If you had trouble spotting any escaped Eurasian eagle-owls in Central Park over the weekend, a pair of binoculars might help. I own and love these waterproof ones from Nocs, currently almost half off as part of Nordstrom’s winter sale. Highly compatible with a chaotic city-birder lifestyle, they’re coated in a thick layer of rubber, which means they can be thrown into a tote bag or backpack and jostled around all day without fear of damage. They’re even small and light enough to fit into a crossbody or purse.
I’m as amateur a birder as they come and can attest that these are truly great for beginners or even kids (I recently gifted a pair to my neighbor’s son), being easy to grip and intuitive to adjust. Their 8x magnification (which means that objects will appear eight times larger) is unusually powerful for their price point, and they have a wide field of view. Nocs lenses are anti-reflective and anti-fog, and designed to twist out so that you can easily take smartphone photos through them. Which means that once you find Flaco, you can post about it.
Editor’s note: While this 8x pair has now sold out, you can still pick up Nocs’ 10x binoculars for half off here.
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