BIG DAY SUPPLIES By Mark McKellar As my friend John Burwell always says “The right tool for the right job”. This is so true for birding. If you want to maximize your birding pleasure, you need the proper equipment. Binoculars Birding magazine recently conducted a review to find the top mid-range binocular on the market. The Nikon Monarch 8X42s won the competition besting binoculars that were over $100 more. $309.99 Field Guide(s) Not all field guides are created equal and it is essential to have one that you like and is easy for you to use. It isn’t just a sales pitch when I say that it is rare for a birder to have only one or two field guides with them on a day of birding. $20 to $30 Record Keeping You will need a system for recording your birds. Some use a microcassette player, other little pieces of paper. I would suggest an ABA Field Checklist (59 cents) or the ultimate field checklist, field guide and bird song ID system all rolled up into one - Handheld Birds for your Palm device. $199.99 or $449.99 w/Palm Pilot Spotting Scope Spotting scopes are essential to identifying birds at a distance. Shorebirds, ducks, hawks and others can be quite shy so you are generally viewing in them from a far. $499.99 to $1399.99

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