Eagle Eyes: How Much Sharper are an Eagle’s Eyes than a Human’s

Perhaps you once spotted something that no one else saw and someone responded by complimenting you on your eagle eyes. Sure, we all pretty much know that eagles, hawks, and predatory birds have excellent eyesight but how much better do they see than a human and how?

The average human has 20/20 eyesight. This is a measure of visual acuity developed using the Snellen chart. 20/20 means that a test subject sees the same line of letters at 20 feet as a normal person does at 20 feet from the chart. 20/30 vision would mean that the test subject can see the same line of letters a normal person would at 30 feet but needs to be within 20 feet to read the line of letters.

The physical properties of human eyes limits the sharpest eyesight to be somewhere around 20/10, maybe even 20/8 at best—a good trait for a fighter jet pilot. This means that a person with 20/8 vision could see a line of letters at 20 feet that would require a person with 20/20 vision to move within 8 feet to read, get it?

The vision of a bald eagle is 4 to 5 times sharper than the average human. Tests conducted on eagle’s have shown that they have 20/4 vision! If you truly had eagle eyes you could see an ant running on a sidewalk from atop of a ten story building. This is ideal for eagles as they circle overhead for prey and carrion. At a height of 300 feet an eagle can see a fish just below the surface of the water!

One of the main factors believed to give eagles such excellent eyesight is that their retinas are more densely coated with light detecting cells called cones. This allows eagles to enhance their power to resolve fine details, much like a high pixel cameras.

The other factor that enable eagles to have superior vision is cone-shaped depressions in the back of the eyes called fovea, which detect light from the center of our visual field. In humans they are shaped like a shallow bowl. In eagles they are shaped like convex pits acting like a telephoto lens.

Eagles also have superior color vision allowing them to see colors more vividly. They even have the ability to see ultra-violet light! Seeing UV light allows them to see and follow the urine trails of prey.

So you might not ever have the vision of an eagle, but there are things you can do to maintain and improve your vision. Protecting your eyes from the sun and eating healthy are the best ways to maintain your vision. For eating for optimal eye sight check out our  blog: Four Nutritional Tips for Optimum Eye Health: Eating Your Way to Healthy Eyes

Celebrate Your Independence With a New Look!

In the Northland summer is short…too short! Make the most of your summer in style and comfort with a pair of new sunglasses. Stop squinting while driving. Stop wearing that pair of scratched up gas station glasses and treat yourself to some quality shades!

In the spirit of the 4^th of July we want you to: Celebrate your independence with a new look! From July 10^th through the 17^th visit us on Facebook for a chance to win a pair of sunglasses up to $150 in value!

It only takes a few moments for a chance to win. And even of you don’t win, we encourage you to stop into one of our 7 locations and treat yourself to some quality sunglasses. We have great deals on brands like Ray-ban, Oakley, Nine West, Gucci, Versace, Bolle, Nike, and many more!

Celebrate your independence with a new look!

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Eye of the Tiger: Sports Training for Your Eyes

If you have ever seen any of the Rocky movies there is usually a really awesome training montage where the song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ is blasting as Rocky is sprinting up a long series of stairs, doing clean and jerks, and working over a punching bag. The part where he ‘trains’ his eyes must have ended up on the cutting room floor. However, YOU can train your eyes for your favorite sports activities.

Training your eyes for various sports may sound silly but it is something you can really do. Certain sports require excellent hand eye coordination, such as golf, while others require visual memory, such as team sports where you have to see multiple people at once and make split second decisions on where to move. Contrast sensitivity and depth perception is something Olympic alpine skier Lindsey Vonn might work on to train her eyes to read shadows and contours on the mountain.

So here are some eye exercises you can do to train your eyes.

Focus flexibility

This exercise is training your ability to change focus from a close object to a faraway object, or vice versa. One method would be to quickly change focus from your computer screen to an object outside of your window. The bonus to this one is that this can help relieve eye strain if you have been on the computer working for hours.

Depth perception

This is all about how you make spatial judgements, such as how far away a person is from you. Threading a needle or trying to drop a small pebble into a straw at arm’s length are two exercises to train your depth perception.

Peripheral awareness

This is about seeing what is going on alongside of you without turning you head. This is important for team sports on courts and fields where you need to be aware of the people around you. To train your peripheral awareness try looking at a busy scene, such as a baseball game, with your head turned to the side. Remember to train both sides.

Color vision

In games where you have opposing teams in different colors, as well as the playing field and equipment used, you need to be able to distinguish different colors and shades of them quickly. This is one where you can wear sports performance enhancing contacts or glasses.

If you feel you are having issues with any of these vision skills make an appointment for an eye exam today. At Vision Pro we would be more than happy to help you maximize your eye sight to get your ‘Eye of the Tiger’ on!