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| Blue Jay in the Snow |
Favorite Bird Guide
I have always loved to photograph birds, but only recently have I gotten really interested in identifying the birds in my backyard. I have looked up birds online to try to find out what species of bird I have captured in my photos, but was never completely satisfied with my searches. So my next step was to look for a paperback book that would fit my needs. I found just what I needed in a delightful book by Jonathan Adererfer and Paul Hess National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America.
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Bird Identification
This delightful book has a detailed guide to 150 species of birds of North America. The photo below is one example of a bird I identified from the book. I knew the bird was some type of sparrow so I first looked up sparrows in the index of the book. This brought me to a series of pages with over ten different types of sparrows. As I looked through the photos I narrowed it down to several that looked similar. When I looked closer only one was exactly like my sparrow. The white throat and small yellow spot above the eye were my biggest clues. Besides looking at the photos I read the identification section and checked the range to make sure this sparrow came to my area. All of these things agreed so I concluded that this was a White-throated Sparrow. The page on this sparrow also gave information on the food and nesting habits of the bird.
Here are two more birds I identified using the same general steps that I used above. The first is a Tufted Tit Mouse, which I learned is native to my area of the country (mid-west). I also learned it is a very vocal bird and that its' song is a loud peter-peter-peter, repeated over and over.
Additional Features of the Book
In addition to the bird identification features I found several other sections of the book that were very interesting and helpful.
- Basics of Bird Watching- this section gives you hints on where and when to watch for birds. It talks about migratory birds and those that are year round residents.
- Feeding Birds- this section gives hints on the types of feeders to use, where to place them and what food to put in the feeders to attract different birds.
- Birdhouses- If you are wanting to place a bird house for your birds this section is a must read.
- Bird-Friendly Yards-This is a great section that gives you hints on planting your yard to attract birds.
- Birding Skills-If you want to increase your skills at watching and identifying birds this is the section for you.
- Citizen Science- This section talks about the birding community and ways that you can help. It also talks about keeping a birding journal.
Bird Journal
Here is a journal I have created using my photographs. You can order it on Zazzle by clicking on the link below the photo.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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