Birding on board?

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Duffer

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I have a good pair of 7 x 50 binoculars on board but I wonder if any of you are keen birdwatchers and also have a spotting telescope for use in those quiet estuary or river anchorages?

They vary from under £100 to several hundred+ and most have a zoom facility, e.g. 12-36 x 50 or the larger 15-45 x 60. Larger and smaller sizes are available but most will need some sort of tripod (I already have one for photography). Some scopes have a straight eyepiece and others have them angled up at 45 degrees.

Any advice on what zoom range/size/type of eyepiece is most suitable for use on board would be much appreciated.

This link gives an idea of what is available: http://www.binocularoutlet.co.uk/product/sscope1.html There is a huge choice with many other manufacturers and suppliers.
 
Use on board, unless the weather is incredibly quiet, would be quite impossible with my telescope, even on its very substantial tripod. I find 7 x 50 binoculars to be just about the maximum that can be coped with aboard. I have borrowed some 10 x 50 but found it almost impossible to use them. Walk ashore with the telescope by all means but I doubt you will manage afloat. Unless you have an extremely large motor yacht or catamaran, of course.
 
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I bought a set of Canon IS 10 x 30 which turned out to be no use at sea as the stabilization couldn't come with the motion of a light multihull. OTOH they are brilliant for use in harbour and for bird watching on land. The 12x and 15x models are a lot more expensive but might suit your purpose.
 
vyv_cox said:
Use on board, unless the weather is incredibly quiet, would be quite impossible with my telescope, even on its very substantial tripod. I find 7 x 50 binoculars to be just about the maximum that can be coped with aboard. I have borrowed some 10 x 50 but found it almost impossible to use them. Walk ashore with the telescope by all means but I doubt you will manage afloat. Unless you have an extremely large motor yacht or catamaran, of course.
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I am really thinking only of using a scope in very quiet weather i.e. virtually a flat calm. I have a 30 odd foot monohull so if the boat is swinging around or there is any motion I agree it probably wouldn't be any good. I think YM tested night vision scopes - does anyone remember what magnification these were?
 
snowleopard said:
I bought a set of Canon IS 10 x 30 which turned out to be no use at sea as the stabilization couldn't come with the motion of a light multihull. OTOH they are brilliant for use in harbour and for bird watching on land. The 12x and 15x models are a lot more expensive but might suit your purpose.
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Yes I once tried a pair and didn't get on with them at all. It is possible that they were somehow defective however.
 
I find that only a slight magnification is needed. But hey! We're all built different.

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snowleopard said:
I bought a set of Canon IS 10 x 30 which turned out to be no use at sea as the stabilization couldn't come with the motion of a light multihull. OTOH they are brilliant for use in harbour and for bird watching on land. The 12x and 15x models are a lot more expensive but might suit your purpose.
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I have a pair of the 10x30 on a monohull and find the extra stability of the IS sytem to be quite helpful. It doesnt make a startling difference but its enough to be worthwhile.
 
LadyInBed said:
Birding on board?

SWMBO likes looking at our little feathered friends, I'm more for the canine!
I've never thought of doing it from the boat though :eek:
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Yesterday I anchored in Cawsands (Plymouth Sound) and it was too jiggly for the type of scopes I'm talking about (thanks to mobos etc) but today up the Tamar in a flat calm with drying mudflats there are plenty of birds about - herons, egrets, curlews, oystercatchers etc - and a higher magnification would be good. I'm just not sure how much bigger would be practical.
 
Birdwatching on board.

Duffer said:
I have a good pair of 7 x 50 binoculars on board but I wonder if any of you are keen birdwatchers and also have a spotting telescope for use in those quiet estuary or river anchorages?

They vary from under £100 to several hundred+ and most have a zoom facility, e.g. 12-36 x 50 or the larger 15-45 x 60. Larger and smaller sizes are available but most will need some sort of tripod (I already have one for photography). Some scopes have a straight eyepiece and others have them angled up at 45 degrees.

Any advice on what zoom range/size/type of eyepiece is most suitable for use on board would be much appreciated.

This link gives an idea of what is available: http://www.binocularoutlet.co.uk/product/sscope1.html There is a huge choice with many other manufacturers and suppliers.
Click to expand...

7X50 wide angle binoculars (7,5 degrees)without stabilisation would be my choice. A telescope with at least 60mm object lens. (70 or 80 would be better. Definately a 45 degree angle finder. Zoom from 15 - 60 magnification would be ideal. A pan & tilt tripod would be my choice for the scope.

Regards, lifelong birdwatcher.
 
Birding on board

I have access to a huge variety of binoculars and 'scopes including night sights and I have tried them all on board.
I do use a Canon 10x30 stabilised when at anchor and I can recommend them but anything
more powerfull is too wobbly. A straight or angled eyepiece telescope makes no difference
even at the lowest magnification they are too wobbly. I've tried a hide clamp fixed to the cockpit and a tripod in the cockpit but the slightest movement of the boat is too much.
Night sights usually have a comparitively low mag around 4 or 5x but can be fun in an estuary and useful when sailing at night but rather expensive and vunerable to damage
considering the few times they will be used. Having just crossed the Channel twice with half a moon, the trusty 7x50's were the right ones to use day and night.
 
I've cracked it! I'll get a scope to see our feathered friends when it is calm and also to spot Lakey's bow babes in the distance. I can then anchor next door and I won't even need my 7 x 50s!

PS LadyInBed, I believe Chris Packham also likes dog spotting.
 
Many thanks to Ron Dean and Actionoptics for their helpful replies. I think I will experiment with a budget scope which I can use at home if it is no good. I shall have to try the stabilised binos again as I think the pair I tried, although new, must have been seriously defective in some way. Incidentally 8x40 binos are a good bet for those who find big 7x50s too heavy for whatever reason.
 
Duffer said:
I shall have to try the stabilised binos again as I think the pair I tried, although new, must have been seriously defective in some way. .
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Dont expect too much. I like my Canon 10x30IS but the only real extra use is for things like seeing whether a big ship at a distance is flying an anchor ball, or reading off the names of yachts at a distance or the topmarks of cardinals. And to do that, you still need conditions to be reasonable - they wont cancel out big boat movements in (say) an F6.

In short a definite and worthwhile advantage but not a wonder product. Having bought them and used them for a season I would buy the same again if they fell overboard.
 
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