Sky & Telescope September 1999 [antikvár]

^IRMFüZZYFEELING-ía-Ruitea: Mostly Alive"Junk" Opiits [or Slar-gajiiH) anil BiidiiiijspectrumRecycling ''Junk" Opticsir, cobra!" My bicycle-rickshaw driver's exclamation echoed ^^^ more surprise than caution, yet he sure got my attention! "You ^^ are very lucky, sir, to see a black cobra," he chortled as we continued our tour of Bharatpur, my favorite sanctuary in India. Sundar's spotting ability was truly amazing, all the more so because he didn't use any optical aid. Of course, he plies the same paths every day, so heknows where critters are likely to be found. But, still____When I returned home, I sent Sundar a pair of binoculars, the first ^I pair I ever owned. They were nothingspecial, but they gave decent images.Two years later 1 was atop Qamli-ca Hill on the Asian side of the Bosporus watching migrating birds of prey. There 1 met a couple of young Turkish hawk watchers. Their ho-hum binoculars were borrowed, and their ragged spotting scope was WaWa shared resource from a club atj^HJ^DbHHAnkara University.^BiM^HHow lucky subscribers to SdT are;half of you own two or more pairs of binoculars! And I'll bet most of them have first-class optics.Recently I learned of a really neat program coordinated by Betty Petersen at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences here in Massachusetts. It's called the Birders' Exchange, and the idea is to get good optical equipment into the hands of doers in developing countries. Since 1990 it has provided goods to more than 200 groups in 34 nations. "This is a cooperative program with the American Birding Association," says Betty, "and it's going through the roof!"The immediate focus is on conservationists, environmentalists, and educators in South America and the Caribbean. Without proper equipment binoculars and spotting scopes these folks cannot do the accurate censusing needed to establish which birds are where, when. (Since these regions harbor many of our North American species during winter, understanding their traffic patterns is essential for assuring the health of our own avian heritage.)So, here's the drill! Take those dusty binoculars and spotting scopes you haven't used for years and send them to Manomet/Birders' Exchange, RO. Box 1770, Manomet, MA 02345. Please don't send trash (though a quality piece of gear, albeit out of collimation, might well be salvageable).What's in it for you? First, a warm, fuzzy feeling. Second, a receipt for tax purposes. Third, the prospect that some recycled optics will also be turned to the nighttime sky.I love the slogan on the cover of one of the Birders' Exchange flyers: "Help keep an eye on the world by looking into your closet."Ri'Wiiiiloltcicilli! Maiioiiicl Ccnicr fur Coiiscrviilion SticiicesP.S. We spent 15 minutes with the cobra as it worked its way along moist soil by a jheel. I guess we must have seemed like good guys, for it never "hooded." Damn!8 September 1999 I Sky & Telescope