Birding Books

Excellent guide to the birding sites of Florida, especially to those birders chasing local "specialties".

We used this book as our itinerary planner for a recent 8 day trip to South Florida. We found the detailed directions to be so helpful to us in finding our target birds!

This book is an excellent guide to birding in Maine. You are given directions to all the great birding sites, plus a list of birds you should see there. I am enjoying the book and have used it on several occasions.

This is the best regional bird guide I have ever read. Not only is it indispensable for birders, but its a great guide for anyone who wants to find new places to explore. It is everything you would want in a birding guide.

This book is a 20 ct. diamond. I have used it for four years to plan birding trips. If you want to go where the birds are, this book is a must. It not only tells you where to go, it also gives you a detailed iteneray, tells you when to go, and tells you how many day to plan for your trip. If that isn't enough, it refers you to other more detailed birding books to help you plan your trip.

A do it yourself guide to birding trips around the country including detailed itineraries. Professionals in the nature tours trade may want to keep this book a secret since it allows anybody to reproduce many of their trips at a significant cost saving.

I am a neophyte birder and this book was perfect as a beginning guide in identifying and recognizing common birds in the western region. The other bird guides I have purchased (National Geographic and Audubon) were exceptional, but for a novice, they presented too much information and too many birds. This book struck a nice, comfortable compromise. The photos of each bird are excellent and provide you a good look at the features and characteristics of each. They also tell you succinctly where the habitat would be and where you would most likely see each bird.

The best feature was that each bird was divided by color. So if you see a Wilson's warbler in your backyard but don't know for certain if your call is correct, you can quickly thumb to the "yellow" section of the book and see all the yellow birds. Thus you can quickly confirm your identification.

This book would have limited, or no value to an experienced birder, but for the beginning birder, this is a fine introduction to the hobby of birding.

This bird book is for you! I saw it at a friend's home and knew it was the beginner's book for me. The illustrations are colorful and the information on the many birds is well organized. I found it not to be overwhelming, but easy to use. This is the book to inspire you to start birding--alone or with a friend or child, at your window or outdoors. With this book as a reference you can satisfy your curiosity and develop your skills at identification.

Birding Georgia is the best book for birding in Georgia. If you are visiting Georgia or even live in Georgia, this is a must have for all bird watchers! I was amazed at how detailed it was with each spot, telling you exactly where you have the best chance of finding a certain species!

Georgia, the largest state East of the Mississippi River, ironically has many undiscovered birding sites while offering the visitor many specialty birds such as Bachman's Sparrow and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Giff Beaton's new bird finding guide book is fantastic! It is well organized, easy to use, and full of concise information and travel directions, with many informative insights into birds and the environment. The maps and directions are meticulous. Beyond directions and species occurrence data, there are many helpful tips on how to improve your chances of finding specific species. The occurrence charts are well researched and accurate and offer visitors and locals a helpful benchmark to determine what species should be present in which habitats throughout the year. Local birders and visitors alike should carry this book in the field as they plan their journeys around the state.

I bought this book not so much because I want to go birding, but because it lists over 110 bird refuges, conservation areas, creeks, forest preserves and tall grass praries, many of which I know I have driven by on the highway without realizing that just down a state or county road is natural habitat full of wildlife. Some of the areas covered will be familiar to anyone who has lived in Illinois (Morton Arboretum, Fermi Lab, Jackson Park, Montrose Harbor, Chicago Botanic Garden, Starved Rock State Park) but the others are probably new to most people -- Meredosia Wildlife Refuge, Midewin Tallgrass Prarie, Pecatonica River Forest Preserve, Kickapoo State Park, Mermet Lake, etc.

The entries are divided into regions (northeast, northwest, west-central and southern) with each featuring a map of the area with directions, and a list and description of the birds that live or migrate through there. There are also black & white photographs and beautifully-detailed sketches of birds scattered throughout the text. The entries include walking or driving tours and information about the best time of the year to visit the site as well as general information on the conditions of the area (with instructions on when you need to bring your own water, insect repellant and food), what times of the year it may be closed and whether there are picnic/camping areas. In some cases the history of the area is given (for example, the fact that Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area and Forest Preserve is named after a Native American chief who lived there with his tribe in the 1830s). Each entry also includes the name of the park district that supervises the area and the nearest town.

The book ends with a checklist of birds so you can keep track of the ones you have seen, a list of extinct and endangered birds, the official form for reporting a rare bird, a bibliograpy and a list of federal, state and county contacts with phone numbers and addresses. This is a terrific reference book as well as guidebook. I'm grabbing my binoculars, a picnic lunch, this book and heading out to explore the rest of Illinois!

Every state should have a bird-finding guide this good! The author has done a superb job in presenting not only some of the more well-known Illinois birding locations, but also provides many areas that even most of Illinois' more experienced birdwatchers will find new and well worth exploring. Birders from outside of Illinois will probably be very surprised to learn of the variety of habitats and birds that this state has to offer once one leaves the seemingly birdless "corn and soybean desert" that many see from the interstates that crisscross the state. For instance,the chances of seeing a Mississippi Kite in southern Illinois are "good", as are such diverse species as Snowy Owl, Ross's Goose, and Connecticut Warbler! Illinois may be one of the best locations to see the elusive Smith's Longspur in the lower 48 states, and this guide will tell you when, where and how to see one! This long overdue site finding guide to Illinois' best birding locations is the first to cover the entire state in 25 years! And it is much more than a site guide! Only somewhat larger than many field guides, it is none-the-less easily manageable in the field (or in your car), and one should not be without this book while birding the states highways and byways. The author provides maps as well as written descriptions on how to bird the areas, but one of the best features of this book is the list of "key birds" to be found at each location at the beginning of each site account. In addition, the "Seasonal Distribution Charts" at the back of the book are the first of their kind for books on Illinois' birds, which attempt to cover the whole state, and make this an invaluable addition to this admirable reference work! The contributions from many of the state's most experienced birdwatchers and ornithologists from all corners of the state, guarantees the accuracy and thoroughness of the areas covered. Birders will find the sections on "Authors Favorite Sites", "Illinois' Specialty Birds", and the "Birding Calender" particularly helpful additions compared to the more normal bird-finding guides, and should make it a much more easy task in planning their birding trip, including exactly where and when to go to add that particular bird species that is still missing from their list! The well chosen photographs and exemplary line drawings not only make an aesthetically nice addition to the book, but give examples not only of some of the more typical birds to be found in Illinois but also show the diversity of avian life to be seen throughout the state. Not only is this book factually correct, but the well-written prose of this obviously talented journalist is very descriptive of the birds and birding destinations, and almost transports one to each birding hotspot. Aside from the usual typos and a few small errors in a few of the maps, this book is an excellent "read", and a MUST for EVERY birdwatcher traveling to or residing in the state of Illinois!

Cape May is a peninsula, the southernmost point of New Jersey. It separates Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean, and lies only fourteen miles north of Delaware. Consequently, millions of birds funnel through the area in the spring and fall of each year. There are a number of nature preserves and wildlife refuges nearby. The Cape May Bird Observatory is the center of birding activity in the area.

"If birds are an excellent judge of climate, Cape May has the finest climate in the United States, for it has the greatest variety of birds." Alexander Wilson was writing in 1812 before Texas, the current US record holder, joined the union. But the area is still one of the best places to watch birds in the United States.

The climate also attracts thousands of people to the area. There is a wonderful array of attractions, beaches, restaurants, hotels and camping spots available to birders and to any companions who may not share their passions.

The authors have dozens of birding books and articles to their credit. As a quick perusal of the extracts on Amazon proves, they know the area intimately, and describe it in clear, helpful language. They profile 33 birding locations, and discuss the histories of popular birding sites. Some of the best passages deal with some of the great birders who enjoyed this area: Alexander Wilson to Roger Tory Peterson to Pete Dunne. They add delightful accounts of their own experiences; the sighting of a Yellow-nosed Albatross is especially good.

There is simply no better single volume resource covering the birds, history and geography of this area. If you go, take along this book, and stop in at the Cape May Bird Observatory to see what is going on. BirdCapeMay can give you a head start before you leave home.

Robert C. Ross, 2008

A "must have" for anyone considering birding in the Cape May area!!! Clay and Pat Sutton are wonderful writers making this book not only a wealth of information but also very enjoyable to read!

This is a comprehensive guide to birding in Connecticut. Ir provides important information on what birds can be found in the state, when and where they can be found and even provides information on how to identify the more difficult species. It is aimed at both novice and advanced birders, so there is ample birding info for all.

This book will give you a good start on birding CT. The best places to bird are described in detail and the directions are right on. The authors are experienced, knowledgeable, long time CT Birders.

This review by Ron Pittaway was published in OFO News 22(3):2 October 2004, newsletter of the Ontario Field Ornithologists.

Guide to Hawk Watching in North America. 2003. Second Edition. Donald S. Heintzelman. The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Connecticut. ISBN 0-7627-2670-9. Softcover, 425 pages. US$16.95.

This guide gives descriptions and directions to 460 spring and fall hawkwatching sites in North America. It rates them as poor, fair, good, excellent. Fourteen sites are described for Ontario. Amherst Island is listed under other viewing areas. The Fisherville area for winter viewing should be listed in the next edition. Bald Eagle watching etiquette and viewing areas are described.

Every North American diurnal raptor is described under these heading: field recognition, wingspread, length, flight style, voice, nest and eggs, longevity, food, habitat, and range in North America.

Included is information on watching hawks such as judging size and shape, flight style and behaviour, distance from observer and viewing angle, light conditions, habitat, field equipment, owl decoys, etc. The chapter on migration seasons has excellent visual bar graphs showing the spring and fall migration periods for eastern North America and a fall bar graph for western North America. The chapter on mechanics of hawk flights discusses weather conditions, deflective updrafts, lee waves, thermals, thermal streets, squall lines, and leading-lines.

I highly recommend this informative and useful book. It is the hawkwatcher's companion.

Reprinted from my review in Wildlife Activist, Number 49.
Guide to Hawk Watching in North America by Donald S. Heintzelman. 2004. Paper. Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT. $16.95.
In 1979, Don Heintzelman published his first edition of A Guide to Hawk Watching in North America. This pioneering guide (based on his previous guides to eastern hawk watching) provided the hawkwatcher with the two major essentials of hawk watching: information on raptor identification, especially migrating (i.e. flying) raptors, and places and times to observe migrating hawks. A quarter century has passed, hawk watching has become one of the most popular branches of birding, and much has been learned about hawk migration and identification, leading to the need for this 2004 FalconGuide edition. Little is changed in the format from the first edition except that the section of raptor photo plates of the 1979 guide has been deleted. (This makes sense in light of the fact that several excellent raptor ID guides now exist and are referenced here, while none existed in 1979.) Although the format is unchanged, the text has been updated, especially with respect to raptor watch sites, with the number of sites nearly doubled (to 460) in the current guide. Each site account includes a description of the site, how to find it, and a rating for spring and autumn flights based on a unique rating system developed by the author. In addition to raptor migration sites, there are also sections of Bald Eagle observation sites and of other raptor viewing sites. The species accounts include wingspan and length, field recognition, flight style, voice, nest, eggs, longevity (this is new and quite interesting), food, habits, and range in North America.
For the novice hawk watcher, here is all you need to get started or improve your skill. For the veteran, the guide is a good refresher on hawk migration and gives you an endless supply of sites to visit in North America. So whether you are a relative newcomer or a seasoned veteran with a dog-eared copy of the 1979 book, it is well worth the affordable price to invest in this FalconGuide edition of Guide to Hawk Watching in North America. DRK

Most birdsong CDs/tapes are lengthy "lists" of birdsongs. The "Birding by Ear" series is a unique tutorial that teaches you to recognise and recall birdsongs. If you want to learn to identify birds by their songs and calls this is the product for you! "More Birding by Ear" includes many of the Eastern warblers as well as shorebirds, flycatchers, rails and other groups.

Most birdsong CDs/tapes are lengthy "lists" of birdsongs. The "Birding by Ear" series is a unique tutorial that teaches you to recognise and recall birdsongs. If you want to learn to identify birds by their songs and calls this is the product for you! "More Birding by Ear" includes many of the Eastern warblers as well as shorebirds, flycatchers, rails and other groups.