ID please?

[itchmesir]

Is this a Black-Capped Chickadee?

[dockothebay]

It isn't a chickadee, I think it's an Eastern Kingbird. Someone here will corroborate that or correct me!

[Steve Foss]

Eastern kingbird it is!

[micpic]

Yep, it's getting ready to grab onto the next insect that will come by. Nice enviroment shot!

Mike

[itchmesir]

Thanks guys

btw.. what would be a good reference book if i was to pick up only one?

[dockothebay]

The Sibley Guide is one of the best IMO, but I've used several. Stan Tekiela does a nice job, with nice photos in a smaller size book, but basically MN birds. Nat Geo has a book as well as the Audubon Society, etc. Think about whether you'll be using it in the field, or just sitting by a window or on the deck, do you have young kids who will want to look at it? My grandkids have pretty much worn out the Tekiela book!

[goblueM]

Thanks guys

btw.. what would be a good reference book if i was to pick up only one?

jmo, but I think the National Geographic Guide to Birds of North America is fantastic, my favorite of all the bird guide books

[Steve Foss]

Stan's book is a solid, even excellent, MN birding guide. I shy away from purely photographic guides because competent illustrations do a better job of representing field marks.

IMO, Sibley is the best overall North American guide out there. I started birding in 1972, when it was basically Peterson and the Golden guide and nothing else. Then the NG guide came out and I thought I was in heaven. Then Sibley came out and I KNEW I was in heaven.

The Sibley is not considered very portable by some folks, and I understand that perspective. But it has a tremendous amount of detail when it comes to regional, seasonal, sexual and developmental differences in plumage, and to me that makes it No. 1.

And as well as the Sibley Guide to Birds, check out the Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. They are a one-two punch that cannot be beaten for the price. I go to the guide for ID questions, and to the bird life and behavior guide for more specifics on species and family behavior.

The Sibley ID guide is too big to stick in a pocket and take into the field that way. The NG, which is larger than the current Peterson, Golden, Stokes, etc guides, is just barely small enough for a field pocket. On the rare occasion I bring out a birding field guide these days, the Sibley stays in the vehicle and the NG comes with me. Or the Sibley stays at home and the NG comes with me. In that sense, the NG is the best "field" guide out there because of the combo of detail and size. The Sibley is the best overall guide, and they do make a zipper carry case with shoulder/neck strap that fits the Sibley.

I wore out one Sibley, which now sits on the coffee table at the lake cabin, its spine broken and pages water stained, crinkled and wrinkled but still alive and helping one (and soon to be two) younger generations ID birds at the cabin feeder and surrounding environs.

A fresher Sibley guide, and the companion guide I mentioned, are on the bookshelf right next to me as I type this in my home office. No matter which guide we choose, we open it with anticipation if we are new birders. If we are seasoned birders, add nostalgia to the sense of anticipation. Each page evokes memories of good times.

I wish I still had the very first Peterson Guide to Eastern Birds I got back in 1972. I did find a much older hardcover Peterson guide at a garage sale in Duluth some years ago, and that is right in front of me now as well.

[itchmesir]

Thanks guys.. I went with Stan's book as it was the more pack friendly book out of my options