Perfect for anyone Birds have become a high-flying draw. For example, membership in the American Birding Association has risen from 100 in 1970 to 20,456 in 1998. Three years ago, that figure was 15,012. What makes birdwatching so popular, according to Landre, is that anyone at any age can enjoy it and do so any time at any season. All you need is a pair of binoculars.
More experienced birders can add a field guide and a telescope to their ornithological repertoire.
The guide is particularly handy since it can help birders identify what they re seeing. The telescope, meanwhile, can give birders an even closer look. Some are so powerful you can read the identification numbers of the neck band on a Canada goose from 400 feet. These scopes come with a hefty price tag, though, entering the thousand-dollar range. The larger the field of view and the more detail they provide the better.