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Bird's-Eye View: Big, red, flies at night? A book might offer insight
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Published: December 9, 2008
If you are like me, you are just getting around to shopping for gifts. What better idea for bird lovers than selections from the many excellent book offerings in local stores? Choose from books on bird identification or behavior, birding expeditions, backyard tips, humorous stories, photographic essays, encyclopedias and more. Here are a few recommendations from me and fellow birders.
David Disher, a frequent photo contributor to this column, recommends Tales of a Low-Rent Birder and More Tales of a Low-Rent Birder by Pete Dunne. I recently read the first Tales and heartily concur. Dunne, who directs the Cape May Bird Observatory in New Jersey, simultaneously entertains and informs. I love "Pulling Strings," a parable about consequences of environmental actions.
High on lists of many bird chasers is The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik. This is birders' version of The Amazing Race, as three compulsive personalities crisscross North America to see who can find the most species in a single year.
An appeal that lasts
Wild America by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher was published in 1955. But its continuing availability attests to its enduring charm. The book's account of a 30,000-mile journey has made a lasting impression on co-columnist Ron Morris. To Ron, the book's appeal is not only the subject matter but also that it "takes place in a time when life and America were a bit simpler."
Scott Weidensaul's Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding traces the contributions of John James Audubon, Peterson and others to our knowledge of birds and birding's popularity. In "Death of Miss Hathaway" (for devotees of The Beverly Hillbillies), Weidensaul observes how birding has become "almost cool" for 70 million participants. Consider also Weidensaul's Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds.
At 25, Roger Tory Peterson introduced the general public to birds through his 1934 Field Guide to the Birds. Generations of birders have been attached to their Peterson field guides and their system of drawings that pinpoint key field marks. Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson by Elizabeth J. Rosental examines the life and contributions of this father of birding. Another entertaining biography is John James Audubon: The Making of an American by Richard Rhodes.
Help out in the field
Which field guide should you buy? There are many excellent guides available. Most area birders invariably include in their library Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America or David Sibley's The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. Drawings by Peterson and Sibley illustrate variations by age, sex, season and geography. Sibley is more thorough on confusing non-breeding plumages, and his books have more current information. But Peterson's art remains unmatched.
Guides for attracting birds range substantially in price. The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher by Robert Burton and Stephen Kress is a medium-priced publication that offers tips on both landscaping and bird feeders.
For young birders, I recommend Birds of the Carolinas Field Guide by Stan Tekiela. A book and audio CD are sold separately or together. Peterson Field Guides' The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America has a friendly layout of "Look For," "Listen For," "Remember," "Find It" and "WOW" facts, plus photos and sketches of 200 birds. For stocking stuffers, pick up Field Guide to Historic Bethabara Park at the park's visitors center.
No teenager should miss Kenn Kaufman's classic, Kingbird Highway. I passed a copy to my son 15 years ago, but Kaufman's chronicle of his quest at age 16 to see every bird in America is still in print. Life was simpler in the 1970s, but Kaufman's adventure remains inspirational to young naturalists and is enjoyed vicariously by birders of all ages.
Finally, the entire family can explore our state with The North Carolina Birding Trail's Piedmont Trail Guide and Coastal Plain Trail Guide. A Mountain Trail Guide is coming soon. You may order them for $10 each from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission at www.ncwildlife.org.
Civitan site of bird walk
The Audubon Society of Forsyth County will hold a bird walk at 9 a.m. Saturday at Civitan Park. Meet by the foot bridge behind Winston-Salem State University's Anderson Center. From downtown Winston-Salem, take Martin Luther King Drive south to the traffic signal at Reynolds Park Road and turn right into the parking lot.
■ Bird's-Eye View is a joint column by Ron Morris and Phil Dickinson. Today's column was written by Dickinson. Dickinson is a legal writer. He has been an active birder for 15 years, and is a past president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County and headws the conservation committee. Morris retired after 24 years as curator at the N.C. Zoo. He has studied birds around the world and is currently the vice president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County. If you have a birding question or story idea, write to Bird's-Eye View in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-3159, or send an e-mail to birding@wsjournal.com. Please type "birds" in the subject line.
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