Foreigner

Long tailed tit juveniles look a little weird when they're ready to leave the nest. Cute, but also a little gross!

I have a number of people around me who are curious about birding and would like to give it a try. I want to encourage more people to get into the hobby by taking them on outings. However, the vast majority don't have their own binoculars and aren't going to purchase any before trying it out. I have my own single set of binos but no spares to lend. Renting isn't an option where I live so I'm looking to buy at least a couple of sets for this purpose.

I'm sadly not made of money so they'd have to be well under 75eur each. I'm not looking for amazing performance, but at least a brand that's trustworthy enough and has a good enough reach for absolute beginners to use in like city parks.

I've bought a couple of dirt cheap 10x42s (I'm talking under 20eur) online but find they're a bit too dark and the chromatic aberration makes them unusable. Ideally I'd find something that's a step up from that. I think 8x42s are a good sweet spot.

The second hand market is very limited here, I'm seeing second hand options like used Nikon P3s somehow being sold at higher than market price, or binoculars that are extremely heavy and look almost 100 years old but still expensive.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I was on a trip recently in Extremadura in Spain and it was an amazing place for owls, especially little owls. They're pretty abundant and chill so I was able to get some nice shots which I wanted to share here with fellow superbowlers:

We also saw a couple of Eurasian Eagle Owls, which were on my list to see this year:

Sadly did not catch the Scops owl but we did hear one at night!

If you're a birder in Europe, you absolutely need to go to Extremadura if you have the chance (and not just for owls). I swear the skies felt incredibly empty when I got back home.

After a couple of failed attempts to find them in another area, I spent three days in a spot where multiple short eared owls had been spotted. There was a group of at least 4 in one field who'd come out each evening around sunset to hunt. During the day they'd be sitting camouflaged in the high grass.

What I found interesting is that even though they were hanging around near each other at rest, when it came time to hunt, they would frequently rush at each other and squabble. Clearly they weren't among friends.

Another funny behaviour was how they would react to crows that also hung around the field, and vice versa. It's common for crows to harass birds of prey in a group, loudly crying out (it's one way to find out where there are owls even). But these crows acted a bit differently. Individual crows would from time to time come and annoy an owl just sitting around minding its business, but not as frantically as I'm used to seeing them. But what was even more incredible, the owls would do the same to the crows. It happened several times, but I've not seen something like that before.

I had a blast watching these guys and gals, it was a great way to cap off 2025. With that, I wish all superbowlers a great end of 2025 and/or start of 2026!

I got a tip for a LEO winter roost and sped over when I got the chance. There were no less than 10 owls in the tree! Apparently this specific spot has seen up to 50-60 owls in some years. What's incredible is that this willow tree is right next to a primary school in the outskirts of a small city. There are people coming and going all the time. People know the owls are there and come have a look but they stay unbothered (they do peek at you lazily though). I really wonder why they picked this specific spot, it's really unexpected given how busy and loud it gets.

Here is a shot of another two amigos in the group:

And one more where I felt like going a bit more artsy:

I stumbled upon a few long eared owls somewhere I wasn't expecting to find them. Couldn't get a better shot but was so happy to see them very clearly for the first time. They're not very big but their stare is intense.

I took this photo last month about an hour outside of Paris in France. I went to this spot looking for barn owls and stumbled on this guy, which was a hell of a treat! I did see the barn owls in the end but it was too dark to take a decent shot without a tripod. They were super close too, one flew over my head making a ghostly rolling screech. It was magical.

I also heard a tawny owl nearby! Not sure what it is about that particular village but owls seem to be major fans. I'll definitely be heading back!

I need some advice on shoes as I'm reading a lot of material but I'm still not sure weightlifting shoes make sense for me.

I'm looking for shoes to use exclusively for lifting (no cardio nor crossfit). I'm following the Stronglifts 5x5 programme for now (squats, bench press, rows, deadlifts and ohp, with some pull-ups and hanging knee lifts added). I'm not lifting heavy yet, but I feel my regular shoes aren't cutting it, especially for stability.

I see weightlifting shoes like the romaleos and powerlifts recommended for squatting, but I currently have no issues going deep on squats, with or without shoes. I'd like more lateral stability, but not sure forking out a couple of hundred euros on shoes is worth it if I'm not struggling with squat depth. I see flatter shoes or barefoot/socks are recommended for deadlifts, but I don't want to get two separate shoes to lift. Should I still look into weightlifting shoes or go for something else?

My son is starting to get into Warhammer and so far he's learned the mechanics of Age of Sigmar, but he still isn't sure what road to go down. Normally he'd go for whatever my brother in law is into (he introduced him to MTG, obviously the gateway drug) but he's not deep into Warhammer yet (BiL was gifted a Necromunda squad) so my son will have to figure it out for himself.

Assuming most people here picked 40k over Age of Sigmar, I'm curious to know what motivated your choice? He's painted a few random figurines he was gifted, but is now giving serious thought into going further. We'd welcome any tips on where to start!

A resident Tawny Owl sitting cosy in their nest. The photo was taken last week in Paris, this particular nest has been used by tawny owls for at least 10 years (likely the same owl?)