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There's nothing more frustrating than finally spotting that Goldfinch that you've been waiting to see, then fumbling with the focus on your binoculars as he flies away and you miss him. The same can go with small animals. The Audubon Society, the premiere source when it comes to all things birding, knows a thing or two about picking the right tools to do it, and that includes binoculars. Some tips from them about selecting the right binoculars are well worth some study before picking up a pair.

YOUR FIELD OF VIEW
Make sure that they have a wide enough field of view. This is especially true when you are trying to look at birds or small animals. If you are trying to watch a quick flying bird or a fast running rabbit, you will be moving your head very quickly to track it. You'll be much more able to keep track of the animal if your binoculars have a wide view, than if you have a narrow scope. Be realistic, no matter how quietly you sneak up on birds and animals, they are going to hear you and startle, taking off. You will need to follow them with the binoculars.

It's also important that your wide view have a bright image that's able to pick up subtle features, especially in dim lights like dusk, before sunrise or overcast conditions. Think about your own face too. If you wear glasses, make sure that the eye relief (that's where you put your eyes up to the view finder) is deep enough to accommodate your glasses and still let you have an unobstructed view.

BY THE NUMBERS
Binoculars come with all kinds of numbers, like 8X32, 10X40 or 8X21. You need to learn what they mean so you don't walk into the store and just by the biggest one because in America, bigger is better, right?

The first number relates to the magnification. Simply put, if there's an 8, it means that when you look through the lenses a tree, it will be 8 times larger than if you aren't looking through the lenses. Easy enough. But, there's sort of a catch. The larger your magnification, the narrower your field of view will become. The Audubon society does not recommend a magnification of 10 or greater, because of this. Sometimes, a larger number means that tiny body movements make it hard to hold the image steady too.

The second number refers to the size of the objective lens (in millimeters). In general, the bigger the ratio between the magnification and the objective lens, the sharper and brighter your images will be.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
If you're pretty serious about watching birds and animals, invest

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