He rocks in the tree top all a day long
Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and a-singin’ the song
All the little birds on J-Bird Street
Love to hear the robin goin’ tweet tweet tweet

- Rockin’ Robin (Bobby Day)

Here is a fun device that will open up a whole new world of nature�s best � the symphony of birds singing in the morning. Vavolo sent along a Nature Observing Recording & Playback Device

The setup was simple; insert a nine volt battery, snap on the Parabolic sound catcher and plug in the headphones. Once done, I headed outside and oh my gosh � my ears heard what sounded like 1000 birds all chirping and chiming in at the same time � yet there was a pretty cool rhythm to it all.

Made of a hard flat black plastic, the Nature Recording Device is easy to grip and has a sound recorder that can capture 12 seconds of audio for playback or transfer to a tape recorder. There�s a viewing lens to focus in on the subject, but I find that birds are not prone to sit still for long.

Other specs include:
* Parabolic sound catcher can hear up to 300 feet away.
* 10x prism optical monocular
* 12 seconds sound recorder (can output to other record device for unlimited time recording)
* Playback record sounds or transfer them to your tape recorder
* Dimension: 11″ x 1.7″ x 7″

There is a frequency controller to dial out the unwanted background noises and the amplified hiss.

The Vavolo product page offered up an extra value proposition – �Listen what baseball player’s talk inside the dugout,� �Powerful enough to hear Football player’s conversation from the other end of field.� I guess the sound catcher is optimized for the frequency of chirping birds � as any conversation I picked up from my neighbor was mumbled� and I felt a little creepy about it.

I can�t imagine carrying this device to a game� But I think what�s cool would be sitting in one’s backyard with a young child introducing a whole new world of nature�s beauty� outside, away from the television.

Available from Vavolo

MSRP: $56.00 on sale $36.40

What I Like: Construction is solid enough to be kid worthy. Easy set up. Surprisingly good capture of bird sounds.

What Needs Improvement: Packaged with a bird watching book would make the list price easier on the wallet.

Resource: birdwatching.com