For over fifteen years our store has been an authorized Swarovski dealer, selling binoculars, spotting scopes and tripods. Imagine my delight when I received an invitation two months ago from Swarovski Optik to attend an all-expense paid trip to Texas to participate in the unveiling of a revolutionary new product.
When I was a young man, the binoculars I used were inexpensive and poor quality—those two traits kind of go hand-in hand when it comes to optics. As I got older, I gradually got better pairs of optics, but it wasn’t until 2009 that I got my first pair of Swarovski binoculars.
Birders, like myself, demand a lot from their optics. We want a crisp, clear image, a wide field of view, excellent light gathering, and color fidelity. The year I got my first pair of Swarovski binoculars was the same year I went on a bird watching trip to South Africa. Having quality glass made a significant difference in the experience I had observing hundreds of new bird species for the first time.
Since that first pair of Swarovski’s in 2009 I have continued to gradually upgrade my optical equipment with newer, better Swarovski models. When I received the invitation to be part of the pre-launch event, I was very excited. It was a great honor to be chosen as one of only ten dealers in the United States and Canada to participate in this event.
I arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas on Monday of this week. Tuesday was the first full day of learning about the new product, and actually having the opportunity to use it out in the field, bird watching. Unfortunately, the product is not going to be released to the public until January 9th, so I cannot disclose the nature of the product at this time.
We are staying on a barrier island (Mustang Island), along the gulf coast of Texas, directly opposite Corpus Christi Bay. In the short amount of time I have been here I have already seen over eighty different bird species. I haven’t seen anything “new”, and that is okay. Honestly, I still get excited seeing birds that I haven’t seen in a long time.
Some of the better observations have been American flamingo, a least bittern, snowy and piping plovers, five species of terns; Caspian, royal, Forster’s, sandwich and gull-billed, and five species of gulls; ring-billed, lesser black-backed, Franklin’s, laughing, and herring.
The sheer number of birds here is pretty amazing. I have seen thousands of redhead ducks, and so many herons, egrets, shorebirds and sandpipers. It is really hard to put into words the habitat here—there is water everywhere—which is very different from Prescott.
I kind of had to chuckle because on Sunday I saw two American white pelicans at Watson Lake—in Prescott—and the very next day I was looking at American White Pelicans here in Texas! While we don’t have a lot of water in Prescott, bird species find the habitat that meets their foraging behavior and food needs.
I will be participating in the exclusive pre-launch event for several more days, and I am confident my species count will go up a lot over the next few days. I am using eBird to enter my bird sightings, and I’m also using eBird to receive email alerts of rare birds being seen in the area.
There is currently a cattle tyrant, a type of flycatcher, in the county where we are staying. This is apparently a new bird for North America, as its normal range is in the tropics. Hopefully we’ll try and see it tomorrow!
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Vortex and Swarovski optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
