Rosie, the microphones are what sold me on the Zoom H2 - the quality of the four microphone capsules is excellent. I like the setup very well - there's a 90^o array in the front that's great for solo recording (where I'm most likely to want the controls on the same side as the microphone). The rear microphones cover 120^o, which is about right for recording our choir (with the controls conveniently on the side opposite from the microphone). Whoever designed this, did some really good thinking.
Now, if you want surround sound, put the H2 on a camera tripod next to your bird bath, turn on all 4 microphones in the "surround" setting, and you can be surrounded by nature.
-Joe-