One of the neat things about birding is the variety of ways it can be enjoyed....you can go alone, just you, your bino(s) and/or scope and field guide and have a great time. Or you can take one or two others along (more eyes & ears in the field are a plus). On walking trips, any number up to about 12 or so (after that, things can get a little disjointed). Now if visiting a dedicated site with observing platforms (often found at NWR's, Cape May et al), then even more folks can join in and have a great ol' time.
Now, all of us here have posted ad infinitum about our inventories, arsenals or whatever euphemism ya wanna use.....and nearly all here are likely optics mavens (y'all thought I wuz gonna say binoholics, diddencha? See?....) BUT,....how many of our fellows are? Folks can be dedicated birders and not be real concerned about what they're lookin' thru, I've found. Our local Audubon Club (not affiliated w/the Nat'l Society) has about 75 card holders....probably no more than half make it to monthly meetings throughout the year, and a little less than half of those go on the weekly outings (either local or up to 100mi out) or the semi-monthly 3day trips which go out as far as 400mi. Nearly all our members are over 40, the majority of those are over 50. The mix is about 50/50 men/women and the optics cover the spectrum from 60's porros and Balscopes to the latest alphas & flourite scopes.
So, for something a little different, I thought it'd be interesting to see what the "rest of the world" carries for their hobby. Maybe you've just got one other birding friend you go out with, maybe several: next time y'all get together, take a quick notice of what's around necks and on tripods and report here.
To get ball rolling (no pun intended), I'll start. There are only two other folks in my group who might be termed "enthusiasts"....one has 3 Leicas (8x42 Ultravid, 8x32BA, 8x20 Trinovid) and a Swaro 65 scope....the other I've seen at various times with a Pentax 8x43SP, Leica 10x50 Ultravid and a Swaro 15x56, along with a Kowa 82 scope. The two who have the highest ABA lifelist totals (both around 715 last I heard) are each well equipped....one with an 8x42FL and a Kowa 82 scope, the other with 8.5x42EL and a Swaro 80 scope. Then we have an old Sears 7x35 11* monster (carried by one of the best birders in the group), and his pal who has two around his neck all the time....an old Jason 7x35 and some brand of cheapo Chinese 10-20x50 zooms (both are awful). Moving along, for porros, an old Swift 804 Audubon, Nikon Action EX 8x40, Bushnell Custom 8x36, and a 10x25 reverse porro (never have been able to see the brand name). In roofs, I've seen a Tasco 8x42 Rarebird, two Alpen 10x42, Swift 8.5x44 HHS, another Swaro 8.5x EL, Nikon Monarch 8x42, a Leupold Gold Ring 8x42 and a Leica 10x50BN.
So next time you're out with the group, take a silent inventory and relate what ya saw.
Rgds Douglas
In our local group,
-one zeiss
-a couple of SWs
-one spotting scope
-mesc binoculars
edj
I think spyglass pretty much sums it up ... there's a lot of everything out there.
Favorites seen in the field:
Zeiss West 7x35 carried by a 30 something birder (good birder too).
Of the top ends there seem to be more Swaro then Leica then Zeiss though when leading my section of the CBC last year we split into one subteam that had a Zeiss 10x40B, 10x42FL and my 8x32FL.
I do think the single most common model I've seen though is the Monarch 42mm. Especially among twitchers (going for the rarities) who haven't found the need to upgrade to one of the Top 4 bins. It seems to be a good enough bin and light enough too.
Other bins I own that I've seen rarely are: Canon IS 10x30 (once) and Nikon SE 8x32 (once ... a nicely worn one ... it has seen a lot of birding in the last decade).
I've also seen a lot of crud even used by decent intermediate birders (level focus porros!!).
Scopes seem to be mostly Top 4 in the field: Swaro then Leica and Zeiss (about equal) and the odd Nikon Fieldscope III and the odd Kowa. Curiously I seen rather fewer midrange spotters out there. Are people who really want scopes (and are wiling to carry them) only willing to buy the best.
I suspect you might divide birders into:
1. Not good enough but don't know any better
2. Low end just about good enough
3. Mid-range but would rather spent money birding than buying very expensive optics
4. Top-end either because they buy the brand (because that's what they do) or they're more serious birders.
5. Optics geeks (different set of bins each outing).
And I think in each group you get people who have different price sensitivities and perceived needs.
I had a friend who was in that first. Decent birder but now focused mainly on ducks rather than passerines who was birding with some terrible cheap Bushnell porros with no ER. Truly awful bins. I sold him my Vortex Diamondback 8x42 (bright, wide field, waterproof, easy view with his glasses on). He was so happy with them. He'll probably never upgrade as the DBs are plenty good enough for him.
I think most birders out there have no idea what has happened to birding optics in the past couple of years with the introduction of mid-range ED objective bins from multiple makers. I think most would be very happy with a pair of those if only they new to try them.