Birding after surgery... (1 Viewer)

[pbjosh]

Cheers for your good progress and I certainly am wishing you a continued speedy return to normal capacity (if not work hours heheh, enjoy it). I sort of fell down the slippery slope of being a diehard birder while recovering from a back surgery that had me off most sports and only going for walks for months.

Have you not tried the SFL 8x30 yet? I don’t always folllow the bins forum so maybe you have and I missed it. I have an MHG 8x30 that I used a ton for years and love but I have found the SFL to essentially be better in every way and it’s now my preferred small bin.

 

[w.travis]

One was at a semi-regular spot, the MacGillivray's warbler. It is a very rare bird for Alabama, period. Usually Texas and West. The others...I happen to be in Destin and got reports of them being in the area!

Oh yeah the Grey Gull in FL, I remember hearing about it. ABA 1st record right? Congrats on all of them, but that one was a big deal!

 

[chill6x6]

Cheers for your good progress and I certainly am wishing you a continued speedy return to normal capacity (if not work hours heheh, enjoy it). I sort of fell down the slippery slope of being a diehard birder while recovering from a back surgery that had me off most sports and only going for walks for months.

Have you not tried the SFL 8x30 yet? I don’t always folllow the bins forum so maybe you have and I missed it. I have an MHG 8x30 that I used a ton for years and love but I have found the SFL to essentially be better in every way and it’s now my preferred small bin.

I don't have a 30mm SFL. I'm sure it's an excellent binocular. I have and use the same MHG 8X30 and the 8X30 CL B. I use the MHG WAY more!

Oh yeah the Grey Gull in FL, I remember hearing about it. ABA 1st record right? Congrats on all of them, but that one was a big deal!

That's correct! He's still at the same spot he was as of yesterday! He wasn't shy at all and very tolerant of people. It's funny when you pull up to a spot and get out of your car and just a non-birder says to you, "he's still here!" lol!

Edited to add....that Gray gulls typical range is Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Really it's worth the drive to the area east of Destin. Lots of good birds in the area.

 

[pbjosh]

I don't have a 30mm SFL. I'm sure it's an excellent binocular. I have and use the same MHG 8X30 and the 8X30 CL B. I use the MHG WAY more!

I’ve never owned the CL B. I have tried it a few times and found it really good, arguably optically slightly ahead of the MHG but somehow the MHG worked a lot better for me in terms of ergonomics and FOV and whatnot. The SFL is really similar in terms of feel / use so it was an instant adaptation for me and took about an hour to realize that aside from perhaps a hair more field curvature (not problematic in any way) it is very nearly a clone of the MHG in terms of size / ergonomics / optics, just crisper, better color, better glare control, better focuser, etc. At least my unit for my eyes…

I saw that about the Gray Gull in FL. Pretty nutty record, and a very cool species. I wonder if it sat on a container ship from Guayaquil through the canal or something, or if it managed it on its own?

 

[MiddleRiver]

…was off grid 2wks and just now seeing this!
Glad to hear you are on the mend and BTW: you suck. Now I have to try the 8x32 uvhds…. Lol

 

[MiddleRiver]

Chuck,
Now that you are - as I am - on somewhat of a 'lightweight bandwagon', may I ask: Do you own 8x32SF?
I recently picked up 8x32FL and love them but of course the FOV of the SF is appealing. I've been scared away from the 8x32UVHD due to ER reports. So a comparo of SF, FL, and UVHD in 8x32 would be of interest. Thinking of letting go of my 10x42Nocs, as I literally never use them :-(

 

[Maljunulo]

I am delighted with my 8X32 SF after I got used to the somewhat fussy eye-positioning requirements.

I stopped listening to the voices in my head that keep trying to convince me that the NL is “better”.

 

[chill6x6]

…was off grid 2wks and just now seeing this!
Glad to hear you are on the mend and BTW: you suck. Now I have to try the 8x32 uvhds…. Lol

LOL! Thanks!

Sorry....I had too much free time!

Chuck,
Now that you are - as I am - on somewhat of a 'lightweight bandwagon', may I ask: Do you own 8x32SF?
I recently picked up 8x32FL and love them but of course the FOV of the SF is appealing. I've been scared away from the 8x32UVHD due to ER reports. So a comparo of SF, FL, and UVHD in 8x32 would be of interest. Thinking of letting go of my 10x42Nocs, as I literally never use them :-(

I do have an 8X32 SF. You wanna buy it? 🤣

IMO ER is the critical question when considering the UVHD+ 8X32. If I were a betting I'd say it's going to be a little too close for you.

 

[MiddleRiver]

LOL! Thanks!

Sorry....I had too much free time!

I do have an 8X32 SF. You wanna buy it? 🤣

IMO ER is the critical question when considering the UVHD+ 8X32. If I were a betting I'd say it's going to be a little too close for you.

So other than ER, would you be willing to rank UVHD, SF? Have you owned FL's?
BTW, if you are liking the HG's, try the 8x30SFL's. I think they are superior, at least in ergos and build. The Zeiss focusers - and I say this as a Leica fanboy - are superb.

My current temptation is to turn 10x42 Nocs into 8x32 SF or UVHD's... wout losing too much money 😭

BTW, seriously, happy to hear you are on the mend and getting out. Open heart procedures are amazing but serious biz. Sounds like you took the initiative and stayed ahead of the game. Well done ;-)

 

[pbjosh]

I am delighted with my 8X32 SF after I got used to the somewhat fussy eye-positioning requirements.

I stopped listening to the voices in my head that keep trying to convince me that the NL is “better”.

I have an 8x32 SF. Somehow the 8x42 SF and NLs “wow” me more optically. I cannot find any fault with the SF 8x32, but I sort of tried to for a while before realizing that somehow it’s just about perfect despite the fact that it’s “wow” factor is lower than others. That is actually also how I feel about the 8x42 SF. I would say it’s wow factor is a bit behind the NLs but for birding, the 42mm SF is my best bin and the 32mm SF is my second best.

Personal opinions and all… and I am not trying to be a Zeiss shill. Those bins just work really well for me.

 

[Maljunulo]

If you try hard enough, you can find flaws in anything.

Don’t give up.

 

[chill6x6]

So other than ER, would you be willing to rank UVHD, SF? Have you owned FL's?
BTW, if you are liking the HG's, try the 8x30SFL's. I think they are superior, at least in ergos and build. The Zeiss focusers - and I say this as a Leica fanboy - are superb.

My current temptation is to turn 10x42 Nocs into 8x32 SF or UVHD's... wout losing too much money 😭

BTW, seriously, happy to hear you are on the mend and getting out. Open heart procedures are amazing but serious biz. Sounds like you took the initiative and stayed ahead of the game. Well done ;-)

I do have the FL 8X32. I guess everyone has one or two of these....it's one of those binoculars everyone seems to really like....but me. Plus it has some sentimental value to me so I don't even try it that much. Long story...

I've considered the SFL 8x30. Seems like a nice binocular. Zeiss has done a really nice job on those. I do have the Monarch 7/MHG/CL B/CL all in 8X30.

Thanks for the well wishes!

I have an 8x32 SF. Somehow the 8x42 SF and NLs “wow” me more optically. I cannot find any fault with the SF 8x32, but I sort of tried to for a while before realizing that somehow it’s just about perfect despite the fact that it’s “wow” factor is lower than others. That is actually also how I feel about the 8x42 SF. I would say it’s wow factor is a bit behind the NLs but for birding, the 42mm SF is my best bin and the 32mm SF is my second best.

Personal opinions and all… and I am not trying to be a Zeiss shill. Those bins just work really well for me.

I kinda feel the same way. I've tried the SF 8X42/8X32. Probably similar to the FL 8X32 I just get along better with others. Kinda confused why I like the SFL so much. I have REALLY tried to like the SF 8X32. I mean it's the one on paper. Probably just the SF 8X40 is more user friendly.

If you try hard enough, you can find flaws in anything.

Don’t give up.

Yes you can!

 

[hopster]

Long story short I had open heart surgery to replace a valve and an aortic prothesis August 23rd. Now I don't know how many of you have had to have this done BUT it's, I'll say, something else. So I've had a lot of time off work, about 10 weeks more or less. My rehab was primarily walking and I've been doing a lot of it. Thankfully walking can take place with a binocular on you chest(or slightly below) so that has been my preferred method.

So, I've been able to do a lot of birding. Of course it started out with short trips that got progressively longer. I've been birding 43 days since my surgery. I've birded many days in a row. I had the best September and October I've ever had as far as number of species goes. I was able to see several life birds which is rare at this point. I've been able to use a lot of different binoculars and mostly in the 30mm to 32mm range. One thing I noticed was that a heavy binocular is not your friend post open heart surgery. Also, I had to wear binoculars a little lower on the chest than I typically like. This was no problem with the Rick Young UL harness.

I started out birding with a Zeiss Victory Pocket 8X25. It of course is lightweight and almost like carrying nothing, especially with the RYUL harness. I carried this binocular for my first trip post surgery and as good of a 25mm the VP is I quickly decided I was going to go the route of a larger objective binocular regardless of comfort. Migration was on and had a little trouble finding birds at times mostly due to eye placement and focusing issues.

The Nikon Monarch HG 8X30 came to my rescue and was the binocular I used the most during this time, especially early on. Small, lightweight, and a large FOV it was just what the doctor ordered so to speak. Just a very nice binocular. I'm not sure if I could find a 8X30 I would like better. Its only real competition is the CL 8X30 B. I actually like the CL 8X30 B more than I used to. Although optically excellent, I'm still not crazy about the focus adjustment.

As you can probably imagine I had plenty of time to shop for binoculars online. I did purchase two. One was a binocular I've always wanted to try, a GPO Passion ED 8X32. I used it for several days. I was very impressed with the Passion ED 8X42 but this time it just didn't work out. I felt like optically it just wasn't up to snuff. ALSO the focus adjustment developed slop/play after a few days. In no way did it compare to the other two. Time to move on to something different.

As healing progressed I decided to reach for a slightly larger/heavier 32mm, the SV 8X32mm. Even compared to the MHG and the CL B the SV 8X32 is easily the best. Best optics. Best handling. Best flat field. Fastest bird acquisition. To this day it still may very well be the best birding binocular I have. Swarovski dropped the ball when they quit making this one.

The second and last binocular I purchase was a Leica Ultravid HD Plus 8X32. Years ago I tried this binocular at Magee Marsh optics tent. Eye relief was just short of enough. New glasses or changing eyes seems to have given me a little ER so, I saw a great price with a great return policy and decided to just give it a go. What a fantastic binocular! Smoothest focus of any Ultravid I have. ER is literally perfect with the eyecups all the way in. Image quality is exactly what would be expected. Very easy to see what others see in this binocular. I'm gonna have to do some more in depth comparison.

Recovery? I went back to work full time Monday. Chest still a little sore otherwise doing okay. It's easy to see how someone that is retired or doesn't work can have incredible bird numbers. A total of five life birds for me in less than four weeks. I was especially excited about the MacGillivray's warbler, gray gull, and the vermillion flycatcher.

I'll be headed back out Saturday with the UVHD+ 8X32!

Good luck Chuck. I am also limited to walking and birding after surgery but not as serious as yours (2nd go at an umbilical hernia repair this year). I'm sure you'll be fine, keep up the positive attitude and slow and steady progress will get you there. You'll soon be carrying those big 12x50s again!