Customer Reviews

Pete Dunne on Bird Watching: The How-to, Where-to, and When-to of Birding

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
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Pete Dunne does a wonderful job introducing the reader to the world of birding. He starts with the basics: field guides and binoculars, and explains how to choose among the various ones out there (there are so many that a beginner can easily become overwhelmed). As a beginner, I know that he saved me a lot of time and money on these two issues alone. Dunne then moves on to more advanced topics, such as basic birding techniques, where to go birding, and birding organizations. Inspirational anecdotes from his experience and other birders are peppered throughout, easing the reader into a specialized field while maintaining that natural curiousity about birds that all of us have.

I have both this book and "Sibley's Birding Basics." I think that Dunne's book is better for the beginner. It is written in a MUCH more engaging style, is not nearly as technical (e.g. in details of bird taxonomy), and has a lot more practical advice.

Veteran birder Pete Dunne has written a book that is an excellent introduction to the popular hobby. As one who's been doing it for a little less than a year, I found his book very helpful.

The various chapters cover useful topics, including: how to select your binoculars (and what those numbers on them mean); what to wear - and not to wear - while looking for birds; how to set up a feeder and make your own back yard more attractive to birds; protecting birds from threats ranging from cats to glass; finding a good field guide; organizations and events; the basics of identifying birds; plus some interesting stories from the field, care of Dunne and other experienced bird watchers. There's a lot of helpful information, that will make a nascent birder feel less clueless.

A few things that might have made it better: there's little info on ornithology itself - Dunne frequently mentions various types of birds as examples, but you may have no idea what he's talking about. When discussing the all-important field marks, for example, there are some (black and white) photos, but more of them (and perhaps illustrations) might have made his points more clear. For instance, showing the difference between the different tail shapes would have been useful. Also, while he mentions many species and family, there's not even a basic rundown of the different types of birds - so if you don't know a sparrow from a warbler, some of his text seems meaningless.

Note also that this is not a field guide (nor does it claim to be) so you'll need something else to help you identify the birds you see.

Combined with a couple of other books like a good field guide (the Peterson guides seem to be the gold standard) and a basic text on ornithology (David Sibley's books get high marks from many) and Dunne's book on birding techniques, and you should be ready to go.

Starting with backyard birding and bird feeding, Dunne proceeds to give the basics. What to look for in binoculars and field guides, clubs and tours, birding by ear, and hints for moving beyond being a beginner. I particularly appreciated the chapter on ethics and responsibility, and including the ABA code of ethics in the appendix a good idea. Written in a light but informative manner, Dunne is not afraid to tell stories on himself, such as accidentally stepping on a Sharp-tailed Grouse, and identifying a harrier at Hawk Mountain and the lesson's learned. Each chapter includes a useful essay by a `guest', such as Birding by ear, by Dick Walton, or "A birders guide to bird tour survival". Although geared for the beginner, there is useful information and reference for all.

This prolific writer on birding delivers again, taking many of his tried and true observations on birding and compiling them into an easy and interesting format. I would recommend this strongly to any birder but certainly beginning birders will profit the most from its insights. Especially good for anyone considering an optics purchase.

This publication, authored by birder Pete Dunne, was published in 2003. It contains 334 pages. There are eight chapters; within these chapters are different sections. Appendixes, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index are also included. Throughout the chapters, certain words are boldfaced--they are defined in the glossary. Numerous black-and-white photos are contained; they display things such as birders in the field, kinds of birdfeeders, and types of birds. I find the section on binoculars to be indispensable and illuminating. The table that deals with seed preferences of common backyard birds is helpful. The information provided on types of birdfeeders is useful. I like the section that discusses landscaping for birds: the regional plant lists--for North America--are informative. The section on water being used as a bird attractant is worthy, along with the section that deals with nest boxes. Other interesting topics are field guides, birding apparel, basic bird identification, birding by ear, keeping records, bird censusing, and spotting scopes and tripods. In addition, I appreciate the glossary and the bibliography. This book is not only designed for the beginning birder but also for those that are more experienced. It is set up to follow the progressive gradients that birders pass through as their interest increases and more information is needed. Actually, I rate this book 3.5 stars. Pete Dunne on Bird Watching is instructive and recommendable.

This was very helpful for me in finding out the right types of seed to put out for the birds in my area.