And anything of similar size (to a Peregrine) would be unwise to hang out there.
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Let's Play a Game Called ....... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Maljunulo
- Start date
From what I've seen, pigeons living on the same structure as peregrines, as they quite often do, are very aware of their neighbours, stay close to cover and seldom get caught (it does happen, but quite rarely). I think birds further away, say 700m to about 1.2km or sometimes more, are less wary and can be surprised more easily with a careful approach, using a combination of speed and stealth. The ability they have to identify targets at those distances, without binoculars, is amazing.
Range finder helps. Cheap enough. Would love to know what distances are possible with those 12s.
On 14 September at around 1345 local, I was watching a couple of soaring buteos, when I stumbled onto another soaring bird, much higher and much farther out. (like way out)
It was soaring in slow circles, and every time it circled I caught a flash of white from the rear. I watched at least three circles, and saw the flash of white each time.
There is a good-sized pond (-60 acres) 2.0 miles from me (per Apple Maps) in the direction where I saw the circling bird. There is an active (as far as I know) active Bald Eagle nest 0.5 miles from the pond.
I believe I saw, and identified, a Bald Eagle at a range of 2.0 miles, with no prior knowledge that it would be there, or knowledge of what it was, until I saw the white flash of the tail feathers.
8X30W Habicht
It was soaring in slow circles, and every time it circled I caught a flash of white from the rear. I watched at least three circles, and saw the flash of white each time.
There is a good-sized pond (-60 acres) 2.0 miles from me (per Apple Maps) in the direction where I saw the circling bird. There is an active (as far as I know) active Bald Eagle nest 0.5 miles from the pond.
I believe I saw, and identified, a Bald Eagle at a range of 2.0 miles, with no prior knowledge that it would be there, or knowledge of what it was, until I saw the white flash of the tail feathers.
8X30W Habicht
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A very dear friend for more than 50 years lives on the coast of Oregon and has a very different lifestyle, I suspect from most here. Also originally from CT, Richard. He and his family hunts and fishes as a regular, normal way to eat most of the year. Has been a "licensed" falconer, meaning able to trap and keep birds for most of those years. Ive hunted (dare I use that word - the bird was) with him with Red Tail, Peregrine and his last I recall was a Prairie Falcon. Have seen how the Pergerine does its thing, stooping, colliding onto the target mid flight, feathers flying everywhere. What he has gone through to get birds is the stuff of a pretty cool book, for someone to write. He loves optics. But may be the best naked eye birder Ive ever known. We were in North Carolina together for a year or so. Driving back country roads while driving he would spot and ID raptors, while I was wondering what, where, huh? Getting the Red Tail is a story for another day...
I hope this thread continues, there is some pretty useful information to be gleaned. Range finders will be necessary to avoid too much opinionating. I hope it does not descend into a contest of who sees birds further but rather whats actually the real distances we bird at and whats the real differences between say 8s and 10s rather than the usual hand shake thing, or the relevance of factory stated FOV, stuff like that.
Its clear Patudo and I have a different idea of what constitutes birding or maybe said better, we each choose to play the game differently. With no intent to criticize please, I get for some making an id at long distances could be a thing. I want to see the bird, close enough not just to identify but to see the colors, the markings, whats it doing. Let me see the red eye of a Cinnamon Teal, the Least Bittern spearing a fish while grasping the cattail, the Goldeneye with water droplets sparkling like diamonds in the sun light off its back, a double Crested Cormorant swallowing whole a Flounder, or a male Kestral with the little red cap on its head eating a field mouse in a treetop. How come the Wood Ducks looked so funky this summer? Oh they molt, go into phase called Eclipse, dont fly... Oh. None of which is seen with 8/10X binos much beyond a few hundred yards.
I hope this thread continues, there is some pretty useful information to be gleaned. Range finders will be necessary to avoid too much opinionating. I hope it does not descend into a contest of who sees birds further but rather whats actually the real distances we bird at and whats the real differences between say 8s and 10s rather than the usual hand shake thing, or the relevance of factory stated FOV, stuff like that.
Its clear Patudo and I have a different idea of what constitutes birding or maybe said better, we each choose to play the game differently. With no intent to criticize please, I get for some making an id at long distances could be a thing. I want to see the bird, close enough not just to identify but to see the colors, the markings, whats it doing. Let me see the red eye of a Cinnamon Teal, the Least Bittern spearing a fish while grasping the cattail, the Goldeneye with water droplets sparkling like diamonds in the sun light off its back, a double Crested Cormorant swallowing whole a Flounder, or a male Kestral with the little red cap on its head eating a field mouse in a treetop. How come the Wood Ducks looked so funky this summer? Oh they molt, go into phase called Eclipse, dont fly... Oh. None of which is seen with 8/10X binos much beyond a few hundred yards.
No offense. Maybe... I Wasnt there, obviously. Seems a few assumptions made. Part of the fun of birding. Would you record it on your list?
We have Bald eagles here. Have seen multiples patrolling mid reservoir about half the distance to opposite shore which is a little over 200 yards. Flash of light off white head and tail in the periphery of the view while studying a pair of Kestrals and a Mourning Dove in a tree just feet apart, alerted. Whew! Another time, same place, grand daughter and I had an immature 20 yards away, up a tree. Think it takes them 4 years or so to acquire the white head and tail. On this one, the wind was blowing just enough to raise the grey feathers on the back of the head, revealing the tiny tips of the emerging white feathers beneath.
Tom;
1. I only included that as a response to the posts about Peregrines at rather impressive distances. Otherwise, I would not have mentioned it.
2. I would not add Bald Eagle to my list if that was the only one I had ever seen.
3. The original intent of the thread was to compare what we can see at “normal” birding distances, using the “usual” binoculars that birders carry, no more, no less.
Since the whole point of our endeavor is to see birds and other wildlife, I thought this approach might be more relevant than some of the rather nebulous concepts we frequently discuss.
As a footnote, I will add that while observing over an open, grassy field, I can frequently see dragonflies. At ranges of 100 to 150 yards, if the angle is correct, I can easily see that they have four wings.
Also, at 130 yards I can tell that the flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace are not simple white discs. I can tell that they have structure, but its exact nature remains unresolved.
8X30W Habicht
R.
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The only bald eagle I've seen so far was from Manhattan tower of Brooklyn Bridge, scanning towards the near bank. It was an immature, so I had to note what I saw quite carefully, as I'm not familiar with American raptors and the temptation is always to see the bird you want to see. But it was a different shape and too big for a redtail (which I'd been seeing off and on) and although it did have whitish patches on the underside of its wings, the white in its wings was clearly not the distinct silvery primary feathers of a black vulture. The peregrines at the nearby 55 Water St nest site didn't react, as I thought they might - maybe the female was sitting and the male wasn't bothered.
For me identifying the other birds came as an outgrowth of my focus on watching peregrines. During the long periods the (supposedly) world's fastest bird is sitting on a perch doing precisely 0 mph, lots of other birds fly into your field of view, and I became interested in knowing what they were. When scanning the sky you learn to process anything that isn't the target species at a glance and ignore it (unless it's something unusually interesting, like my first bald eagle!), going from one to another until the right bird is found. So yes - I've had to learn to identify soaring birds at some considerable distance. But the objective for doing so is to see the target species doing something cool, which when they do makes up for the many hours of waiting and searching and hoping. I've said it before: if you confine yourself to observing no more than say 1km out, you will likely see only a fraction of the most spectacular behaviour that you could see from wild peregrines.
I every so often do some more regular birding, and in that situation fully agree that short(ish) distances let you see details of plumage etc much better. 8x is great for that, although a lot of the time I do still use 10x, partly out of familiarity, partly because it gives me a little closer look.
For me identifying the other birds came as an outgrowth of my focus on watching peregrines. During the long periods the (supposedly) world's fastest bird is sitting on a perch doing precisely 0 mph, lots of other birds fly into your field of view, and I became interested in knowing what they were. When scanning the sky you learn to process anything that isn't the target species at a glance and ignore it (unless it's something unusually interesting, like my first bald eagle!), going from one to another until the right bird is found. So yes - I've had to learn to identify soaring birds at some considerable distance. But the objective for doing so is to see the target species doing something cool, which when they do makes up for the many hours of waiting and searching and hoping. I've said it before: if you confine yourself to observing no more than say 1km out, you will likely see only a fraction of the most spectacular behaviour that you could see from wild peregrines.
I every so often do some more regular birding, and in that situation fully agree that short(ish) distances let you see details of plumage etc much better. 8x is great for that, although a lot of the time I do still use 10x, partly out of familiarity, partly because it gives me a little closer look.
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Mixed flock of Starlings and Cowbirds in top of tree 195 yards away.
Starlings identified by size, shape, and flight pattern. Otherwise they were silhouettes devoid of detail.
Cowbirds were identified by their clearly seen brown heads, otherwise indistinguishable.
Solid, thin overcast with very weak sunshine.
8X30W Habicht
Starlings identified by size, shape, and flight pattern. Otherwise they were silhouettes devoid of detail.
Cowbirds were identified by their clearly seen brown heads, otherwise indistinguishable.
Solid, thin overcast with very weak sunshine.
8X30W Habicht
I just spent 14 minutes watching a Cooper's Hawk perched in a tree 110-115 yards away. Differentiated from Sharpie by "small head". (I may have the ID backwards and wrong, as I find those two birds problematical. In any event, whichever it was, the next sentence stands, since their coloration and markings are virtually identical)
I could glimpse the markings on its breast about half the time, so they were just about at my limit for a combination of contrast and resolution. (faint and close together)
Habicht 8X30W
I could glimpse the markings on its breast about half the time, so they were just about at my limit for a combination of contrast and resolution. (faint and close together)
Habicht 8X30W
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