Birds Families

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General field guides are excellent.  However, sometimes it helps to go beyond these guides.  While guides to various bird groups don't necessarily make identifying birds easier they can provide welcome additional information.  For example, if you have a guide that shows a painting of a bird, an actual picture is useful for seeing specific details of field marks such as subtle colors, sharpness (vs fuzziness) and others.   These guides can provide additional life history information.  They may also help you identify these birds from various angles, different plumages, birds in flight, juveniles, etc.  So these books may help you to not only identify tricky birds but identify them correctly more often. A possible danger of using these books is using them before you are ready.  If you use them too soon you will make the task of identification more difficult because they provide you with too much information.  Stay focused on the most important field marks first.  It is my opinion that the Peterson and Sibley guides for birds are so good that you will need these other books only occasionally. Regional Series on Specific Bird Families Hawks & Owls  of the Great Lakes Region & Eastern North America GB Sparrows & Finches of the Great Lakes Region & Eastern North America GB Warblers of the Great Lakes Region & Eastern North America GB Waterfowl of Eastern North America GB Warblers of Ontario GB Pub Sparrows & Finches of Ontario GB Pub This is the only series of books geared to specific bird families in our region.  This series of four books are photographed based.  The photographs are useful for illustrating certain plumages but many of the desired plumages are not in these books.  Warblers of Ontario and Sparrows & Finches of Ontario are essentially identical except its scope is more limited, the two books are smaller and include a fold out chart. Waterfowl The challenge with waterfowl is recognizing the females, the immatures and the eclipse males.  When you usually see ducks the males and females are usually together.  It is not often you see a female on its own so you don't learn them quickly.  The most challenging time is when the males are in eclipse. At this time all the ducks seem to look the same Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America GB Am The most detailed and comprehensive book on waterfowl. Downy Waterfowl of North America GB An identification guide to baby ducks.  You rarely see baby birds away from their parents though. Field Guide to Upland Birds and Waterfowl GB May be useful for its information on upland birds. Wetland Birds of North America: A Guide to Observation, Understanding and Conservation GB More of a reading book but does have information on all birds associated with wetlands including rails, shorebirds and a selection of species from other bird groups Ducks of North America and the Northern Hemisphere Am Waterfowl: An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World GB An identification that includes extensive information on plumages and subspecies. Cornell Labs Waterfowl ID Series 1 The Basics 2 Dabbling & Diving Ducks 3 Sea Ducks & Others Am Waterfowl of North America, Europe and Asia Pub Ducks at a Distance A Waterfowl Identification Guide While written with hunters in mind, this guide should still be of use for naturalists. Hawks Hawks are difficult group that require more than any other group the ability to identify them in flight. Peterson Field Guides: Hawks of North America GB The primary field guide to hawks. A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors Am GB Suppliments the Peterson's guide with a lot of photos. Identifying Birds of Prey: Quick Reference Guide for Eastern North America Am Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors Am Birds of Prey of the East Am Hawk Watch: A Guide for Beginners GB Hawks in Flight GB  The Mountain and the Migration GB Hawks from Every Angle: How to Identify Raptors In Flight Am  Hawks in flight books.  The first two compliment each other and the third shows a wide variety of postures for species in flight Birds of Prey of the Northeast Field Guide Am Raptors of Eastern North America: The Wheeler Guides GB Very detailed and includes subspecies. Hawk Watch: A Video Guide to Eastern Raptors Am “LOOKING SKYWARD” A Passion for Hawkwatching Pub Two videos. Hawks of Holiday Beach, 2nd Edition GB Pub A local hawk guide. How to Spot Hawks and Eagles GB  Eastern Massachusetts Hawk Watch has reviews for most of the hawk books listed here. XXXHawk Watch Site Selection Various hot spots for hawk viewing in Ontario.  While these are the best spots in Ontario, good hawk watches are possible around an large lake in your area.  From HMANA. XXXHawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) Greater Toronto Hawk Watch Niagara Peninsula Hawk Watch Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) Shorebirds Shorebirds are challenging because they are seen so infrequently and species are very similar in appearance.  When you do see them you can study them at your leisure with a spotting scope.  The suitable habitats for shorebirds is very sparse in most of Ontario.  Sewage lagoons, if you can get access, are excellent places to look providing the water level is low.  Hillman Marsh is an outstanding location.  Other places to check out are muddy shorelines of shallow lakes.  Good luck. The Shorebird Guide GB This field guide takes an interesting approach.  The photographic section has plenty of photographs arranged from juvenile plumage to adult plumage for each species with identification tips for each photo.  The text section section is fairly comprehensive with information on status, taxonomy, behavior, migration, molt and vocalizations. Shorebirds of North America, Europe and Asia GB A strong standard illustrated field guide to shorebirds. Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide GB A photographic field guide to shorebirds. Stoke's Beginner's Guide to Shorebirds Am Makes shorebird identification easier, especially for beginners Shorebirds of North America, Europe and Asia GB Pub A new photographic guide Shorebirds of Southern Ontario Pub Nice compact guide Shorebird Watcher Features a variety of information on shorebirds including a quiz. Shorebirds A set of nice photos for each species.    Gulls  Gulls are not that hard unless you are trying to figure out immature gulls.  Then things tend to get quite complicated and a specialized guide will help (Sibley's though does good on immature gulls).  Unfortunately, many of these specialized guides are also quite expensive. Peterson Reference Guides: Gulls of the Americas GB A North America guide with 1160 photos on 36 species.  Cheapest of the guides.  . Gulls: A Guide to Identification Am Gulls of Europe Asia and North America GB These two guides cover both Europe and North America.  The second one includes Asia as well. Gulls of the World Am  Gull Identification Website.  Identification challenges. Rudy's Gull-index and Bob Lewis Gull Site Gull picture sites. Owls Owls are seen less often than hawks because of their nocturnal habits.  Adding to the challenge is the fact that owls don't concentrate in bottlenecks like hawk do.  The best chance to detect an owl is by doing an owl survey where you play a recording and listen for a response.  Another way is to spot a bird mobbing, sometimes an owl is the target of the mobbing.  To really increase your odds you need to find where owls are nesting and that requires a lot of hiking looking for signs left by owls.  If you do find a nest keep it a secret to keep disturbance to a minimum. Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World GB  A technical guide.  Includes a CD and sonograms of owl calls. How to Spot an Owl GB Includes tips on how to find an owl through its signs. Hawks and Owls of Eastern North America GB  Coffee table book. North American Owls: Journey Through A Shadowed World GB  Another coffee table book.  A profile of each species of owl per chapter. Owls of the North: An Amateur's Handbook GB Am Coffee table book. Owls of the World GB Voices of North American Owls Pub Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean Am Owl Pages An owl portal.  Huge site.  Comprehensive. Owling.com An US based online field guide. World Owl Trust A world organization dedicated to owls. Warblers Warblers are extremely active tiny birds that give you relatively little time to study them.  Yet they are among the most colorful creatures in nature.  Warblers are easier in spring when you see mostly males in distinctive plumages singing away.  Fall warblers present a bigger challenge because the males are not singing, many of the plumages are duller, and you see more of the less distinctive females and immatures. The Warbler Guide Am Youtube - Using the Quickfinders Foldout-guide Warbler guide App I recommend this warbler book over the others because of all its unique features.  An audio package plus a fold-out and app can be added. Stokes Field Guide to Warblers Am  Its approach makes warblers easier. New World Warblers GB An expensive book covering all of North and South America. A Field Guide to Warblers of North America GB An advanced guide to warblers.  Includes subspecies.  Very detailed but its format makes identification difficult. Chasing Warblers GB Describes the adventures of a couple trying to photograph 52 species of warblers. Warblers  A set of nice photos for each species. Master Guide to the Warblers of Canada. A field guide to Canadian warbler.  Includes three useful quizzes. Sparrows and Finches Sparrows are plain looking birds with nice songs that can be difficult to identify visually.  Finches are most desired of birds at feeders and are easier to identify. Finches and Sparrows GB Covers all the plumages of all finches and sparrows in the world A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of the Sparrows of the United States and Canada Am Just sparrows but it covers all the field identifiable subspecies of sparrows Sparrows of the United States and Canada: The Photographic Guide GB Am Fairly detailed as well but it uses photographs.  It has a nice photographic index on habitats.  This book is a companion and also possibly an upgrade to the previous guide mentioned. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America Am To be released Mar 2019. Other Groups Even more groups of birds have their own field guides, but I consider them much less useful as we get only a few members of these groups (like rails) or they are easy to identify (like woodpeckers).  If you travel a lot these books would be more useful.  Nevertheless if you are curious here is a list of titles: Pheasants, Partrides, and Grouse Am Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, and Coots of the World Am  Cuckoos, Cowbirds, and Other Cheats GB  Nightjars and Their Allies GB  Wrens, Dippers, and Thrashers GB  Thrushes (Pica Press) Pub Am A Handbook to the Swallows & Martins of the World GB  New World Blackbirds GB Shrikes: A Guide to the Shrikes of the World GB Skuas and Jaegers GB Hummingbirds: A Life-Size Guide To Every Species Am Woodpeckers of North America: A Naturalist's Handbook GB Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America Am Videos » Another way of learning birds is to watch a video.  The video on tyrant flycatchers is the only resource dedicated to this type of bird I know of but I can't find it being sold online anywhere.  I haven't seen any of these videos so I don't know how good they are.  Be sure to check out other sources for these videos, the used prices can often be outragous. Hawks Hawk Watch: A Video Guide to Eastern Raptors Am; Hawks Up Close Am Shorebirds Shorebirds: A Guide to Shorebirds of Eastern North America Am; Watching Waders: A Video Guide to the Waders Of North America Am Pub Gulls Large Gulls of North America Am Pub; Small Gulls of North America Pub Owls Owls Up Close Am  Flycatchers Tyrant Flycatchers of North America in Action Ref (Unavailable?) Warblers Watching Warblers: A Video Guide to the Warblers of Eastern North America Am  Sparrows Watching Sparrows Pub DVDs