamrac.
You will need to ensure that your kit is able to cope with wet weather so making yourself and your kit waterproof and comfortable is essential to ensure an enjoyable trip.
There are a good range of binoculars and spotting scopes these days that are perfectly suited for all sorts of conditions being both waterproof and fog proof. There are also a good range of rain capes for wet/damp weather for long lens cameras and spotting scopes and even waterproof bags for cameras with optical glass on the front to ensure you still get the best view of your subject, whatever the weather.
With regards to binoculars, it is advisable to have a comfortable neckstrap attached firstly to enable easy access to your binoculars at any time and secondly, your binoculars will spend a lot of time around your neck so it is important that the weight is spread comfortably and that they do not rub. Another point with regard to weight is that you consider carefully how heavy the binoculars you purchase are. At the end of the day, birds can turn up anywhere at any time and you do not want to be caught without your binoculars because you considered them too heavy to bother taking out with you on that occasion.
With a spotting scope it is important to have a lightweight tripod so that it is easy and comfortable to carry around and ideally it should be something with leg locking clips for speedy erection, retractable spiked feet for all terrain conditions, a pan and tilt head for fluid movements when following moving objects and it should be in a dark colour for camouflage such as green or black. A quick release plate may also be of use to enable you to attach and detach the spotting scope from the tripod at speed and as quietly as possible.
If you decide to purchase a pair of binoculars with a higher than 10x magnification, you may also want to consider investing in a good tripod as hand holding anything over 10x magnification with have noticeable natural shake thus causing the subject you are looking at to be less clear.
We sell a large range of binoculars and spotting scopes for everyone from beginners to experts from leading manufacturers such as Olympus, Pentax, Inpro Optics, Yukon Optics and many more. Just click on the link below to take a look.
Click here to view our range of Spotting Scopes
Click here to view our range of tripods
Click here to view our Bird Watching Binoculars
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