The Traveling Birder: 20 Five-Star Birding Vacations (Traveling Sportsman Series) [Paperback]

Clive Goodwin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Goodwin, a Toronto-based bird tour leader and author of A Bird Finding Guide to Ontario (Univ. of Toronto Pr., 1982), here profiles 20 birding "hot spots," 16 of which can be found in North America and the rest in Spain, Britain, Kenya, and Trinidad. He provides descriptions of such birding meccas as southern Arizona, as well as lesser known locations like Reelfoot Lake (Tennessee). Several local hotels and restaurants are listed for each entry, as well as helpful information tourists should heed regarding a particular area (e.g., what noxious insects to expect). The result is more of a smorgasbord similar to George Harrison's Roger Tory Peterson's Dozen Birding Hot Spots ( LJ 11/15/76) than an inclusive bird-finding guide. Goodwin's colorful bird descriptions, written in a readable style, are certain to appeal to anyone serious enough about bird watching to spend a vacation chasing after birds.
- J.F. Husband, Framingham State Coll., Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Main Street Books; 1st edition (April 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385411464
• ISBN-13: 978-0385411462
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,226,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guide for Bird Watchers who Travel, December 9, 2003

By 

Peter V. Tamas (New Brunswick area, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Traveling Birder: 20 Five-Star Birding Vacations (Traveling Sportsman Series) (Paperback)

Birders (a.k.a. bird watchers) can approach their hobby several ways. There's the backyard birder who enjoys feeding and otherwise attracting birds to his/her backyard. Then there's the lister, who keeps a list of species seen (whether in a time period such as a year or in a lifetime) and is always trying to see the next new bird. I feel that among listers there are several types, some who chase the rare (pronounced "lost") birds that blunder to a "migrant trap" near the birders' home, and others who'd rather travel to where the birds should be. This book is for the later group.

There are quite a few bird finding books out there, many good but perhaps none of them perfect. Some of them give detailed lists of what can be seen at each location covered. This one does not. However, that's not necessarily a strong negative because some of the lists in the other books seem to list lots of rarities. If you follow the lists blindly, you may find yourself searching for rarities rather than what is common at that locale.

This book is first and foremost a book for daydreaming. Sure, the advice is practical and you get a good idea of what to expect at each location. But the scope of the chapters range from specific sanctuaries to countries. You may end up getting practical advice about an outstanding sanctuary not terribly far from you and start day dreaming about a trip to Kenya "someday".

If you are a bird watcher who likes to travel, you will probably enjoy this book very much. In fact, you don't need to be an expert birder to enjoy this book.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What happened to South America?, January 14, 2005

By 

Sally G. Jackson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Traveling Birder: 20 Five-Star Birding Vacations (Traveling Sportsman Series) (Paperback)

How can a book about great birding spots not have a single mention of South America?