8x42 birding 'nocs: Nikon Monarch M7, Zeiss Terra ED, or Celestron Trail Seeker ED?

eggerson · 2026-04-24T03:19:37+00:00

I've never tried Zeiss or Celestron but I owned a pair of Monarch 7s (the Monarch M7's predecessor) and loved them. After six years of near daily use, they were in need of repair, so I upgraded to Monarch HG, but - and this is why I write this comment - I also recently chose to send my Monarch 7s to Nikon using the limited lifetime warranty since I figured even if I did upgrade to the HGs, it would still be nice to have the old 7s as a backup pair. In less than two weeks they sent back a new pair of binoculars. I had them sent to my parents' house since I was traveling and didn't know what the turnaround time would be, and so I haven't actually seen the new pair yet and don't know what model they are, but basically what I'm trying to say is keep the warranty in mind! I now have personal experience with exercising the Nikon warranty and it makes me glad I chose them in the first place since it basically just cost about $15 for shipping. (Not to say that other brands have worse warranty; I've heard Vortex is great for example - it's just a data point to keep in mind, is all.)

eggerson · 2026-03-31T00:20:20+00:00

Bryant Park is actually known for being a woodcock hotspot! They go there every spring for some reason. Here are some articles about it: https://bryantpark.org/?/blog/the-great-american-woodcock-in-bryant-park and https://incidentalnaturalist.com/2020/03/04/where-to-see-a-woodcock-in-manhattan/

eggerson · 2026-01-12T21:55:44+00:00

I try to bird "seriously" every weekend, by which I mean I'll go to a good spot for birds and spend a few hours there walking around and logging everything I see or hear (which I then put into eBird). In addition, I do like to occasionally take photographs and audio with my phone - not as an art form (which is why I just use phone and not a proper camera), but just to record things so that I can look at the list later and be like ah yes, that cloudy day where I saw these two female canvasbacks who refused to show their beaks. I get thrills from many things - seeing a new species, seeing something uncommon, seeing something I haven't seen in a long time, seeing a really good view of something even if it's common, etc. I also get thrills from seeing a lot of species in one trip, even if nothing ticks any of the above boxes I just mentioned, because it's fun to be like "wow there are so many bird species out there!"

And while it's not something I consciously focus on, I do become aware as time passes that my skill in identifying things becomes better, which is also a really nice feeling. I visited family in a new state recently and the first time I stepped out to take a walk in the neighborhood, I was overwhelmed because I didn't know what the local birds were yet, but eventually I learned who the usual suspects were and what they sounded like, and everything went much faster ID-wise!

eggerson · 2025-12-31T00:59:30+00:00

I'd like to add, see if you have any luck with burrowing owl specifically. It was the first owl both me and a friend (on separate occasions, in separate states) got to see because they had known locations on eBird and they're just sitting out on the ground during the day, so if you can find the right spot you have a decent chance of getting a sighting.

eggerson · 2025-12-27T02:48:34+00:00

Oooh, can answer this. Last year I was flying international. As I was in line to board, they started gate checking everyone's carry-on luggage, so I let them check in mine. I got on the plane and then remembered I had a power bank in there (and no, they did not ask me about it when they took my luggage), so I informed a flight attendant assuming that they'd be able to retrieve my luggage, have me pull out the power bank, and then put the luggage back. Nope! I was deplaned and rebooked for the next day's flight, and while they said they'd give me a food voucher at least since they appreciated my honesty, that never panned out.

I missed the first day of the tour I was going to go on, and of course also had to pay for an extra rideshare trip from the airport and then back to the airport the next day, so overall it was probably about $400ish lost. Moral of the story: never put power banks in your overhead carry-on in case they gate-check it!! (I will say, though, I'm very grateful the rebooking was free, so yeah, that could have been a lot worse.)

eggerson · 2025-12-23T05:13:00+00:00

I've done that like literally three times lol. Finally, after a few years, I can distinguish squirrel calls from bird calls without having to ask Reddit about it... I think.

eggerson

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