Customer Reviews

BIRDER'S GUIDE TO THE CHICAGO REGION

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Kudos for Joel Greenberg and Lynne Carpenter's recently published book. I have sampled many, many bird finding guides, as most dedicated birders have, but I rank their new `Birders Guide to the Chicago Region', as the best of its type. Its comprehensiveness, indexing, maps, species accounts and locations, accuracy and ease of use are unparalleled. Lynne and Joel: You have my highest compliments for an absolutely first rate job!

Both Lynne Carpenter and Joel Greenberg are well known in the Chicago area as great birders. And I've been lucky to have had the pleasure of birding with both of them. I am so grateful that they've committed their knowledge to this book. If you bird in the Chicago area then this book is a "must have" for your birding library.

What a great resource for Chicago bird watchers! I have a VERY basic skill set, and one of the obstacles to effective birdwatching, for me, is knowing where to look for birds. Chicago enjoys a prime location for this pursuit: we're on a migratory flyway and we have lots of different habitats that entice lots of different birds (the lakeshore, our huge forest preserve system, restored prairies, etc.) This book cuts to the chase. The reader is able to look up promising sites by season/month, species, and location.

Unfortunately, this edition is way out-of-date. Meigs Field on the lakefront is mentioned as a snowy owl magnet, yet Meigs no longer exists (Mayor Richie Daley bulldozed it in the middle of the night one year, illegally, but that's another story). Are the snowy owls still visiting? Maybe they've just shifted their target stop slightly and are still coming in at Northerly Island.

There are some omissions, too--Garfield Park is not mentioned at all, although this gorgeous park (and its amazing conservatory) has meadows, tree growth, and lagoons. Garfield is a place more Chicagoans should visit. Admission to the Conservatory is free, and so are the Audubon-sponsored bird walks. More interest = more attention from the city in funding this beautiful cultural jewel.

Then there's the vague yet ominous warning for some parks or beaches (Rainbow Beach) that birdwatching should not be done alone. It would be nice to know why. Native Chicagoans know that Rainbow, for example, is in the heart of a high-crime neighborhood. But stating that it's high-crime may induce birders, and other nature-lovers, to insist on increased police patrols so that this city resource is not wasted as a hangout for riffraff and instead is availble to ALL of us who enjoy Chicago.

If this book becomes available in an updated, and cheaper, edition, I will be the first person to buy it. As it is, I borrow it from the library for ideas of where to go, but I don't really trust that the information is up-to-date or all-inclusive. But the authors are smart, dedicated people. I'm hoping they'll come out with a revision soon.

Absolutely unparalleled -- I completely agree that this book is the best I have seen of its kind. I only wish there were such exquisitely detailed birding information available for other cities I frequent, such as Philly, D.C., and Boston.