Tweeters,



We found 2 Snowy Owls on the dike viewed from the very end of Thomle Road
outside of Stanwood. We failed to spot one on Jetty Island today.



Tina and I were taking my new mini-scope for business trip birding out for a
test drive. For anyone that needs a tiny scope for business travel, the
Nikon FieldScope 12-30x50 ED is superb. It is only 12" long and weighs a
whopping 1 lbs. and is waterproof and nitrogen filled. The view at 30x was
not as good as our Swarovski's; but, it was much better than I expected from
such a tiny scope. With a monopod, it worked great at 20x. At 25x it
started to get shaky. At 30x, in the wind, and with me shivering a bit, the
monopod was just not usable. As it and the monopod are small enough to fit
in my carryon, I'll be adding more shorebirds to my world list now.



Happy New Year!



Rick



Rick Taylor

Everett, WA 98208