Review: National Geographic Field Guide

National Geographic: Field Guide to the Birds of North America

I picked up this field guide after about a year of really being into birding. I was advised by many other birders to have at least one other field guide to compare and contrast when trying make a tricky identification. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America has been my go-to field guide for the last five years, but because I tend to lose my field guides so frequently out in the field, the Nat-Geo field guide has steadily served as a solid back-up.

The cover picture shown above is of the 5th edition. I actually have had a copy of the 4th edition. I have seen that the 5th edition sports thumb tabs, which is a nice touch. There may be other changes to the 5th edition that may make some of my comments below irrelevant. Please bear with me as I free-form ramble about my thoughts of the advantages and disadvantages of the Nat-Geo Field Guide.

The cover of this guide is a glossy card stock with a plastic coating intended to help it weather the weather. It has for the most part, but the plastic is starting to separate a bit. Other field guides come with a more vinyl-type covering that seems a little more durable.

I like the thumbnail-sized range maps for each of the species next to its entry. The maps do show state/province boundaries which I prefer. The species are listed in taxonomic order which is pretty much standard anymore. Some field guides list birds by similar shape, size, or color, which may work for some, but drives me nuts.

The artistic renderings of the birds is quite good. In my early days of birding, I thought it was too busy for my eye, too much detail, especially compared to Sibley. Sibley's guidebooks when compared side-by-side are very focused on highlighting the differentiating features. Sibley intentionally leaves the non-essential parts of the birds somewhat washed out in his paintings. With a little more birding experience under my belt, the detailed artistic renderings in Nat-Geo are actually quite impressive.

The descriptive paragraph is pretty standard, giving information about the physical appearance of males, females, and juveniles. It includes song/call onomatopoeia and a mention of range and frequency. I still prefer the Sibley layout overall with the horizontal line separating the species as it lends to a more simple and intuitive feel. The plates with multiple species paintings laid out on them often felt too busy for me. To its credit, Nat-Geo does appear to show a few more plumage variations than does Sibley's.

I like Nat-Geo's "Quick-find" Index in the back. I just wish it was the very last page rather than being found just before the artists' credits. Sibley's Quick Index is in very back and made of card-stock paper. Because it is a different paper type it is really easy to find quickly, as it should be. The regular index in Nat-Geo is user-friendly enough and also includes check boxes for you to mark which species you have seen. This must be a throw-back to the days before eBird where the average birder kept his life list in his field guide. It almost seems unnecessary in my world now, but I am certain there are lots of birders out there that still like this feature.

Price: as low as $9 + shipping online

So my overall recommendation on the National Geographic's Field Guide to the Birds of North America is that every birding should have a copy of it...at least as a back-up.

Review: The Encyclopedia of North American Birds

I have to admit up front that I bought this book at a second hand book store and it was on the discount table there. It was about birds and it was cheap, so I had to buy it! I've never heard any one recommend this book as a "must-have", but I'd like to highlight a few advantages and disadvantages about this book.

1. It has great photography! Some of the shots are simply amazing and capture the birds in a variety of profiles and life situations. The photography is so good that I consider this more of a coffee table book rather than guidebook or an identification toolbook. Its a large book with a hard cover like coffee table books generally are. Some of the birds it lists and describes don't have a companion photo which disappoints a little. Since I don't consider it a guide book, I'm okay that it doesn't have photos of multiple variations of each species.

2. The book is organized in taxonomic order which is always nice. Some common North American species are missing from its pages and I don't know why.

3. It has range maps with each photographed bird. I love range maps and maps in general. I used to pin up the National Geographic maps on my bedroom walls and ceiling as a boy. My only complaint about the range maps in this book is that they don't show state/province boundaries which are often very helpful. Another pet peeve I just have to get off my chest...I hereby call upon all range map makers to establish a uniform range map color coding system!

4. Each bird has a blocked out section with the scientific name, the size, the habitat, ID info, and comparisons to similar species. This is followed by an encyclopedia style paragraph about the bird including info about nesting and other behaviors. All great info, but not my go-to source for this kind of information.

My recommendation: Michael Vanner has put together the perfect book to have around the house for kids to pick up out of curiosity and hopefully prompt a lifetime of interest in birds.

Price: new and used online for very low prices.

Birding Blogosphere

There have been some really great birding blog posts recently. Below are some links that I encourage you to check out.

Bill Schiess' Wild in Idaho blog always has interesting articles and cool photography. Check out this post on Cedar Waxwings.

If you haven't been following the fun and friendly competition between IBO's Hiedi and Jay, then you've been missing out. But, you can certainly catch up by reading their blog. They are trying to see as many Idaho species as they can in 2009 and they are very close to 300. We can help them out by reporting anything you might see on their updated wish list. You can also keep up with their awesome updates from the Idaho Bird Observatory blog.

Greg Gillson is the Pacific Northwest Backyard Birder whose blog features his own amazing photography. About once a week he highlights a specific bird. This one is on the Mountain Chickadee.

Bill Thompson III is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest and has a great blog that occasionally features silly contests. Create the caption for a garden gnome peering through a spotting scope.

I just discovered this well-written blog this week from Idaho's neighbor to the south, Utah. Check out Melissa's Backyard Birds Utah blog.

Other great blogs that I follow are listed in the right-hand column of my blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Field Guide Review: Sparrows of the United States and Canada

Are you ready to take your birding to the next level? Then spend some time getting to know your LBJ's (little brown jobbers) by investing in the book Sparrows of the United States and Canada: A Photographic Guide.

No field guide less than a foot thick could ever show all the possible variations of birds, but for sparrows, this book comes awfully close.

I have been using it recently to learn the subspecies of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-crowned Sparrows. A recent sighting of a White-throated Sparrow in the Boise area sent me running to this book to learn all about them.

The layout of the book is fantastic and the photography is excellent. My compliments to compilers David Beadle and James Rising. This is a must have reference book for every serious birder.

Price: As low as $18 online.

Product Review: birdJam

birdJam is a software program that organizes Stokes bird songs into a user-friendly system for iPods. I found that with a little manipulation I could load the software on my Zune player. The main purpose for this software is to help you learn bird song on the go. It can also be used to identify the bird sounds you hear in the field. One of the main uses of this tool, although no one wants to publicly admit it as the ethics of such are still being debated, is to call the birds using their own calls in for easy viewing. Rather than continue that debate here, please adhere to the birdJam Ethics.

The software works great! It is so easy to use on the iPod and the loading was not even that difficult for a somewhat tech-savvy guy like myself.

Price: Ranges greatly depending on the iPod you want to purchase. You can buy the software as well as the bird song CD's a la carte to customize it to your wants and needs.

Product Review: iMainGo2 portable speaker

I purchased the iMainGo2 portable speaker system to go along with my Zune MP3 player to enhance my BirdJam experience. The sound quality of this portable speaker is excellent. It is very simple to use and the battery life was better than expected. The plastic protective screen does not limit your ability to use your iPod or Zune. The structure of the case if durable and well padded, yet the unit fits easily into my paw. My only complaint is that in the cold weather the hot-glue used to secure the speaker broke loose. I'll have to figure out if I can disassemble the unit to resecure the speaker and restore the sound quality.

Price: $39.95 plus shipping when purchased online.

Why I love Eagle Optics

Regular readers of this birding blog have learned that I love Eagle Optics. They don't even pay me to advertise for them. When I find a product or service of great value, I am happy to promote it. Here is my most recent experience that will keep me coming back to Eagle Optics to purchase my birding equipment:

My Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 8x42 binoculars broke. Well, at least the little neck-strap connection ring on the side broke. I had removed the neck strap that came with it and replaced it with the shoulder harness. The harness has a plastic clip that is just too large for the ring and the pressure finally snapped the ring.

Thanks to Eagle Optics Platinum Protection unlimited, unconditional lifetime warranty I sent in the binoculars and I got them back a week later. They not only fixed the ring, they added zip-ties and secondary rings to keep the pressure of the harness hook off of the main ring. I love it when people find long-term solutions to problems rather than putting a band-aid on it. They showed that they go the extra mile.

Book Review: The Idaho Bird Guide: what, where, when

Are you planning a birding trip in Idaho? Do you want to know the best places to see a particular species in Idaho? This is a must have guide book for every Idaho birder's road trip planning. Folks from out of state will enjoy Idaho's birding trails and most majestic scenery by following the directions it contains.

My favorite part of the book is in the back under Idaho Rarities and Specialties were great information is given about when and where to see specific species. This book is very intuitively put together. There are great maps, precise directions, and very helpful information about fuel, food, and lodging for each part of the great state of Idaho.

Looking at all the fantastic locations they discuss, I've only been birding at a few of them. I was surprised to find Jump Creek near Marsing in there. As a teenager my buddies and I would hike back in there pretty often. There is a cool waterfall just a little ways up the draw and a couple miles up the creek there is a natural water slide. Back then I wasn't into birding, so I'll have to go back with my new perspective. The poison-ivy is really bad there and the book even covers those kinds of important details.

This guide really makes me want to get out and cover more turf. With over 50 contributors, Dan Svingen and Kas Dumroese did a great job compiling and editing it into a very consistent book. Well done!

The Idaho Birding Trail website by the Fish & Game is quite similar (so much so that I wonder if the authors of The Idaho Bird Guide were not part of its development) and is also a good tool for birding road trip planning.

Product Review: Celestron Ultima 80 Spotting Scope

My first spotting scope! I got my Celestron Ultima 80 on an internet special for $189 about four years ago. (Unfortunately it was stolen out of my car along with my binoculars and field guide when I left my garage door open over night and didn't lock my vehicle.) In good light this scope will surely help you pick out those peeps on the mudflats. My father-in-law, Lynn Davenport, also has this same scope and we've added several life birds using it!

As is common to most spotting scopes, color transmission and image steadiness are reduced as you increase magnification power. The image also starts to blur out toward the edges of your viewing window. Eye fatigue does become a problem after extended use. This scope is not great for low-light situations. A good tripod will help. We use the open car window as our viewing platform more often than a tripod. It just depends on where you are birding.

While visiting the Idaho Bird Observatory recently I was able to look at soaring hawks through a highend Swarovski spotting scope on a great tripod. It made all my past scope use look pathetic, but the price tag governs a lot of my equipment purchase decisions.

The Celestron Ultima 80 is a good value for young and beginning birders. I am still in the cheap stage of life and I recently purchased a $99 special Eagle Optics Denali. We'll see how it does and I'll post a review for it eventually.

A great new website, Spotting Scope Review, has just been launched. This website/blog focuses on spotting scopes and related accessories. There will be dozens of reviews by the staff of Spotting Scope Review and you can submit your own review as well. If you are in the market for a spotting scope, check this site out first to get your education on them.

Field Guide Review: The Sibley Guide to Trees

I have long resisted learning about plants and insects because with all the birds I am already so busy looking at I felt like I'd become overwhelmed with visual and mental stimulation. Yet birds and trees go together like peanut butter and jelly. People I work with like Michael Wiegand and Shon Parks have inspired my curiosity to know more about the plants that sustain wildlife. I figured an easy and mentally safe step to take would be to learn about trees. There really aren't that many varieties of wild trees in Idaho, so I shall endeavor. Plus everyone will think I am some kind of naturalist genius when I say "Check out that Mountain Chickadee in that Western Larch!"

The Sibley Guide to Trees, by my favorite bird field guide compiler and artist David Sibley, looks like just the sort of thing I need to get started in my quest to know my trees. I have used it to identify the trees around my neighborhood. I quickly discovered that Idaho has a lot of "cultivated" trees that are not wild to Idaho or North America and are therefore not included in the Sibley Guide to Trees. I usually am able to at least figure what group of trees it belongs to, so maybe I'll just sound smart and not like a complete genius.

The paintings of the tree parts and maps are just as good as Sibley's bird guides will all kinds of helpful species specific tips for identification. The book is a bit larger than is comfortable for most outdoor adventures, but perfect for those moments when you are just sitting there looking at a tree and wondering what in the heck it is. As a birder, a Scouter and an outdoor enthusiast I completely recommend The Sibley Guide to Trees.

Price: around $23 on various websites

Magazine Review: Birder's World Magazine

I just renewed my subscription to this awesome birding magazine. I read it word-for-word from cover-to-cover, including the advertising.

I like the Birder's World magazine because of its balance of articles about birding hotspots, identification tips, birding products, backyard birding info, and bird biology. I like that it focuses mostly on birding in the United States and does occasionally discuss some of the more exotic places. Articles support conservation, but not overbearingly so. In comparing this magazine to other birding publications, I really like that Birder's World is not too scientific. Often, birding publications come across as doctoral thesis dissertations. I just want to read a nice magazine about birds and birding and this is the best one I have found so far. They also have a great website with lots of free features and nice subscriber-only applications.

Price: Approximately $26 annually if you get the special.

Book Review: To See Every Bird on Earth

Sometimes we birders joke about birding being an addiction or a sickness, but for Richard Koeppel it wasn't a joke. This book both fascinated me and scared me as it told of fantastic adventures in seeing new birds, adventures I only dream of, but also showed the darker side of a hobby turned compulsion at the expense of those things that truly bring a lifetime of happiness. Richard's son Dan is the author and his writing style is captivating. Because Dan's experience with his birder father so directly and deeply affected him, his prose is very compellng and emotional in both it's heroic and apathetic portrayal of his father.

As a self-proclaimed avid birder, it was interesting to see in myself a little Richard. Thankfully I have a wife that supports me in my hobby while at the same time reminding me very plumply when I start to lose that perpetual search for balance. Anyway, a great read that I recommend to everybody, birder or not.

For another great review of this book that really captures my thoughts and feelings as well, check out Mike Bergin's at 10,000 Birds.

Price: Available new and used from various websites, generally under $14.00

Ask the Avimor Bird Guy...binocular recommendations

From Jan H. (a new SOB to Tom) in Idaho:

My husband is really getting into birding and I need to get a new set of binoculars so I can actually see the birds! Any suggestions?

Avimor Bird Guy: Jan, I'm sorry that you have lost your husband to the birding addiction. My wife and mother-in-law can relate. It is a nerdy hobby, but it helps me give me the thrill of the hunt while enjoying the outdoors.

When it comes to binoculars...if you have even the faintest desire to enjoy birding...it is worth it to buy binoculars in the $300 range. You will see more and see it so much better...trust me! I spent the first two years of birding with $60 Bushnell's and they were horrible in comparison. I love my Eagle Optics Ranger SRT's 8x42. My father-in-law loves his Nikon Monarch 10x42's. I think Audubon Equinox binoculars are in that same price and quality range.

In the binocular world there is an incredible difference in quality and capability between $100 optics and $300 optics. Some big-time birders buy name brands that cost $1500+, but the difference in value from the $300 optics is not that much. But if I had the money, I'd go for the dream binoculars, Zeiss Victory FL's which run about $2400 (I hear they cook and clean for you).

When it comes to the magnification it is best to stick with 7x35, 8x42, or 10x42. These sizes give you the best amount of light and color transmission, best field of view, and best close-focus.

Field Guide Review: The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America

When I first got into birding while living in Arizona, I cruised on down to the Superstition Springs Center mall and browsed through all the bird field guides at Borders. I knew nothing of field guides, how to use them, or how to compare them. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America just struck me as a good one. I liked the paintings, the descriptions, the maps, and the layout of the pages. It looked very intuitive and the price was reasonable, so I bought it!

Since that day several years ago I have lost three of them and purchased a couple as gifts for other beginning birders. It is still my go-to field guide. No field guide can even begin to display all the possible variations of birds as they may appear at sundry stages, but so far, Sibley's has been there for me to identify every bird that I have come across. I just bought my 4th copy. I may just have to permanently chain it to my body so I don't lose it this time.

Price: as low as $12.20 on several book selling websites

Advertising Opportunities

This blog was created with the original purpose of sharing my joy of birding with those in my specific community. In the last few months my birding blog interests have expanded to include regular interviews with Idaho Birders, reviews of products and books, and reports of my birding adventures outside of my community. My enthusiasm for birding and blogging along with readership continue to grow.

I am happy to receive financial support to sustain my hobby and passion while at the same time promoting products or services that I can personally endorse.

Any company wishing to promote feeders or seed products, let’s talk! I am very interested in providing a weekly blog segment on Idaho Backyard Birding featuring your products. Donation of your products would be deemed as payment.

If you are interested in advertising on this site, please contact me to make specific arrangements. To send me an e-mail, please click on the "Ask the Avimor Bird Guy" icon in the sidebar.

Here is a sample what I can offer:

1. A one-time post dedicated to your product or service. $25.00
2. A 250x250 logo-link in the side bar:
   o $5.00/month for a 12 month agreement
   o $7.50/month for a 6 month agreement
   o $10.00/month for a 3 month agreement
   o $15.00/month for a 1 month agreement
3. Logos and graphics should be sent to me by e-mail.
4. Payment is required before it will be placed on the site
5. PayPal is the preferred method for payment, but other arrangements can be made.
6. I may be agreeable to in-store credit rather than payment.

If you would like me to review and promote your book, I would be happy to do so in exchange for a free copy sent to:

Robert Mortensen
18218 N. Highfield Way
Boise, ID 83714

What are the Best Birding Binoculars?

What birding website would be complete without a discussion of the best birding optics?

When I started to get serious about birding I went to KMart in Prescott, AZ and I spent $80 on a pair of Bushnell 15x50's. I thought, "the bigger the better." Boy was I wrong! With these binoculars I could see ducks a quarter mile away, but I couldn't hold the optics still enough to really see the details and the image seemed to shake. The other problem was that I couldn't focus on anything within 35 feet of where I was standing. After reading some articles from Birders World Magazine and from some other online experts, I quickly discovered that the ratio of power to the large lens is the most important aspect when it comes to choosing the size.

For watching sporting events and especially for birding I recommend that people focus on binoculars that are 7x35's, 8x42's, or 10x42's at the max. These size binoculars will give you the right amount of light, the close-focus, and the wider field of view that aid in birdwatching.

For the average person who enjoys watching birds at their feeder or maybe the occasional stroll in the outdoors to look at wildlife, cheap binoculars from any store will do.

For those that want to really focus on birds and who regulary take birding focused outtings, you really need spend around $300 for a decent pair that have all the really cool coatings that transmit the colors and image more clearly. At this price range may I recommend Eagle Optics Ranger SRT's, Nikon Monarchs, or Audubon Equinox as great value binoculars that will make your birdwatching exponentially more enjoyable than the $60 pair from the local superstore.

There are several higher-end, name-brand optics in the birding world. I've been able to try a couple out and they are really nice. They just don't seem so much more impressive than my Eagle Optics to justify the additional expense of $1000+.

The most important tips I can give are:

1. Get the best optics you can afford.

2. Try them out first to make sure they feel good. They should be comfortable in your hand and and you want to be able to adjust the focus quickly.

The next item is to use a shoulder harness rather than the neck strap. My folks got me a Cabella's shoulder harness a couple years ago, but it took me a while to figure out how to use it appropriately. Now that I have been using it right...what a difference! I love it!

What has your experience been with birding binoculars?