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Birdwatching Dot Com is about wild birds and the sport of birding. It's for everyone
who's interested in bird watching and enjoying nature.
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BIRD BRAIN FOR THE MAC |
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BIRD BRAIN 7.1
World Birding Database for the Mac
New version Bird Brain 7.1 is now available!
You can download a FREE TRIAL.
Bird Brain is a birding database for Macintosh computers.
Use Bird Brain to record your sightings and keep your life list, photos, QuickTime movies, notes, and other files.
 Enter any amount of information with each record.
Bird Brain makes all kinds of life lists. It creates checklists and target lists for over 200 nations and any US state or Canadian province. Nearly any kind of bird report you can think up, Bird Brain will create.
We can do a custom import of your AviSys data to Bird Brain for $20.
Read more about Bird Brain...
Buy Bird Brain |
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NEW REVIEW by MICHAEL & DIANE |
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Affordable 8x42 Binoculars
 Michael & Diane Porter and a team of Iowa birders test, compare, and report on 13 birding binoculars that sell from about $200 to $300.
Read how the judges rated each binocular, and read how to audition a binocular for yourself.
See the whole article.
This review also appears in the July, 2016 issue of Bird Watcher's Digest.
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CLASH OF THE TITANS |
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Comparing the 3 top binoculars
Birdwatching Dot Com looks at
Swarovski EL Swarovision
Leica Ultravid HD Plus
Zeiss
Victory SF
This review by Michael & Diane Porter also appears in the July, 2015 issue of Bird Watcher's Digest.
Read the complete review |
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GUEST PHOTO
Great Blue Heron by Joseph Stanski |
 Photo copyright 2016 Joe Stanski
See full image
On a July afternoon, Joseph Stanski found this Great Blue Heron at the marsh by Lamson Woods in Fairfield, Iowa, and took its photo. This is just part of the image. To see the whole picture, click here.
Thank you, Joseph, for permission to share your beautiful photo with visitors to Birdwatching Dot Com.
ou can see many of Joe's Iowa landscapes, garden scenes, and barns at Iowa Landscapes Galleries.
See past guest photos |
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New SWAROVSKI POCKET BINS |
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Swarovski CL Pocket - NEW!
 Swarovski's new pocket binocular is good enough to use as a birder's full-time binocular. See Michael and Diane's hands-on review. |
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BIRDING STARTER KIT |
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 Here are the essentials for a successful start in bird watching. We offer several Birdwatching Starter Kits at a range of prices.
A great favorite is the Better Birdwatching Starter Kit, with a Shrike binocular, a field guide to help you identify the birds you see, and our own DVD, How to Start Watching Birds. |
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THIS MORNING OUTSIDE
with Diane |
Five Ruby-throated Hummingbirds zizzed around me in the Coral Nymph salvia. Every one of them wanted exclusive rights to the whole patch of blossoms.
This may be my last hummingbird image of the year in Iowa. Each day that I still find them is a gift. Gift of the Coral Nymph.
See full picture
Want more?
To see more episodes of This Morning Outside with Diane, click the picture matrix. |
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CLOSEST-FOCUSING BINOCULAR |
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 Pentax Papilio
Want to watch butterflies up close? The Pentax Papilio focuses as close as 18 inches! Also works at distance, so it's good for birds, too.
It's a low-cost binocular to extend your enjoyment of nature. Compact. Lightweight.
Comes in 8.5x21 ($129.95) and 6.5x21 ($109.95). |
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LATEST NEW INFO ON TRIPODS |
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TRIPOD KITS 2016
 There's a bewildering number of tripods and heads. So we studied and tested them. Here are the best solutions for birders.
They range from affordable aluminum to top-line Gitzo carbon fiber. Each matched to the right head. Something for every price range. |
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BINOCULAR FAVORITES |
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Our Binocular Faves
Michael and Diane's personal picks in binoculars, from the least expensive good binoculars to the ultimate in high-end optics. Many come with free shipping. |
HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS |
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Bring beauty to your backyard
 See the well-named Jewel Box hummingbird feeder, or the tiny Gem hummingbird feeder, and many more. Our personal selection of feeders that are easy to clean and attractive both to hummers and to people. |
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OTHER OPTICS REVIEWS |
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Pocket Binocular Reviews
Nov. 2013 Birdwatching Dot Com exclusive
Here are links to our reviews of compact binoculars of a variety of prices, and an overview of what a birder hopes to find in a good pocket binocular.
See our review.
Best-of-the-best Bins Review
May, 2012 Bird Watcher's Digest
We review high-end binoculars in the 8x42 size class, selling for $600 and up. Review includes exciting new 2nd-tier binoculars by Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leica. See our review.
Mid-priced Binoculars Review, by Michael & Diane Porter, from January, 2012, Bird Watcher's Digest, covers 8x42 binoculars with street prices between $200 and $600.
Mid-sized Binoculars Review, by Michael & Diane Porter, from November, 2010, Bird Watcher's Digest, takes a look at 34 8x32 binoculars.
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