 When a bird of questionable identity appears in the tree outside your backyard window, will your binoculars reveal the features that identify the small bird as a female Cape May Warbler? |
Backyard Birding is always better when you have binoculars within reach to get a better look at a bird, or to verify a sighting of a species you rarely see at your feeding station or among your landscaping. Spring is the best time to use binoculars for that very reason. Lower magnification, wider field of view, close focus – these are all features you will want to emphasize when assessing binoculars for birding out your window at home or your office, or from your patio or deck.
Your backyard birding interests and field birding interests are likely to emphasize different binocular features. For field observations, you may want to emphasize a little more magnification: 8x or even 10x. At home, you’re probably already pretty close to the birds you want to get a better look at, so a 6x magnification may be optimal; but with a wide-angle field of view, an 8x will work well too. Overall, higher magnification will reduce your field of view, which is a more important consideration in home or backyard applications.
A wide angle view is essential at home. The birds are most likely to be close at hand, at or near your feeding station or water feature. A wide angle view will permit you to find the bird in question much easier through your binocular, and a lower magnification binocular will make finding that bird at close range easier too.
Some birders might be an interest in using compact binoculars at home – they are light-weight and take up less space when not in use, but compact binoculars would negate all the best options for backyard birding – namely lower magnification and a wider view. Compact binoculars almost never have a wide-angle view. You really want to select a binocular with a 40mm to 50mm objective lens to utilize a wide-angle field of view. Most compact binoculars have objective lenses in the 24mm to 30mm range, which translates into a very narrow field of view that makes it increasingly difficult to find the bird in question. The larger objective lenses will also serve you by providing brighter views of birds.
Close focus properties will be more important when viewing birds in your yard, and especially at your feeding station, so if you can focus to less than 10 feet, you will be well-served at home.
Any binoculars will be helpful in your yard, or while sitting in your living room or office, but you can improve your backyard birding experiences with the right optics. Choosing binoculars with a lower magnification, a wider field of view, and a close focus option will serve you best in your home or office.