Any bird book recommendations?

[Harker]

As are many of us, I expect, I'm well stocked on field guides - national, regional, and local. I also regularly turn to Pete Dunne's "Essential Field Guide Companion", which is a rara avis indeed, being both engagingly educational and a delight to read.

Have you read or do you refer to any outstanding books about birds?

I'd welcome any suggestions you might have.

[Dave in VA]

1. Merlin

We use the Cornell Lab of Ornithology app on our android phones.

Great resource. Hope this helps.

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

[Botany]

2. Bringing Nature Home & Nature's Best Hope by Doug Tallamy

Grow your own bird feeders.

[Harker]

4. Right up my alley.

Thanks!

I've been watching which species benefit from which plants and trees here, but doing some purposeful planting and thoughtful placement should prove fruitful.

[Botany]

12. If you want the native song birds you need the native plants that host the insects ...

... which all of our song birds feed their young and make the fruits and seeds that
our birds eat from summer through winter.



Doug Tallamy's new National National Park is a great project.

[Harker]

13. Sound approach...

Here in upstate NY, I see the turkeys jumping for the many dogwood bush berries, the Common Yellow-throat warblers hang out near the blackberry hedge, and I make sure to leave some blueberries for the Crows and oddly enough, the Siberian Husky Tosca, who looks forward to picking and nibbling a few ripe ones.

Deer get the low hanging apples, Monarchs the copious milkweed. Plenty of flowering plants for the bees.

The previous owner here set the property up very nicely.

The ticks get me. I'm a tick magnet.

Doug Tallamy is on my short list to inspire future projects.

[Botany]

14. If you have the area plant some smooth sumac*, arrowood viburnum, and winterberry holly.

* it will be covered with native pollinators in June and July .... tons of neat little vespids (wasps) that do not sting.


the viburnum and holly have the right fats to carb ratio at the right time of year for the native birds.

ticks long pants and an insect repellent w/DEET.

BTW if you have and burning bush or barberry or other invasive plants on your property get rid of them
if you can.

BTW I am kind of an expert at this stuff.

[Harker]

15. I'm set for a blood draw next week to check for tick-borne diseases.

I spent fifty years in Colorado and found one tick crawling on me. I'm into my second year in NY, and I'm pockmarked. Yeah, it's time for me to wise up and quit wearing yukata outside.

I'm very grateful for your suggestions. Our nearest neighbor's house is only faintly visible when the leaves drop off, and there's plenty of grassy yard to work with on our mostly wooded property.

I'll have to get to know the locals to see who is invasive, aside from myself.

Have shovel, will dig.

[Harker]

3. I have that app, too, and love it!

Thanks for mentioning it.

[yonder]

5. Graphically, I prefer illustrations rather than photographs

so that field marks can be emphasized by the illustrator. However, without adequate descriptions that usefulness flies out the window. Bad pun intended.

Just my two cents.

[Harker]

6. People who view puns as a low form of humor

are mostly people who can't or don't come up with them.

Your two cents are worth much more than face value.

Good point - that's the main reason I reach for Peterson's - the circles and arrows showing distinctive features and highlighting differences are of great value, as are having illustrations of multiple similar species on a single page.

You've reminded me that I had planned to get a copy of Sibley's.

Thanks, yonder!

[2naSalit]

10. After using a number of field guide books...

Both in my private birding experience an as a NPS park ranger I found that David Sibley's illustrations were of the highest quality and very informative. It became my got to and still is. Although, in my ranger talks about birds, I would bring a small stack of different guide books and tell my audience to choose the one that they like best and go for it.

Everyone has a different preference for how the information is imparted, I tend to like Sibley the best.

[Harker]

11. Well said...

and much appreciated.

We do have different preferences about presentation.

It seems every guide book I have has come through in some instances, and proven unhelpful in others.

I keep adding to the stack.

Thanks, 2naSalit!

[3Hotdogs]

7. Pete Dunne ... a great experience.

It was at a NJ Audubon equipment show. I picked up a pair of binoculars and asked his opinion.

Pete: “They are great if you need a new doorstop. But check out the demo Swerovski on the table over there.”

I did, and bought them…. Been enjoying birding with them ever since.
.

[Harker]

9. How fun!

I'm going to take your testimonials to heart, as I'll be looking to add another pair to augment the basic pair sitting on the kitchen table.

Thanks!

[3Hotdogs]

8. Pete Dunne ... a great experience.

It was at a NJ Audubon equipment show. I picked up a pair of binoculars and asked his opinion.

Pete: “They are great if you need a new doorstop. But check out the demo Swerovski on the table over there.”

I did, and bought them…. Been enjoying birding with them ever since.
.