Father's Day Ideas

It's hard to know what to get Dad--what YOU want to give him or what HE thinks he needs.

Here's some ideas that will please you both--and lasts forever.



Vortex 8x42 Diamondback Binocular




Vortex 8x42 Viper HD Binocular




Vortex 8x42 Razor HD Binocular



An Odd Pair

Would you ever think these two birds related? They are! They are both Cuculids. Such different lifestyles: so different looking, but still of the same family.

Birds of the same family are typically easy to categorize. After all, a Carolina Wren looks like a Bewick’s Wren looks like a Marsh Wren. Similarly, a Carolina Chickadee looks like a Black Capped looks like a Chestnut Back Chickadee. Similarly, the Jays resemble each other. However, there is no such similarity between the cuckoo and the roadrunner.

All wrens tend to be insectivorous. Chickadees eat mainly insects, are fond of spider eggs but will eat sunflower seeds. Yet, when it comes to cuculids, the Yellow Billed Cuckoo enjoys a meal of caterpillars, and the Greater Roadrunner likes to dine on small lizards and snakes.

Further, if you want to see a cuckoo you would want to be looking up and generally in dense foliage. But the roadrunner is a ground dweller, flying only when absolutely necessary.

And if you want to be further thrown for a loop, consider the Anis. It, too, is a cuculid.



The New Wow

It’s getting to be the standard comment for anyone to whom I’ve shown the Viper: WOW!  Still, Vortex has upgraded this model.  Presenting the new Vortex Viper HD Binocular--the Wow just got louder.

One customer commented that he was a new birder. Having recently purchased the Viper HD 8x42s, he stated the optics were bright and sharp and the colors were vivid. The speed of the focus wheel was just right for him and its operation was smooth. The overall quality of the bin he pronounced excellent.

A second customer said “Just received my new HD Vipers and I am amazed at the clarity and detail that they produce - especially in low light conditions. I find them extremely smooth and quick to focus.”

The Viper HD Binocular is well worth a good look. Ah…yes…pun intended.

Ruby Throats

It has taken a long time to get any decent photos of these little dynamos.  I took these as a cold front moved through our area.  The temperature dipped form 94 degrees F to 52 degrees F in a couple of hours.  This was enough to slow down the activity making these photographs possible.  The promise of rain with this front did not really materialize. 

There are two hummingbird feeders up--one in front and one in back.  Both feeders get activity.  The back one has attracted a crowd with, at least, four hummers vying for the syrup at any one time.