BUYERS GUIDE TO SPOTTING SCOPES
Without binoculars, we would miss so many birds, even in our own yards. With experience, a good binocular will let you identify most birds visible to the naked eye. Some think “bins” are all you need and consider a spotting scope unnecessary. That is true for backyard and forest birding. So, get binoculars first, then get a better pair of binoculars.
Eventually, most birders will experience the need for a scope. For me, that was the year I started birding. When birding winter farm fields and the New Jersey shore, a scope view was often critical to clinch an ID. An ocean horizon, waterfowl on wide bays, shorebirds spread over mudflats, and orbital raptors challenge binoculars. Even if you can identify the bird with binoculars, you may feel dissatisfied. The feeling even has a name: “BVD,” or better view desired. A scope reduces both the “too far away” category and the BVD category.
And the first view of even a common bird through a spotting scope can be a gasp-inducing “wow” moment. After birding 50 years, I find scoping a flock of winter ducks with the sun over my shoulder enjoying better-than-the-field-guide views is still heavenly. In the contemporary idiom, I am firmly on “Team scope!”
But all the brands and models daunt the new buyer. Should I select an angled or straight scope? What are the pros and cons of a small objective or a large one? Are
