(Part 2) Best bird watching books according to redditors
We found 83 Reddit comments discussing the best bird watching books. We ranked the 58 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Gulls are especially hard, not just because the 1/2 years look very different compared to the 3/4 years. Add the hybridization between the species and it's a headache.
I use this as a resource with gulls. But I've also found the Birder's Guide to Vancouver to be useful. Also useful, Stanley Park has monthly bird counts that you can join/volunteer for, I've learned most of my birding knowledge that way.
https://www.amazon.ca/Birds-Canada-DK/dp/155363120X
Birds Of Canada
Go on some group walks (http://www.nvabc.org/trips.htm http://www.loudounwildlife.org/Programs_and_Field_Trips.htm) and meet some other birders - they'll have some thoughts on places to visit and can tell you about other local resources.
Woodend has some great classes for example.
Ditto what LigoRider says - As for guides to birds, having a good field guide is key (iBird pro is good for an app, but book can be handy too). Sibley is the generally recommended book.
For learning, I think specific guides can be helpful. For example:
I got the RPSB Birds of Britain and Europe and I swear by it. I got it when I knew nothing about birds and it's very easy to navigate. It breaks it down in groups so if you know a bird looks like, say a sparrow then you can work from there. You'll never want for another guide (as long as you don't leave Europe).
If you want something more specific there's Ireland's Garden Birds but if I were you I'd go with the RSPB guide if you plan on going out into the field.
The Birds of Ireland might be good but I've not looked at it so I can't recommend it.
There's also Ireland's Birds: Myths, Legends & Folklore which is a lovely book filled with folk tales about Ireland's birds but isn't a guide just nice background info and there's also one for Ireland's Animals
Check out the Irish Wildlife Trust website and Bird Watch Ireland. Look for them on FB too, I bet there's Cork branches of both that could probably give you more specific advice for that area of the country.
With regards to equipment I don't think you need invest much at the beginning, a pair of binoculars couldn't hurt but you don't need to break the bank with a top end pair.
If you are planning on venturing out into the fields then save yourself some heartache and get a decent pair of walking boots (only if it's going to be regular, old trainers will probably do if it's just every now and then) the same goes for a rain coat.
As far as general advice goes it's all fairly common sense stuff.
Maybe try Beat About the Bush Birds by Trevor Carnaby
http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Minnesota-Wisconsin-Robert-Janssen/dp/1551053241
For field guides the more generalized ones are usually easier to get a hold of. A few you could look at are from National Geographic, Peterson, and Sibley. There are also some books for getting started, such as Sibley's Birding Basics. Backyard Bird guides are also a good place to start.
For North Dakota specifically I found this great pdf that covers all the basics of bird watching, and this field guide. Hope this helps!
I have this one. It easily fits into my back pocket and orders each bird by color (not name) for the purpose of identification.
I'm into Ornithology and go birding on a regular basis. I don't know what book I read it in, but rear neck feathers are riiight next to the feathers on it's head, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's what the wiki article is referring to. If I had to guess, I would say Birds Do It, Too, though it may have been mentioned off-hand in The Sibley Guide to Birds.
This is the one I've been using primarily because it has both pictures and drawing of birds in flight (Both head on, and underneath silhouettes.) There's an eastern companion for it as well.
I like Stan Tekiela's Guide for it's simplicity. It is a lighter field guide with only the more common birds. It's also organized by color, which is easy for more passive or novice birders.
When I was beginning birding I liked these guides because they were much easier for me to find birds in compared to some of the heavier books like Sibley's. I could find 90%-95% of the birds I saw in the Tekiela Guide very quickly, and only have to spend time thumbing through my Nat Geo or Sibley guide occasionally.
Check some region specific Foraging guides and blogs on Amazon or online. For birds you can check the following book:
https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Pennsylvania-Field-Guide-Second/dp/1591930871
In all honesty, the happiest thing I can tell you about my school career is that this December it should all be over! I have been looking forward to finishing my schooling for so long. I am in my 9th semester (only needed one extra over the 4 years, woo!) of getting my Biology degree. I have been gaining experience and networking at my local zoo. Soon, I can be done with classes and hopefully find a full-time position working at a zoo, which is all I want in life. Well, maybe not all, but a damn good portion of it! My entire college career has been leading me to this point, and I have never been more excited.
And this last year, what I am calling my senior year (even if it DID contain 3 semesters), has been the Most wonderful time ever. I have met so many awesome friends and done so many neat things.
Good luck to you, and any other returning students, for a wonderful year!
I have quite a few school related things, actually, and that's WITHOUT trying to make a stretch! I have this(for obvious reasons), this would be a cool study tool, oh, and this relates to my studies too!
This worked for me because I'm MI and wanted to start with the most popular birds first. Maybe there's a similar recording available in your state?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1591930421/ref=pd_aw_sims_4?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1
I can tell you that it HAS helped me learn new songs. I'd go on a walk and hear a new bird and I'd take a short recording. I'd listen to the cd and be able to identify what bird was singing. It's been so cool!
I'm reading this: http://www.amazon.com/Birders-Tales-Tribe-Mark-Cocker/dp/0871138441
Starting this next: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=winged+sentinels+birds+and+climate+change&sprefix=winged+se
Top right is a herring gull egg. Bottom right is likely also a bird's egg. The rest are going to be almost impossible with out a known location and caliper measurements. I love [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Eggs-Handbooks-Michael-Walters/dp/1564581756/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412345786&sr=1-3&keywords=Birds%27+Eggs) for egg identification. I am working my way through IDing a box of mystery eggs that the Ornithology prof hasn't had time to do.
https://www.amazon.ca/Birds-Alberta-Chris-Fisher/dp/1551051737
Get this book, seriously. Best resource I've ever had.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology put together a review in 2013 of their recommended binoculars for a few different price ranges. Audubon has their own reviews, too.
If by "northwest", you mean "North America, west of the Rockies" then Sibleys West is a fine bird guide. But some prefer the National Geographic guide, Peterson's, or others.
Can't help you with logbooks, I'm afraid. I just write lists of birds sighted in a regular notebook. You can also log them online, where other people can see them and the data are available to scientists to study.
Rhode Island has great hiking trails. Here are two books to get you started. http://www.amazon.com/Walks-Rambles-Rhode-Island-Birders/dp/0881504580/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373973190&sr=8-2&keywords=walks+and+rambles+in+ri
http://www.amazon.com/More-Walks-Rambles-Rhode-Island/dp/0881502243/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373973241&sr=8-3&keywords=walks+and+rambles+in+ri