Love this! Kestrels are so beautiful! I remember seeing one hover over a field for the first time and now I always look for them on power lines and fence posts. Another tiny but mighty jewel of the bird world! 💜💜
"In comparison, my coffee suddenly seems like decaf." Sophie, in the midst of your elegant, apt description of kestrels' aerial antics that nearly defy words, you tuck in this little jewel of a sentence, making us smile in the midst of your substack! Thank you so much! :) I'll never forget watching an adult kestrel defend a nest, diving repeatedly at a magpie...I can't find my notes, but I'm pretty sure it made over 100 swooping dives in a very short time! They certainly can put our morning caffeine to shame! Thanks again!
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Russell! Thank you for letting me know! Your question about binoculars is a tricky one because so much depends on how much you want to spend, how large/heavy (often better optics) or small/light you want to go, etc. A friend of mine recently bought a tiny pocket pair so he can easily tuck them into a shirt pocket while he's walking. These smaller binoculars used to not have great quality optics, but you can get some very good ones now! Here are two links that I think are really helpful when deciding about binoculars. The first ranks all sorts of binoculars by quality and price. The site also has some really useful info on how to choose binoculars: https://www.audubon.org/gear/binocular-guide
If you haven't been carrying binoculars around on your walks, I'm excited for the new dimension you might enjoy if you do! Let me know how it works out for you!
Such beautiful, inspiring, sensitive and substantative writing Sophie!
You are so kind and generous to say so! I love sharing these little bird missives with you!
Love this! Kestrels are so beautiful! I remember seeing one hover over a field for the first time and now I always look for them on power lines and fence posts. Another tiny but mighty jewel of the bird world! 💜💜
Tiny and mighty jewels indeed! : )
"In comparison, my coffee suddenly seems like decaf." Sophie, in the midst of your elegant, apt description of kestrels' aerial antics that nearly defy words, you tuck in this little jewel of a sentence, making us smile in the midst of your substack! Thank you so much! :) I'll never forget watching an adult kestrel defend a nest, diving repeatedly at a magpie...I can't find my notes, but I'm pretty sure it made over 100 swooping dives in a very short time! They certainly can put our morning caffeine to shame! Thanks again!
Another beautiful tribute to the birds that surround us! And, as usual, a great set of suggestions helping those birds! Thank you!
Thank you, Micki! Some of our most common birds are just standouts!
Sophie, I loved this issue! Also, what's a good pair of binoculars to carry around? Thank you!
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Russell! Thank you for letting me know! Your question about binoculars is a tricky one because so much depends on how much you want to spend, how large/heavy (often better optics) or small/light you want to go, etc. A friend of mine recently bought a tiny pocket pair so he can easily tuck them into a shirt pocket while he's walking. These smaller binoculars used to not have great quality optics, but you can get some very good ones now! Here are two links that I think are really helpful when deciding about binoculars. The first ranks all sorts of binoculars by quality and price. The site also has some really useful info on how to choose binoculars: https://www.audubon.org/gear/binocular-guide
The second link (to an article co-authored by another friend) ranks some pocket-sized binoculars, which might work well for someone who walks as much as you do! This was the article my friend who just bought pocket binoculars used to help him decide which binoculars would work best for him. It's a long link (sorry!): https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/pocket-binocular-review-our-search-for-the-best-tiny-binoculars/?utm_campaign=Lab%20eNews%202024&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=317493087&utm_content=317493087&utm_source=hs_email
If you haven't been carrying binoculars around on your walks, I'm excited for the new dimension you might enjoy if you do! Let me know how it works out for you!
Thank you so much, Sophie! These resources are amazing!