For three hours I followed the trail through the woods. The scene was typical of Northeast Georgia this time of year: a leafless tree canopy was over my head while I walked on a carpet of damp leaves. The sky was clear and the sun shone through with ease. I would occasionally hear a mountain bike making its way up the road near the trail head, but other than that I had Chimney Mountain to myself. I was headed for the top carrying my Zeiss 20x60S image-stabilized binoculars.
The top of Chimney Mountain provides almost 360 degree views of southern Appalachia, allowing you to see about 20 miles in every direction. As I was setting my backpack down, a shadow on the ground caught my attention. A lone buzzard circled me; I unhurriedly pulled out my binoculars to take a closer look at the creature. He was fast, and the relatively narrow field of view made it difficult to capture him at first. But once I got hold of him and depressed the stabilizer I was able to track him like those cameras you see on TV that track a golfer’s ball. The image was perfectly crisp and smooth.