Customer Reviews

Birder's Guide to Washington (Birder's Guides)

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There has been a need for a comprehensive guide to birding locations in Washington state since the old guide by Dennis Paulson and Terry Wahl has been dated for some time. Diann MacRae clearly has lots of knowledge about birding in Washington and has tried to organize it for birders in a useful and handy guide. Those who want information on where to find birds in Washington state will find some help in this book. The problem is that the book lists birding sites only in a general way; MacRae frequently doesn't describe specifically where they are located, so that even birders who know Washington state well may have trouble finding the sites MacRae recommends. The guide is also not attractively formatted, and my copy was sloppily bound and should really have not been sold. Comparing "Birder's Guide to Washington" with first-rate productions such as the Falcon guides: "Birding Utah" or "Birding Northern California" one becomes aware of the gulf between the title under discussion and what it could (should) have been. Washington birders will profit from MacRae's guide, but they will wish for a better one.

I spent six days in Washington with this as my guide.It took me to many wonderful birding spots all around Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula. It's only flaw was it did not say WHEN to visit these places, ie. time of day, time of year. Most of the places I visited, the birds hadn't yet arrived or had already left. But I will use it again for the next trip.

This book is good if you already know your birds. It doesn't have photos or descriptions of birds. It tells you where you are likely to find a species. It's no good if you want to know what that bird is in your backyard.

This is one of the best guides for Washington State birding. If you live in Washington, I'd say this is a must.