How To Improve Your Binocular Skills

Birdwatching can be considered a sport. And like all sports, practice is needed to hone your skills. By practicing using your binoculars, you’ll be improving your ability to see the birds, crucial to successful birdwatching!

One drill to improve your binocular skills is the “reference point” drill: Find a focal point (a bright leaf, distant tree or certain spot on a building) with your naked eye and lock your eyes on it. Identify another feature or landmark nearby and note where your focal point is in relation to where the other feature or landmark is. Without moving your eyes from your focal point, bring your binoculars up to your eyes and into alignment with your view. Use your reference point to help get your binoculars into place. Many people have difficulty locating a bird using binoculars, even when the bird is stationary. Practicing this drill will improve your birdwatching abilities.

Another way to improve your binocular skills is the “quick drawl” drill: Identify something moving in the sky with your naked eye; a bird or a plane. Now, with your binoculars at your side, raise them as quickly as possible, find the target, and follow it across the sky. With practice, you’ll become proficient at quickly finding your target. This skill is important as birds are often only visible for a few seconds.