Birding 101

Welcome to Halifax River Audubon and our Fall bird watching class. Thanks for signing up. This web page will be you go to site for information about the class, including field trips. After each class session, presentations and class materials will be available here for review. Reference materials will be posted here and links to useful bird information on the web. 

Class does not begin until October, but there are lots of thing here that you can review to kick start your discovery of birds and birding:)

Binocular Information

Choosing binoculars can be a daunting process for beginning birders and veterans alike. Past classes have had many questions about this very import tool.  Here are some links that provide information about binoculars and explain what the specifications mean to performance. We are providing these links for your information and do not endorse one brand over the other. During the field trips we will have several guides on hand that can share their experiences in finding the right binoculars.

These links are small articles about binoculars...

From Time & Optics 

Binocular Buying Guide

This link is an excellent video from Adventure Education. It's casually produced, but it covers all of the bases.

For many years a company called Eagle Optics provided a point of sale at bird festivals all across the United States. They have since closed up shop, but their excellent videos live on in YouTube. It's like a small course on Optics, with each video focusing on one aspect of binocular design.

Magnification - What do the numbers mean?

Aperture

Exit Pupil

Fit & Focus

Eye Relief

Optical Quality

Binocular Care