i.d. on hawking bird???

[Steve Foss]

mm:

What books did you get? Even if they aren't the "right" ones, ID books of any kind are better than no books at all.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

i bought:birds east of the rockies by roger tory peterson. it has a tough outdoor binding,seems to be very nice! i have a few more on the way from the autobon soct'y. is the peterson book considered o.k.??

[Steve Foss]

Peterson's guide has been the standard in the industry since he pioneered the bird guide form so many decades ago. It is regularly updated, and remains a very good guide. It is the one most birders started on (me too), and is, for many birders, the only one they'll ever own. At a garage sale, I recently picked up an old hard-cover Peterson guide published in 1947, and the title page indicates the first one came out in 1934. Now THAT's longevity!

The Audubon guides probably will be photo guides, rather than the colored illustrations you'll find in Peterson. The Peterson illustrations are meant to show you the general or "average" among the variations that occur to some degree in most bird species. The photos don't do that. But each has its own advantages. In combination, they'll be a good way to learn the birds. If you see a bird that doesn't quite match one of the photos, don't get too hung up on that, and check the Peterson guide against the photo guide.

As you get into it and find out how big your interest is, I'd strongly recommend the Sibley guide. It came out a few years ago, also produced by the National Audubon Society. It's a little big to take into the field, though it stays in the vehicle just fine. At $35-40, it's pricy compared with the others. It's been out long enough that you should be able to find it used at a discount online, like from the Amazon folks.

Sibley is far and away the most complete field guide I've seen, especially when it comes to variable plumages from east to west and the differences in look between both genders of adults and juvenile birds. The short written descriptions and range maps also are on the same pages as the plates, so you don't have to keep thumbing forward and back, like you have to do with Peterson's.

It also covers the whole of the United States, and that's handy because there are quite a few species not typically seen in the eastern half of the country that do occasionally wander in from the west.

And, of course, there's always the Christmas and birthday gift wish list if you don't want to shell out. It's a darn nice thing to open under the Christmas tree. Sibley's the best ID book for sitting on the kitchen table when you're watching the birds at the feeder. Easiest way to check it out before buying is to thumb through one in the bookstore or library.

Look online or in bookstores for: "The Sibley Guide to Birds," by David Allen Sibley. A companion volume, "The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior," is also available, and it is every bit as useful as the other one. It starts all the way back with the differentiation of birds and dinosaurs, details bird biology and other matters in general and covers the behaviors of each of the common groupings of birds. It helped me understand much more than I had, and I'd been birding for more than 25 years before I read it.

The Peterson series includes a number of guides specifically aimed at all the fine points among groups of species. I have Peterson guides on hawks, hummingbirds, and "advanced birding," that give all the tips on how to, say, differentiate between a sharp-shinned and a Cooper's hawk or between juvenile broad-winged and ruby-throated hummingbirds. Those are fine guides to have if you decide to get serious about birding.

I'd also recommend keeping a life list. Not that a person needs to be nuts about that, like some birders are, but it's a good way to mark the mileposts you pass as you progress into birding. You'll want to note species, sex (if applicable), location and habitat in which you found each species. At the least, you can check off each one in your bird guide and include a date. My life list has gotten pretty large but, in the end, it's the fun of watching those birds that keeps me doing it, not the possibility that I'll add a species to my list.

Lisa and I generally also keep a sheet under a magnet on the fridge that shows which species we've seen in or from the yard for the calendar year.

Good luck, and good birding. Birding has offered me as much satisfaction over the years as fishing, and that's saying a LOT! Plus, the cost of a couple bird guides and a good set of binocs is WAY cheaper than what I've put into tackle over the years.

I reckon that probably was a lot more info than you were looking for, but heck, that's one of the things this board's for!