We Begin with Binoculars

We raced home from work tonight, grabbed our new binoculars and headed out to try to identify our first birds.

Here it is, our first entry in the log:

5:55 p.m.

Rock Pigeon

Rather a nondescript beginning, but we were working just before sundown and identified a moderately distant set of birds primarily by watching:

1. flight patterns
   
2. tail shapes
3. plumage (obscure view in the darkening sky)
   

Despite our awareness that these birds are probably the most common sighting possible, we felt pleased with ourselves.

We also determined that Gary's choice of binoculars (7x50 navigator style) is better for watching birds in flight, and my choice of binoculars (8x42 all-purpose style) is better for identifying details of birds sitting in a row above the roof of the Chinese restaurant.

And we have decided that we both need to get some practice using our respective binoculars before the spring migration gets going and things start happening fast around here!