The wife has taken an increasing interest over the years in watching the birds around here. I wonder if any of you guys have a recommendation for books on bird watching. Coffee table-style books are out, as I'm looking for something she can carry with her on jaunts in the outdoors.

Para i have a folding laminated card that my daughter bought me for fathers day last year that has all the local to me types of birds that is really helpful to carry with me or keep close by to use to reference new bird sightings.
Its not a book but is real useful.
I also bought one for butterfly's.


Quick Referencing Publishing, Inc @
Www.quickreferencepublishing.com

They were at the check out lines at our local HEB grocery store.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mustang-PaPa,

"A Field Guide to the Birds" by Roger Tory Peterson.

I called an old GF who is a dedicated birder and she recommended Sibley Birds East.

The Petersen guides are excellent.

Para,
Here is a link to a nice field guide sized book “Birds of Georgia”. I use the “Birds of South Carolina” version of this. It’s a nice size to carry in the field. It is indexed by color, so it makes it easy to use for identifying birds.

Birds of Georgia

I second the Silbey books. The Sibley Guide To Birds.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...X1M1#customerReviews

Agree The Sibley guide is good. I also use the Merlin bird app by Cornell U.

quote:

Originally posted by midwest guy:
Agree The Sibley guide is good. I also use the Merlin bird app by Cornell U.

I use the Merlin app as well. Regional listings, multiple images, bird calls and the like.

quote:

Originally posted by Patrick-SP2022:

quote:

Originally posted by midwest guy:
Agree The Sibley guide is good. I also use the Merlin bird app by Cornell U.

I use the Merlin app as well. Regional listings, multiple images, bird calls and the like.

Agree with the books posted but the Merlin app is great. It’s what I use now and what I bought my mother to use.

Fun stuff. And a nice pair of binoculars for the Mrs.

I use National Geographic's Guide to the Backyard Birds of North America and like it. Very nicely organized for quick reference.

I carry a Sibley's Bird Guide with me.

+1 on the Audubon books.

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:
Para,
Here is a link to a nice field guide sized book “Birds of Georgia”. I use the “Birds of South Carolina” version of this. It’s a nice size to carry in the field. It is indexed by color, so it makes it easy to use for identifying birds.

Birds of Georgia

I also use the Carolinas edition of this series. It's pretty small and portable.

Also, the Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell mentioned above is pretty good. I used it a couple of months ago to identify a bird hanging around my front porch that I'd never seen before.

quote:

Originally posted by GA Gator:

Growing up my grandmother had numerous feeders. She always had the Audubon field guide close by. Lots of great memories. I just ordered a copy for myself.
Thanks for the reminder.

Great thread here. The wifey loves to watch birds. Now I have a few books to get her.

{Off topic}

I downloaded this to my Kindle a couple of hours ago and have been laughing my ass off.



Link

I use the Golden field guide to birds of North America the most.
I have Sibleys, Audubon (love the actual photo images in there), and the Merlin app as well, but I grew up with the Golden, and that’s where I’ve logged the comings and goings of migrants, so I already have the pages dog eared, etc. and know whereabouts to riffle to on the various types of birds.
Sibleys is too intense for me when I’m trying to figure out wtf it is before it flies off, so I’m grabbing for the blue covered Golden guide, but I’ll burrow into Sibleys when the bird is gone to try and doublecheck and verify or learn more. I just look at Audubon for the pictures

quote:

Sibleys is too intense for me when I’m trying to figure out wtf it is before it flies off,

I recommend your wife get a camera with a zoom lens and take photos of the birds she wants to identify. Then, whatever guide she gets, use the photos to identify in the guide. I have never been able to use the guide to identify the bird while it was at the feeder. I'm turning pages and the bird snatches a sunflower seed and flies away.