RE: What would be the best spotting scope?
The cheap ones are 60 bucks and the most expensive ones are about 1500 bucks so I assume you are looking in the 5-800 dollar range as a mid price. Here the Pentax ED, Fujinon, And Minox are all good bargains. I was impressed with both the Pentax 60mm and the fuji. In this range you can find a used Zeiss B/gat spotter (cometimes called the classic). It is a fixed 30x60 and weighs very little. It is also rubber armoured.
Also check out the Cabela's Big sky, BigSky ED (extra low dispersion) and Alaskan Guide scopes. These are a bargian ar 450-650.
Good luck