Birds Books

This book is by far the best resource for birding in Alaska. It is a must have for any Birdwatcher going to Alaska. The location coverage is very thorough and all the hotspots like Nome, Barrow and the Kenai Peninsula are covered in great depth. If you are familiar with the ABA or Lane Birdingwatching Guide Series, this book lives up to the legacy and is as good or better than any book in the series (which says a lot.)

Buy this well in advance of your trip. There is a lot of information to process and the hours on the plane will not do it.

There is some species by species information, but this is mostly a bird finding guide. If you are a birder headed for Alaska, be sure to get this book, but also make sure you have a good Field Guide. Personally, I recommend the Sibley Western Guide.

First, a disclaimer: I helped write a couple of the chapters in this Guide. My contributions were modest, at best, but you should know.

Because I think this is not just the very best birder's guide to Alaska; it's one of the best birder's guides anywhere. Excellent maps, chapters by highly skilled, well-informed local birders (perhaps excluding this reviewer), and a thoroughness that is astonishing given Alaska's size and range of habitats.

Need an Emperor Goose? West tells you where and when (Kodiak, Fall and Winter, pp. 336-7). After a bunch of alcids? West compares Gull Rock in Kachemak Bay, Valdez Narrows and the Chiswell Islands. Only have a little time in Anchorage? West can send you to Potter Marsh (p. 34). From Ketchikan in the southeast to Adak out the Aleutian Chain; from Cordova and the incredible shorebird migration to Barrow at the northern tip of the state; the Guide pretty much covers all of Alaska.

Even better, West addresses the special challenges of getting to and finding a place to stay in the truly remote birding destinations, including St. Paul in the Pribilof and Gambell on the western tip of St. Lawrence Island.

If you are going to spend any time birding Alaska, this Guide is simply indispensable.

I do disagree with another review in one detail: if you only bring one bird identification guide, bring National Geographic 4th Edition. David Sibley is terrific for the regular North American species, but Nat Geo is better for those Asian vagrants you might just be lucky enough to see.

Highly recommended.

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 thrill-ride from start to end. Unbelievable you say - but it's true. The author's engaging down to earth style makes this read like a movie. I learned more about insects from this book than any other insect book I've started to read and put down. The only other book I can compare it to is David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth. Attenborough is a great writer. And he has amazing pictures. but The Birder's Bug Book is the one I would buy, and would give to my kids. It's just an incredibly fun book to read, and it really reveals (as a previous reviewer has noted) the web of life.

This is a very informative, easy to read book that talks about the interrelationships of bugs and birds, how they've evolved together, how bugs try to deter birds, how birds work to overcome the defenses, and how people are playing a role. It goes into detail that is just enough for someone like me who doesn't have a science background but want to know more than tjust the basics. Its got a lot of fun (and not so fun) facts that make you think and simply broaden your perspectives. I'm glad I bought it

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!

This is a wonderful book. It's so big, you can practically feel the birds on the pages, except that the collection is so eclectic, you dodge from realistic to fantastic renditions of every kind of bird you can imagine. It's fun to look at, and a pleasure to read. I think anyone who loves birds, or the art they inspire will love this book.

We just purchased this book and spent the last hour looking through it. The artwork is old and beautiful for those of us who appreciate the old timey Audubon-esq drawings. I highly recommend this for anyone who appreciates fine artwork in general and birds in particular. Each drawing is accompanied by an interesting description of either the subject or the type of drawing. It's oversized pages give you the feeling that you are in a museum full of wonderful artwork. Birders beware, you will love this book.

This is a beautiful book which focuses on the birds that Walter Anderson painted and drew.
Anderson is pure magic when it comes to showing us animals within their habitats and as the beautifully designed creatures that they are.

While all of Walter Anderson's works are wonderful, there's just something special about his Birds. These full-color pages are a stunning visual feast of all kinds of birds. The watercolors are amazing. Anyone interested in birds or art should see this collection and spend a long time slowly relishing it. If you're familiar with Anderson's works, it's a must-have. If you're not, it's a wonderful collection of some of his best work.