Birding Tips 2: Cleaning lenses in the field

Birding Tips 2: Lens Cleaning Like most birders, I only tend to think about cleaning my dirty binoculars when I am out in the field. The challenge, of course, is then how does one clean a binocular or telescope lens in the field with out scratching that seriously expensive glass? Using your T-shirt is certainly the most commonly used method but probably not the best of ideas. If I really have to clean my binocular or telescope lenses out in the field then I tend to rely on one of two methods: 1. blow off as much stuff as possible; pour water over the lens to wash off most of the grime; and then use your finger to gently wash the lens; finish by blowing off excess water and then using a MICROFIBRE cloth to give a final clean 2. Blow off; Lick (yes, lick it with your tongue – it is extremely effective!); MICROFIBRE I try to always have a microfibre cloth with me, but if I don’t then I tend to use either of the above cleaning methods and then just blow off as much water as possible. This will normally suffice until I can get home to a microfibre cloth or borrow one from a fellow birder. check out my blog on this and more: alpinebirds.blogspot.com