Bird Watchers Digest Young Birders Contest

The birds and balmy weather have favored me recently. On the 4th of February we saw the continuing presence of Tundra Swans at Tiogue Lake in Warwick. At RISD Beach in Barrington in the last few days we had a male Northern Pintail hanging out with the very large American Black-Duck/Mallard flock and a handsome Gray Catbird in the small wooded lot behind the marsh. They were all year birds.

This winter seems to have been going through violent changes in the weather. One day there's six inches of snow layering the street, the next we're wearing shorts and t-shirts!

Anyway, the main reason I am writing this post is to get down on my slightly scraped and quite scarred knees and beg my readers to follow this link (http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/leicagreatleap/index.php) and recommend me to win the pair of Leica binoculars that are being donated to one lucky young birder (ages 12-18) by Bird Watchers Digest, one of my favorite magazines. All you need to do is:

1. follow the link,
2. click "nominate a young birder"
3. write your name and email address where asked and
4. write my name (John Shamgochian), my age (13), what type of binoculars I have (Vortex Furies 8X32 which I was thrilled to win for my entry in the 2009 young birder of the year contest) and why I need to win this pair of Leica binoculars. Other than the overwhelming fact that Leica offers of the most expensive and sharpest optics in the world please say that the reason that I need them is because my binoculars are currently monoculars which means that my focus knob focuses the two sides separately so while my left eye (the eye that I favor) is getting a nice look at a Lesser Scaup my right eye is focused on a branch 15 feet closer. I had this problem repaired once but a few days after having them fixed the same problem came back. They will also ask you for some more information about me. You could just mention that I won third place overall in the 2010 Young Birder of the Year contest sponsored by the ABA (the American Birding Association) and that I am currently one of the five student blog editors of the ABA's young birders blog The Eyrie. Oh, and you might give them a link to this blog. I would be so very grateful if you could do this for me as it is very hard looking through half focused binoculars! Thank you!