Customer Reviews

Birding for Beginners

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This bird book is for you! I saw it at a friend's home and knew it was the beginner's book for me. The illustrations are colorful and the information on the many birds is well organized. I found it not to be overwhelming, but easy to use. This is the book to inspire you to start birding--alone or with a friend or child, at your window or outdoors. With this book as a reference you can satisfy your curiosity and develop your skills at identification.

I am a neophyte birder and this book was perfect as a beginning guide in identifying and recognizing common birds in the western region. The other bird guides I have purchased (National Geographic and Audubon) were exceptional, but for a novice, they presented too much information and too many birds. This book struck a nice, comfortable compromise. The photos of each bird are excellent and provide you a good look at the features and characteristics of each. They also tell you succinctly where the habitat would be and where you would most likely see each bird.

The best feature was that each bird was divided by color. So if you see a Wilson's warbler in your backyard but don't know for certain if your call is correct, you can quickly thumb to the "yellow" section of the book and see all the yellow birds. Thus you can quickly confirm your identification.

This book would have limited, or no value to an experienced birder, but for the beginning birder, this is a fine introduction to the hobby of birding.

Of which I definitely am in the birding arena. Shelia Buff claims to be an advanced beginner herself, and therefore knows what it's like to be starting out at square one. Have only read a few pages, but really enjoy the simple language and her approach to the subject, and therefore want to read and learn more about the creatures flying naturally about in the friendly skies. Which says a lot coming from someone who can get easily overwhelmed by all of the details of a new hobby. If you have the slightest interest in birds, get this book, I can tell it's going to lay a good foundation of knowledge for me.