WAKE ZONE/OP-ED - 'New Style' Sadly Replacing 'Old Style'

I recently watched some of the videos regarding the Salt River horses that the Arizona Republic was kind enough to film. They showed people who were out with their cell phones and cameras, delightedly taking pictures of the horses. They interviewed a rather portly man who proclaimed that people "should get out and see wildlife; this is amazing".

As I watched these new-found rugged outdoor people looking at horses, it suddenly dawned on me how this is the newer generation of wildlife watching. I want to compare how what I consider true wildlife watchers prepare for wildlife viewing and how the "new" wildlife watchers prepare.

Old Style

We get up in the dark and put our camouflage gear and head out to the woods. There is no light, so sometimes we operate out of moonlight, sometimes with a small flashlight. We hike in to a spot that we feel wildlife may be at dawn. The only way to glass for animals is at a higher elevation than they are.

We pick our way up through sometimes rocky, sometimes steep, areas to reach a spot for glassing. We slowly and quietly set up our tripods and binoculars and prepare for that gray light of dawn to begin watching for wildlife.

Scanning up to a mile out, we intently watch for moveme