wildlife observation Archives

Best Binoculars for 2022

Posted on September 2, 2022December 15, 2022 Camille Smith

Whether you’re observing wildlife on the lake, identifying constellations in the night sky, or just getting a close-up view of your surroundings, it’s essential to own a solid pair of binoculars. Depending on the activity, different features will be more important. For example, those interested in astronomy will want to pick binoculars with large objective lenses which produce powerful light-gathering abilities. However, for regular everyday use, you’ll want lighter binoculars with decent magnification. No matter your purpose, we’ve got a recommendation for you! Check out our top five best binoculars for Summer 2022.

Best for Day Hikes

For all those relaxing daytime hikes near your lake house, we recommend the Pentax AD 8 x 25 WP. There is nothing too glamorous about this pair. They’re not designed for serious birding or for examining subjects with precise detail. Rather, their assets are their compactness, waterproof coating, and relative inexpensiveness. They also have a multi-layer coating to ensure maximum light transmission.

Best for Spotting Wildlife

The Swarovski Optik SLC Series is an excellent option for viewing wildlife. At a higher price point, it’s certainly a worthwhile investment. The company that manufactures these binoculars created a signature quality lens called Swarovision, which offers a wider view for better peripheral vision. Another asset of the Swarovski is the sharp color and clear vision — perfect for getting detailed, up-close pictures of the wildlife in your backyard. Built with durable materials, these binoculars are also wear-and-tear resistant, so you can enjoy the views for years to come.

Best for Turbulent Weather

If a little stormy weather doesn’t stop you from looking out at nature, you’ll want to try the Athlon Optics Midas MD. These durable binoculars can sufficiently withstand humidity, dust, and intense weather conditions. Further, its focus dial can adjust reliably across a wide range of depths, allowing for sharp, close-up views. Its advanced coated lenses allow for better light transmission as well. And of course, given its design to withstand less-than-ideal weather circumstances, these binoculars are waterproof.

Best for Stargazing

Admiring the night sky is one of the great perks of owning a lake home. Away from the city, you can find much brighter constellations. For getting an even clearer view, the Canon 10X42L IS WP is a perfect choice. Due to the gyro-stabilization feature, they achieve an anti-wobble effect. According to Space.com’s review, this feature makes you “feel like they’re being held on an invisible tripod.” The downside to these binoculars is their bulkier weight, which is true for most binoculars designed for nighttime use.

Best for Sitting in Nature

For everyday use, the Olympus 10×42 Pro is a great choice for simply observing the natural world around you. Compared to other binoculars, these are relatively compact, lightweight, and versatile. With top-notch high-performance optics, they have amazing close-up abilities. Specifically, you can look at subjects as close as 1.5m away. Further, they’re waterproofed and nitrogen filled which prevents fogging. Although the power isn’t quite as strong as more heavy-duty binoculars, they are perfect for everyday use.

From wildlife to constellations, there’s no shortage of astounding aspects of nature. With these top binoculars for summer 2022, you can get a close-up view of all of it.

How to Identify Birds

Posted on September 14, 2021October 22, 2021 Camille Smith

Recently, I went bird watching for the first time. While I was struggling to use the zoom function on the binoculars, my friend (an avid birdwatcher) demonstrated a keen attention to every bird’s movement. Within seconds, she was able to identify each species we came across. I was impressed with her ability to ID these flighty creatures. But by the end of the morning, I had learned a few basics.

If you enjoy bird watching at your lake house, but haven’t yet gained expertise like my friend, it’s easy to build up this skill without relying on books. The most experienced audubon society members know that there’s four basic categories of bird identification: size and shape, coloring, behavior, and habitat. And while field guides can be helpful, birds are constantly in motion. By the time you pull out the Sibley Guide to Birds, they could be gone. To make better in-the-moment identifications, we’re going over these fundamental determinants of bird species.

Size and Shape

The first way to quickly narrow down a bird’s species is by looking at its size. Of course, size is relative, so it can be helpful to compare birds with familiar objects. For instance, pencils (small birds), 12-inch rules (medium sized birds) and bread loafs (large birds) can be useful points of reference. Keep in mind that your proximity to the bird can also skew your perception of distance. If a bird is sitting in a far-off tree, it will appear smaller than the one at your feet. With experience, you’ll be able to determine bird sizes with more accuracy!

A bird’s shape is also important to keep in your notes. Even if two birds are similar in size, no two will have the exact same shape. Take note of the bird’s general form — does it have a particularly long beak? An extended neck? These aspects are often unique to the bird’s species.

Colors

Photo courtesy of Robert Katzki on Unsplash

Some birds have distinctive coloring, and they’re often named after these unique shades (think: blue jays, goldfinch, red footed falcon, etc). Scientifically speaking, these vibrant pigments are due to carotenoids, which play a key role in birds’ ability to reproduce and communicate. In turn, for bird watchers, coloring is a key component of identification.

Besides the basic colors, be on the lookout for “field marks.” These are very specific markings that will help you identify a bird more quickly. For example, does the bird have white spots on its wings? An eyebrow stripe? A throat patch? Pay close attention to these often colorful markings to make a more accurate judgement.

Behavior

There’s more to bird identification than meets the eye. In addition to noticing how a bird looks, you should pay equal attention to what it’s doing. The best way to pick up this skill is to watch birds for a prolonged period of time. Even if a bird is common, continue observing it and notice its behaviors. For instance, is it hopping like a sparrow? Scaling up a tree like a woodpecker? Or searching for seeds in the underbrush like a swallow? When you learn each bird’s unique habits and mannerisms, you’ll be able to identify birds much faster.

Habitat

Although birds are known to migrate, thus shifting their habitat based on the season, their general habitats remain the same. For example, great blue herons are known to love bodies of water, and red eyed vireos love forest treetops. However, you’d be unlikely to see one of them in the other’s location. Pay attention to where this species is spending its time.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of ways to identify birds. Other clues include seasonality, voice, flight pattern, and feeding style. However, starting with these basic determinants can help you get started! For more inspiration, continue checking out the Lake Homes blog for other bird-related pieces, and consider joining a bird watching group through the National Audubon Society. You’ll be ID-ing birds like an expert in no time!

5 Reasons Not to Feed Wildlife

Posted on September 4, 2021September 2, 2021 Camille Smith

Photo courtesy of Sheila Fitzgerald via The Bulletin

It’s a quintessential image — a sunny day, a lake full of ducks, and families with children feeding pieces of bread to the animals. This idea may seem completely harmless; after all, the animals are happy, you get closer to nature, so what’s the problem? However, before you toss your leftovers towards the lake, consider these five reasons that feeding wildlife may not be the best idea.

You Could Get Injured

Besides putting up bird feeders during the winter months, you should steer clear of feeding any wildlife. Instead, animals should be observed from a safe distance. This is especially crucial with larger animals with lake habitats such as deer and elk. In 2018, one woman in Cortlandt New York suffered several injuries from attempting to feed a male white-tailed deer. For many of these animals, humans are seen as a threat, and your approaching them with food could provoke a defensive attack. By staying back and watching them, you’re keeping yourself safe and minimizing any disturbance of nature.

Animals Could Get Injured

Besides the risk of human injury, feeding wildlife leaves animals more vulnerable to injury and fatalities as well. In general, animals are most safe in their natural wild habitats where they can steer clear of risks that accompany proximity to humans. One of the biggest risks is roads — one of the major causes of wildlife mortality is being hit by a moving vehicle. When feeding wildlife, many people encourage animals to come close to roads, cross roads, or enter parking lots. Although it’s done under the guise of helping animals, this coercion actually leaves these creatures more exposed to danger.

Human Food Isn’t Healthy For Animals

Many people assume that by feeding wildlife, you’re helping the animals get their nutrients for the day. When animals are used to foraging for food, they might appreciate a nice meal from a human. But while the ducks by the shoreline may look like they’re enjoying those breadcrumbs, their digestive system tells a different story. Animals do not need “people food” to survive, and their bodies aren’t built to absorb it. Over time, this can have disastrous consequences. When animals rely on human food, they might become dependent on people to survive, thus making them more vulnerable to humans in general — including those who mean harm. Their natural fear of people, which often helps them stay alive, should be preserved.

There are Public Health Concerns

Public health concerns are another key reason why you shouldn’t feed wildlife. Although human food is bad for wildlife, animals will tend to gravitate towards the most convenient food source available. If people are readily throwing bread crumbs, animals will follow the source. Over time, large groups of animals will clamor for the next piece of bread, creating “hangout” groups. But when too many animals are in one place, the chances of disease transmission to both humans and other wildlife increases. Plus, the overcrowding and competition for food elevates risk of fighting and injury among the same species.

What Can You Do Instead?

The impulse to feed wildlife makes sense. As nature-lovers, we want to see wildlife up close and in-person. However, there are other ways to have contact with wild animals that don’t cause harm. You could search local animal rehabilitation centers near your lake area. Volunteering is a great way to get involved in helping local species! You can also benefit wildlife by planting native plants in your backyard that fosters the ecosystem. At the end of the day, just remember that wild animals are just that — wild. As such, it’s our job to observe and appreciate them safely from a distance.

Fall Lake Activity: Spotting Wildlife

Posted on November 6, 2020November 9, 2020 Camille Smith

With winter just around the corner, we’re all trying to squeeze in the remaining months of enjoyable weather. In particular, autumn is the perfect time to enjoy the great outdoors at your lake house.

There’s Halloween and Thanksgiving’s seasonal charm, an array of beautiful fall leaves, and there’s exciting wildlife to spot. The next time you’re lounging in an Adirondack chair in your backyard this season, keep an eye out for these creatures!

Squirrels and Chipmunks

Wild chipmunk in a Boreal forest, North Quebec, Canada.
Photo courtesy of eekwi.org.

Perhaps one of the most common creatures you’ll find at your lake house is the squirrel. Squirrels are one of the quintessential animals of fall. They spend the entire season preparing for the long winter ahead. This preparation means “fattening up” and burying acorns all across your property. Once winter hits, you’ll find them digging up the acorns that they stashed in October.

Squirrels have the uncanny ability to smell their buried acorns beneath a foot of snow. What’s in store for the nuts they forget? They’ll eventually become trees in your backyard!

Peregrine Falcons

During autumn, spotting wildlife is not too difficult due to the influx of migrating birds heading south for the winter. One migratory species is the Peregrine falcon. Able to fly up to 200 miles per hour, these majestic birds are the fastest animal on earth.

Each fall, Peregrines travel to South America, and typically, they take a short break in South Florida before crossing the Gulf of Mexico on the remainder of their trip. If you own a lake house in the southern U.S., it’s worth making a Florida Keys trip to watch peak migration during October. Make sure to bring your binoculars!

Monarch Butterflies

Birds aren’t the only creatures that you’ll find migrating this season. According to the International Union for Conservation and Natural Resources, the monarch butterfly migration northward from Mexico each spring is a “threatened phenomenon.” Despite this endangered state, you’re still likely to spot these stunning butterflies on their journey back to Mexico in October. By November and December, they’ll have settled down, so be sure to enjoy them while you can!

Beavers

One advantage of spotting wildlife on the lake is getting double the possibilities of sightings with land and water creatures. During the fall, you may find adorable families of beavers around the shoreline of your lake or another nearby body of water. More than likely, they’ll be busy gnawing at a tree to build their dams.

It’s no wonder beavers are known as “nature’s engineers” as they’re masterfully skilled at constructing habitats. If you’re lucky enough to spot one, be sure to keep a safe distance. If you notice them slap their tail on the water, it’s a sign you’re too close.

Elk

If you own a lake house in the American west, you may be fortunate enough to spot an elk. These massive animals (the largest animal in the deer family) enjoy mountainous areas such as Yellowstone National Park. However, some elk herds have been found in more wooded areas.

If you’re hoping to find an elk during your next outdoor adventure, a piercing bugling noise may reveal this creature’s presence. During the fall mating season, male elk let out these high-pitched calls to attract females. October is part of peak bugling season, so keep your ears open!

Although we are in the midst of a pandemic, it’s provided an optimal time for lake-lovers like us to observe the natural world around us. Spotting wildlife at your lake house is a fun, timely hobby for the whole family. All you need is a camera, a pair of binoculars, and a keen sense of observation!