2017 Biggest Week in Amerian Birding Festival (1 Viewer)

[BruceH]

The Biggest Week in American Birding Festival is coming up. It runs from May 5th to May 14th, 2017.

Are any members planning to attend? If so, please post a trip report. I have never been there but sure enjoy reading the reports.

The show is near Cleveland, OH and it is the place to see warblers, lots of warblers. The show includes what is called Optics Alley where some of the larger optics companies show up to display the latest and greatest. Listed this year to attend are .......

Zeiss
Swarovski
Leica
Kowa
Opticron
Cannon
Nikon

A couple of vendors are Hunt's and Time & Optics

Here are some products that are new for this this year that will probably be at the show ....

Zeiss - Back model SF, New style Terra, Conquest Gavia scope

Swaro - Binoviewer

Leica - Noctivid and maybe some info on the upcoming Trinovid 32mm

Opticon - A bunch of new models. My interests are the iMagic and Traveller

Nikon - HG Monarch

Interesting that none of the new upstarts (GPO, Maven, Tract, Athlon, Syrka) are listed. Too bad. Looks like they are not geared up for the birding market yet.

http://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/optics-alley.html

Here is a nice short write-up of the event from Stephen Ingraham who represents Zeiss at the show ........

http://blogs.zeiss.com/sports-optics/birding/en/highlights-biggest-week/

If you can not attend but have questions for some of the vendors, post them here and maybe some of members who attend can ask them for you.

Festival Home Page ....

http://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/

 

[FrankD]

Bruce,

I will be there for the first weekend...Friday through Sunday.

Also, Maven was there last year. I would assume they would be there again this year. Will check for you.

 

[BruceH]

Frank ... You are right on about Maven. After reading your comment I checked their web site and found a journal entry that says they are attending.

http://mavenbuilt.com/journal/maven-event-schedule-winterspring-2017/

That is a good thing for anyone interested in viewing through a Maven since they are not available in store, direct marketing only.

Have fun!

 

[Troubador]

Thanks for posting Bruce, sounds like a great event.

Lee

 

[jremmons]

I'm going to try to make it at some point. We are going to IN Dunes this weekend and hopefully up to Magee some time during the second week of the Festival. I would like to try out some of those direct-to-consumer models as well as get my hands on the Noctivid for a second round of sampling - my first impression of it was that it wasn't much different than the HD/HD+ which seems to not be the common opinion of this forum. I'd also like to sample the Monarch HG which has both glowing and disparaging reviews.

 

[chill6x6]

I'm PLANNING on being there the SECOND weekend...

 

[NDhunter]

Thanks for posting Bruce, sounds like a great event.

Lee

Lee:

You could attend, just have your sponsor help with the travel costs.

Jerry

 

[Troubador]

Lee:

You could attend, just have your sponsor help with the travel costs.

Jerry

LOL . Yeah I've got all my sponsors on speed dial so maybe I should call one but its so hard to chose which one I have so many sponsors falling over themselves to sponsor me. I'll let them fight it out. Maybe get my people to talk to their people, you know how it is in big business.

I was sorry and still am sorry to hear about your son Jerry.
Didn't expect this sort of comment from you.

Lee

 

[NDhunter]

Lee:

Sorry about that, just trying to keep things light around here.

I was not trying to offend you.

Jerry

 

[Troubador]

Lee:

Sorry about that, just trying to keep things light around here.

I was not trying to offend you.

Jerry

OK then. Maybe next time a smiley would show you are joking.:t:

In the meantime I have checked with my diary and my sponsor (thats Troubadoris) and find her birthday is in the middle of these dates so I can't make it. :-O

If you go yourself please tell us all about it.

Lee

 

[BruceH]

Justin and Chuck ..... That is great to hear that you will be attending. Hopefully you will have some time to report your impressions. Justin, I will be curious to hear how the new Nikon HG compares to your recently acquired SLC. Chuck, is there anything special you are looking to check out there?

Lee ..... Save your Sterling and energy for Birdfair coming up in August. I always look forward to reading your reports from there.

Just for the fun of it, I checked to see what the economy round trip airfare is between Phoenix and London Heathrow via a non stop British Airways flight that we have here. It came to approximately $1,460. Approximately 1/3 of that is "fees" in addition to the tickets. By the time one adds lodging, food, transportation, admission, etc, that is over the cost of new Noctivid! :eek!: Looks like I will be skipping Birdfair this year and start saving for the American Birding Festival next year.

 

[FrankD]

The ABE is in Philly this year. Hopefully next year too. If you go then give me a shout and we can get together. I only live about an hour from the expo center Bruce.

 

[chill6x6]

Justin and Chuck ..... That is great to hear that you will be attending. Hopefully you will have some time to report your impressions. Justin, I will be curious to hear how the new Nikon HG compares to your recently acquired SLC. Chuck, is there anything special you are looking to check out there?

Hey Bruce..
ALL I'm going to check out up there is BIRDS! Seriously! I've never been. Last year's trip fell thru. I'm flying up to Columbus next Friday night so basically I have Saturday, Sunday, and maybe Monday am as flying out Monday afternoon.

The hard part is which binoculars to pack!

 

[Troubador]

Lee ..... Save your Sterling and energy for Birdfair coming up in August. I always look forward to reading your reports from there.

Thanks Bruce I think I will do just that.
Cheers Lee

 

[BruceH]

Frank ... I had not been on the American Birding Expo (ABE) web site is a while and was not aware that it has been relocated from Ohio to PA. I did find a comment on the site confirming your thought that it will be there for 2017 and 2018. Unfortunately I doubt I will be able to make it this year but it would have been great to get together. Hopefully you can make it and give us another great trip report.

Chuck ... Seeing as warblers are in close, I would think something with a lower power and a wide FOV. Also, it appears it can get crowded on the boardwalk so smaller may be better than bigger. Interesting, one of the Swaro reps told me he uses a Swaro 12X50 EL SV, it gives tremendous detail! How he finds them is a testament to his spotting skills.

Lee ... Sounds like a plan.

 

[BruceH]

For anyone visiting the Nikon booth:

It was reported that Nikon USA insisted on some changes to the new Monarch HG before they would distribute them here in the U.S. Would you please check to see if that is true, and if so, see if they will say what changes were made from what was introduced last summer.

Also, it would be interesting to know if the reps are contracted product reps or true Nikon employees.

Thanks.

 

[Theo98]

Interesting, one of the Swaro reps told me he uses a Swaro 12X50 EL SV, it gives tremendous detail! How he finds them is a testament to his spotting skills...

Bruce,

Would His initials be CT (as in Clay Taylor)?! :t:

Ted

 

[BruceH]

Ted .... That be the guy!

I happened to be at the Crane Festival in NM when the Swaro 12X50 EL SV went on closeout at Eurooptics (thanks SuperDuty!). Before placing my order, I thought I would check things out with Clay first. He told me the 12X50 was his favorite and if I recall correctly, he used it more than all the others combined. I then asked what he used for small birds like warblers when at the American Birding Week and he said the 12X50 because of the fantastic detail. I then asked if he had problems finding the bird and he said no. I suspect after all of his years of practice, he has that muscle memory thing down to a science. Now I think he is more into digiscoping. Personally, I think I would go with a 7X or an 8X.

 

[Theo98]

Clay is a birding sport class act! He's an extremely knowledgeable, tech savvy individual who gets the ID's fast and quick! Told him during our excursion in Austria that I used a 10X50 SV, said I should be using the 12X50 SV! He makes it look so effortless and easy...Amazing Birder and such a talented person!! :king:

Ted

 

[FrankD]

Bruce,

I will be there...both years most likely. We will definitely have to get together. Tons of great local birding spots we can hit and plenty of optics to play with.

As for the biggest week, I tend to avoid the boardwalks and just hit that outer trail...sort of like a logging road. No way I would be trying to phonescope on that boardwalk with that many people. That parking lot is pretty nuts too. Pics are certain to follow starting as early as tomorrow morning.