With the peak of spring migration set to take flight in the coming weeks, plenty of time remains for birders to hone their identification skills before another influx of birds moves through the area. Field guides are an invaluable tool when it comes to properly identifying birds, but with so many on the market how do you know which one to choose? As an avid birder, I own a number of field guides, each one having specific benefits. In this post, I will share with you my four favourite and why I think every birder, novice or expert should own a copy of each.
1. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Sixth Edition
As a child, I grew up with Peterson field guides and have grown to love them over the years. I find myself reaching for this guide more than any other in my collection. This guide features beautiful paintings of over 500 species in various plumages and utilizes the Peterson Identification System to aid in identification. A detailed written description of each species including size and specific field marks to look for as well as preferred habitat and voice make this guide incredibly useful and easy to use.
Large range maps colour coded by season are found in the back of each guide further assisting with identification. Measuring 5.25″ x 8″ this guide easily fits into any vehicle’s glove box or console and can be easily stowed into a backpack for carrying in the field. For anyone new to birding I highly recommend this guide as I find the illustrations very easy to reference. Having said that, this guide is equally useful for advanced and expert birders alike as it combines all the features of a great guide.
2. The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region
I added this guide to my library to help identify some of the more challenging species, particularly when birds are not displaying their recognizable breeding plumage. Armed with my Stokes guide this otherwise daunting task is simplified thanks to over 2,000 colour photographs featuring 545 birds. What makes this book so useful is the abundance of photos showcasing the array of plumages including male and female breeding, winter, as well as juvenile birds. For this reason, I especially love this guide for identifying warblers, gulls, waterfowl and shorebirds. At 5.5″ x 8.5″ this compact guide can easily be brought along on any outing.
The written descriptions including sound and habitat are equally helpful at making positive identifications. My only complaint about this field guide is that the range maps are too small. Measuring only 1″ x 1″ and tucked in the bottom corner of each page these maps almost seem like an afterthought. However, this is not a deal breaker and I would recommend this book to anyone, especially for those intermediate and advanced birders looking to up their game when it comes to properly identifying the aforementioned challenging species.
3. The Warbler Guide
As the title indicates, this field guide focuses solely on warblers and therefore is geared towards those looking to improve their skills identifying these colourful songbirds. I’m sure most birders will agree when I say warblers are among the most frustrating birds to identify. The addition of this guide to my collection in recent years has helped me tremendously when it comes to confidently identifying warblers. Featuring both illustrations and photographs of the 56 warblers found in the United States and Canada, this in-depth guide takes showcasing field marks to another level.
Not only are traditional side views featured, this guide goes so far as to include a series of quick finder pages featuring multiple viewing angles and the various seasonal plumages displayed by warblers. Descriptions, comparison species, range maps, and vocalization make this guide a must-have for warbler fanatics.
The 6.25″ x 8.75″ size makes this guide bigger than most; however, I would not want to see this much information condensed down onto smaller pages. I don’t typically take this guide with me into the field due to its size, rather I use it to aid with identification of birds I have photographed once I return home. Remember, only warblers are featured, so if the bird in question is not a warbler you won’t find it in this guide. The Warbler Guide is the perfect compliment to the previously mentioned Peterson or Stokes guide.
4. Sibley’s Warblers of Eastern North America
If you are looking for something more compact to take with you in the field to help with warbler identification, look no further. This incredibly useful guide features 6 waterproof pages loaded front and back with all the information needed to successfully identify the 38 warblers found in eastern North America. Illustrations of various plumages, a brief description, and range maps make up this 4″ x 9″ easily packable accordion style guide.
At only about $10 this is an incredibly affordable option that doesn’t’ sting too much when you have to replace it because someone dropped it in the woods (I won’t name names here). Despite having a pretty good grasp of warbler identification, I always pack this guide with me on all my May outings when I am searching for and photographing warblers.
As you can tell by the titles, three of these four guides are specific to eastern North America. Since all of my birding is done in this part of the world, these guides are perfect for me. If you live in the west or your birding adventures take you across the continent, both Peterson and Stokes offer a guide specific to western North America and one featuring all birds found in North America.
Whether you are a new birder looking for your first field guide or a seasoned veteran looking for something with more information to help identify those challenging species, consider these four guides. Regardless of which guide you choose, I know you will be satisfied with your selection.
Good birding,
Paul
Great suggestions! Will share with my bird peeps at FeederWatch Canada
Thank you very much Emma, and thanks for sharing I really appreciate it!
Thanks for the tips! I’ll be picking one of these up, for sure.
My pleasure Jaye. They are all great guides. You won’t be disappointed.