Bruce Webb, retired biologist and freelance photographer from California, was among the first to test our new 115-mm objective module. Follow him to his favourite birding spots in Western Placer County, California und see what he experienced thanks to this extraordinary magnification.
Finding the needle in the haystack at Folsom Lake
“Situated in the lowest foothill elevation of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this very large lake is a major attraction for winter flocks of gulls and five species of grebes. To distinguish the subtle differences between similar Clark’s and Western grebes at a distance under cloudy winter skies requires a high resolution spotting scope. The most challenging identifications are sorting through the mixed species flocks of thousands of gulls that arrive late in the waning light of dusk to roost on the lake. The 115-mm objective module by SWAROVSKI OPTIK gives added brightness to find the needle in the haystack and document the rarer gulls on the water even after the sun drops below the horizon.”
“THE HUGE DIAMETER 115 OBJECTIVE GIVES ME ADDITIONAL BRIGHTNESS AND RESOLUTION FOR DIGISCOPING RARITIES."
Observing raptors at Nader Road
“One of the fastest disappearing habitats in Northern California is open country grasslands. Many landowners convert grasslands to nut orchards. Nader Road cuts through our last remaining easy-accessible grassland where we can find our winter raptors such as Golden and Bald eagles, Ferruginous and Rough-legged hawks plus fast-flying American kestrels, Merlins and Prairie falcons. All these raptors and the melodious Western meadowlarks love to perch atop the wooden fence posts along the roadsides. The fences keep the range cattle in. Grasslands are compatible with the cattle, ground squirrels and raptors alike. Using the 115-mm objective module with the 30-70 power of the ATX gives the most brilliant views possible to enjoy the finest details of our disappearing birds of prey.”
About
Bruce Webb
Bruce Webb is a retired biologist, freelance photographer and passionate birder from California. Besides birds, he loves butterflies and nature photography in general. Nature is his “source of finding inner peace and tranquility”. A gray body ST80 spotting scope with a 20-60 eyepiece was his first SWAROVSKI OPTIK product. He will now use the 115-mm objective module especially for gull watching at his favorite lake. However: “I expect a queue of my birding friends will form for looks through my revolutionary 115-mm objective module.”
