Greetings,
Across much of North America, it is the time of massing
birds. Grackles, swallows, shorebirds, and others come
together in huge flocks as they flood southward. When a
flock of grackles swirls around our house, with the
sounds of thousands of birds, the excitement is
electrical.
| The Sparrows' Secrets |
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Looking like old, brown leaves, the white-throated sparrows sweep into my yard. There's a reason for them to look nondescript from overhead.
Their whistled, whispery song, Old Sam Peabody, fills me with nostalgia. The white-throated sparrow is a bird with secrets.
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| Ask Diane about Birdless Feeders |
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Dear Diane: The last couple of weeks, my feeders are birdless! I used to have tons of birds. How can I get them to come back? -- Ruth Brunner, Chicago, IL
The birds may just not need your feeders at the
moment. Wild food is abundant in the fall. But
there's a good reason to keep those feeders
full anyway.
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| Double Your Power |
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Screw or slip a doubler over one eyepiece, and
— voila! — your binocular
does
double
duty as a mini spotting scope.
Swarovski makes a doubler that fits their own binoculars, and Zeiss makes a tripler for theirs. An economical, universal doubler by Vortex Optics fits most 42mm binoculars.
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The photo of the lady in red is copyright 2007
Rudy Reinbacher.
The sparrow photo is
copyright 2007 Michael & Diane Porter.
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Why is this Woman Smiling? |
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Meet Chris, whose husband Rudy just gave her
a new
Vortex Viper binocular.
They called us at Birdwatching Dot Com for
advice on which binocular to get. We
recommended this
one for Chris because of its good optics,
wide field of
view, excellent eye relief for glasses, and
moderate
price.
Rudy sent us this photo and an email about
Chris's first
experiences with her new binocular.
Read the email... |
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