A clearer view of nature after too long with double vision

FOR too long the birds I have been trying to identify from afar have been blurry.

Their outlines often merged with surrounding vegetation, plumage colours appeared muted and they typically perched in overlapping pairs.

The reason was that my worn-out binoculars were no longer fit for purpose. The focussing was out, and a wonky eyepiece created a doublevision effect, meaning that I was often forced to shut one eye in order to get a clearer picture.

So I treated myself to a new pair, and I took them out for a test drive yesterday, holding off using them until I saw something decent to christen them with – and the first bird spied was a handsome male linnet and a female alongside holding a strand of dry grass and hinting that it was time to start thinking about building a nest.

The difference in clarity was so remarkable it was a wonder I had put up with such foggy bird views for so long. But then I always like to make sure things are well and truly broken before buying new and the trouble with optics is that they can’t easily be mended with sticky tape.

There are innumerable binocular brands on the market, with high prices for the very best, but I prefer something rough and ready and went for an RSPB pair. Typical magnification is 8x and 10x and this time around I chose the more powerful of the two, with a wide field of vision, and was pleasantly surprised that they were not that much heavier than the smaller and weaker pair I had been used to.

I have looked through top brand binoculars, and this RSPB pair seemed just as good for their modest price.

So now I can’t blame my tools for getting identification wrong. And can enjoy getting things right as well – linnets they were, not unusually fuzzy sparrows with pink feathers.

Getty There are innumerable binocular brands on the market, with high prices for the very best