(Part 2) Top products from r/birding

The Audubon Society has a number of field guides. I have the ones for Western and Eastern birds both (along with a couple others of theirs) since I live in Oklahoma, and I absolutely love them; they're small enough that I can fit 2-3 in my camera bag along with my camera and all it's gear- including extra lenses and the like... They're easily one of my favorite gifts I've been given.

I also recommend a cute, plain ruled notebook that she can write down her observations in; I have this one by Designworks Ink and I love the quality, but any hardcover journal like that would work- though I'd really recommend getting one with archival grade paper. It'll make sure the journal lasts for a while without yellowing, etc, if she wants to keep it around for a long while. (I do, personally; I love looking back at my observations from years ago).

No idea on binoculars, though, as I don't use them personally. But Audobon has guides for both Binoculars and Spotting Scopes. Those might help.

Shorebirds are quite a tough category. If you want to get into them seriously, I'd go for one of the in-depth books like The Shorebird Guide.

Other than studying textbooks though, what you probably want to do is research the "likely" ones, and then look them up with online resources.

It would be best to have someone with you when you go, who can say "well, in this group of 1000 Semipalmated Sandpipers I see 1 Baird's Sandpiper, and this is why I say that." This kind of experience is invaluable, because a lot of Sandpiper ID rests on very subtle queues. As you scan through the group, you see one that has a little bit different posture, has a more "graceful" neck, has longer primary extension beyond the tail, etc....and that makes you take a closer look and try to confirm other features to make the ID. There aren't many written resources that teach all of that very well, although that book I listed has some pretty good stuff in it.

Without a local guide, I think your best bet is to try and find out what to expect by searching eBird, and then research those particular common species using online resources.

I worked as a research tech on a bird project in Puerto Rico and our supervisor recommended Birds of the West Indies. The illustrations are very similar to a Peterson's guide (that's up to you to decide if that's a good or bad thing) and it has range maps with every entry many entries which is nice. Overall, it served me well.

Enjoy your trip! It sounds like a great time.

Edit: The range maps aren't as extensive as I thought. About half to three-quarters have associated maps.

Get yourself a field guide and browse it every time you're bored or taking a shit. My favorite is Stokes for a decent sized (portable) book, or Crossley if you don't mind lugging around a big one. These have pictures as opposed to paintings, which I think is way better. These are both assuming you're in the US. Pay attention to the ranges so you can focus on the birds that are in your area. As cool as a Vermillion Flycatcher is, you're never going to see it if you don't live near in or near Mexico or South America. Just browse through and find the cool ones, the interesting ones, etc. It'll help a ton if you've already seen the birds and their names before you run into them in the wild.

When you're in the field, either bring your book, or get the Merlin app. It's pretty great for new birders.

As far as calls go, that's not as easy. Some are, but depending on where you are, they can get difficult. The worst part is that you can't look up how a bird sounds in a book, so once you hear it, you have to try to remember it and just browse through bird calls online or in an app until you think you find it. I think it'd help to find mnemonics to remember the calls. That helped me early on. If you just hear a Black-capped Chickadee recording, it'll help, but if you also remember the call as "Cheese-bur-ger" or "Chicka-dee-dee-dee", it's gonna be a lot easier.

There are apps to practice learning calls, but I think it's better to actually hear them. And definitely don't go out thinking you're gonna be able to ID everything. It can be infuriating when you hear something that sounds familiar but you just can't put your finger on it and you can't find the call anywhere. A lot of birds make many different sounds. If you hear a short, sharp, high pitched squeak, it could be a million different things. It might not even be a bird. Sometimes you just gotta let it go.

Hmm... If you're thinking globally, this is going to be hard. A simple checklist of all the bird species of the world is large enough to be a book, literally.

And, it's outdated at the time it's printed.

The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior might be what you're looking for, if North America is enough of the world. Embarrassingly, I own this and almost never look at it.

The Sibley Guide to the Birds of North America is a good desk reference field guide that has more information than most field guides (and is too big to carry around other than as an app on my cell phone, IMHO). I do own it both ways. The book is better, of course. But, I don't carry it as my field guide.

For more than that, you may want to pick a book narrowed down to a particular family of birds, if she has any favorites like raptors or woodpeckers.

Hope you find what you're looking for.

Any new world sparrow (House Sparrow are old world sparrow, introduced in the 1800s)! Most common backyard ones are White-Throated, White-Crowned, Eastern Towhee, and Dark-Eyed Junco. I'd recommend investing in an ID guide, as those little brown birds are one of the best ways to get your life species count up quick. Sibley's Field Guide to Eastern Birds is what I use, and what I recommend at my birding tours that I lead.

This book is pretty good.

I went to Costa Rica to bird in 2005, when the Stiles and Skutch book was the only book in town.

The Stiles and Skutch book is very detailed and informative....but it lacks maps, it's bulky, and you won't want to carry it with you in the field every day. However, taking that book with me did teach me to take very good notes (so I could ID birds I wasn't sure about back at the hostel each night).

The newer book (with the toucanet on the cover) is more manageable in the field, and it includes maps. It also has more up-to-date taxonomy.

I've been using the American Bird Conservancy's All The Birds Of North America for about 20 years, and love it.

I also have an updated copy of Birds of Nova Scotia which was written in the early 1960s by the legendary Robie Tufts [1884-1982]. It's a rather thick book and therefore not a great guide to actually take into the field, but the text is fascinating and very informative.

If you aren't already familiar with his work, look up Robert Michael Pyle. Specifically, Mariposa Road. His book is butterflies instead of birds, but the way he tells the story is enthralling.

It isn't just a list of butterflies--it's a travelogue complete with mischief, triumph, tragedy, a lot of localized (to a given site) natural and cultural history, and more than a little local color.

I do like butterflies, but the reason I finished the book was that it was a story and not just a list or some pictures (no pictures, actually). The reader learned about his "tiniest RV on the road (a modified Honda sedan)", the difference between nekkid and naked, fascinating locals, being broke, finding obscure places not on the map, not finding well known places marked on every map...sunsets and all-nighters--you get the idea.

Hope that helps--if nothing else I just added a new author to your reading list--sorrynotsorry!

http://www.amazon.com/Mariposa-Road-First-Butterfly-Year/dp/0300190972

It's not out yet and I haven't seen a preview or anything, but this book is supposed to have an song index that groups birds with similar songs together, which sounds like what you're looking for, it you live in the area it covers.

I was lucky enough to be able to take a course on bird song in my city that covered the local birds. It started with 20 common birds that are difficult to mistake for each other, which I think is a good way to begin. The Peterson "Birding by ear" cds cover 3 or 4 birds with similar songs in a group, so you can focus on learning the differences between their songs. I think that approach makes sense once you've learned the common birds

These traits can be variable in money bird species.

Instead of focusing on a particular field mark, such as leg color, I recommend using a whole bird approach. My birding is become a lot better as I am trying to learn this. A great book by Derek Lovitch just came out about it.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Better-Birder-Derek-Lovitch/dp/0691144486

Wingspan will almost certainly be a good fit. It's a very pleasant, charming experience overall - competitive without being at all mean or confrontational. It's been a bit hard to find, but the game's publisher (Stonemaier Games) and Amazon have it in stock at the standard price of $60. So don't feel like you need to pay an exorbitant price on the secondary market, it's not necessary.

I've heard good things about Birds of Southern South America

https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Southern-South-America-Antarctica/dp/0691090351

I like to use Sibley's Eastern or Western in the field - the smaller size makes it more manageable.

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.

There are whole books on this. Shape, how a bird flaps, holds its wings, etc. are all things that folks at hawk migration sites use all the time.

How about this one? https://www.amazon.com/Young-Birders-America-Peterson-Guides/dp/0547440219

A bit long but this is a good guide: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0446310786/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nahACb49QXQMF

I live in the state of Oaxaca and this book has been doing the trick for me: https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Mexico-Northern-Central-America/dp/0198540124