Books

The Birds of Texas by Keith A. Arnold and Gregory Kennedy published by Lone Pine Publishing International. ISBN-13: 978-976-8200-18-1

has nice, big, single pictures of each species hereabouts and a great little, informative blurb about each bird but not much depth of detail or more than one or two pictures of each bird.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America — Third Edition, ISBN 0-7922-6569-6, $7.99 in the bargain bin at Border's.

It's like the Golden Book of Birds with better color and printing, updated information, expanded coverage and larger, much more detailed illustrations, including many developmental stages, progressive flight images, and something many bird books ignore, like pictures of the females of the species.

Slick pages are nice for coffee table books, but this one uses thin, soft, offset paper, making pages easier to turn and the book easier to hold open. Most illustrations are on the right-hand page, with text and maps on the left, making it easier to search, and its smallish overall size makes it convenient to travel with.

National Audubon Society - The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, illustrated by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45123-4 $45 -

Not terrific for identification of birds, but fabulous for knowing what specific birds do and why. Delicious, detailed information about the lives of birds. Nice illustrations, too, if smallish.

The National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, companion to the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (above), edited by Jonathan Alderfer, ISBN 0-7922-4175-4, $35.00 -

This one has illustrations of bird species at differing developmental stages and morphs. It's a beautiful book.

National Audubon Society - The Sibley Guide to Birds, written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6, $35.00, Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher -

Everybody's favorite big book of birds. Kinda expensive, but the reference, with lots of morphs, developmental stages and other vaiations detailed.

Smithsonian Handbooks - Birds of Texas by Fred J. Alsop III, ISBN 0-7894-8388-2, $22.95, DK www.dk.com

Fog City Press - The Encyclopedia of Birds — A Complete Visual Guide, ISBN 174089355-7,  $7.99 Bargain Bin at Borders

Golden - A Guide to Field Identification - Birds of North America, Expanded, Revised Edition, ISBN 0-307-33656-5, 1983, 1966 -

I bought this for a trip, probably to Canada or the Dakotas in the 1980s. Remarkably informative. I doubt it's still in print. Would be a find in a garage sale or thrift store bargain bin, as would any of the other, often dated, but remarkably informative Golden books.

Peterson First Guides - Birds, a simplified field guide to the common birds of North America, Roger Tory Peterson, ISBN 0-395-40684-6, $4.96 -

Basic identification patterns, cursory illustrated list of common birds.

The Audubon Society Pocket Guides - Familiar Birds of North America, Western Region, ISBN 0-394-74842-5, $9.00
 

Little Blue Heron in Breeding Plumage    See May 3, 2008.

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PHOTOGRAPHERS

One early morning at White Rock Lake we met Dan photographing some of the same birds. Dan has a site with some beautiful portraits of local birds. Visit The Danator.

You make photographs of the lake and its wildlife? Send me your url.
 

ORGANIZATIONS

The White Rock Lake Foundation   The Foundation was founded by Jeannie Terilli in 1989 as Friends of White Rock Lake. The name was later (in 1993) changed to The White Rock Lake Foundation. The Purpose of the Foundation is to assist the Park and  Recreation Department in restoration, improvement, maintenance and preservation of White Rock Lake's natural health and beauty for the benefit of the people and wildlife.

For the Love of the Lake  For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL)  is a group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of White Rock Lake Park as an urban oasis. Since its inception in 1995, thousands of grass-roots volunteers have participated from picking up litter and recyclables, to assisting in building renovations at the park, to helping with the White Rock Marathons and other local events. With over $600,000 in contributions from the community (including $114,000 through grants co-written with Dallas Park and Recreation Department).

Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is a nonprofit wildlife rescue organization specializing in the rescue and rehabilitation of injured, sick or orphaned birds of all types. Their goal is to restore to health and independence these precious creatures so they may be released back into their natural environment. They also sell fresh, free-range eggs from organically fed chickens.

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Movies

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is informative and heart-warming and true. A documentary, not fiction. That movie changed my relation to birds.

Pale Male***/ is the fascinating story of a Red-tailed Hawk who takes up residence in New York City's Central Park under — or should I say — over the watchful eyes of many of NYC's people who become fans. Told with grace and style and intelligence.

Production Value can usually be all but be forgot for most DVDs. Even sappy heart smarmers have remarkable visual high standards for the audio and visual portions of our programs. I (a bird photographer of some experience) had to notice that the people who put together Birds, Birds, Birds!: An Indoor Birdwatching Field Trip*** cared not a whit about focus in any of the video segments in this primarily audio program. Most of the still photographs were in focus, but barely. A pity with such colorful characters. It's always intriguing how different nationalities pronounce "universal" onomatopoetics, like "meow," which is strictly Estados Unitosian. In this presentation — it is not a movie — a woman gives American English verbalizations to bird songs, which luckily also occupy the soundtrack, though usually at less volume. Her voicings are traditional and how many of these birds came to be named, but they sound nothing like the bird noises presented, and I can't imagine remembering them. Of course, my audial memory sucks.

 

My Book Recommendation

I don't recommend books. I recommend people go to a bookstore or several bookstores or to their friends' houses — even a library — and look at books. Sooner or later, one will jump out at you.

You will recognize it because it will tell you what you need knowing in ways you can appreciate. Or it entertains or excites you. When I discovered The Encyclopedia of Birds in the bargain bin at my neighborhood bookstore — for $7.99, I was enchanted with all the big color pictures of birds all over the world, including some right here in North Central Texas. And the price.

It can be as complete as Sibley's Guide to Birds, as complex as Sibley's Guide to Bird Life & Behavior or as simple as The Golden Book of Birds (except they don't make it anymore. I have one, and I especially love the Golden Series of books about almost anything. When I taught photography in a community college, I suggested students buy that, because it was $1 and had everything they needed to know to start. My Golden Book of Birds is so old it has all black and white illustrations.

What I'm saying is that I need Sibley's Guide to Birds and Sibley's Guide to Bird Life and Behavior and about twenty others, because I want to learn all that stuff. But I got them one at a time over years and years. You need what you need to learn stuff you want or need to learn when you're ready for it. If all you identify is one bird a year, you don't need to buy a Sibley's. In fact, you may get away with going to the library or visiting What Bird dot Com. Libraries have lots of books to look at, and What Bird dot com has has some straightforward identification tools. Either might be just what you need.

I don't recommend any one book to everybody, like I don't recommend one camera to everybody. Everybody's needs are differen. You are a better guide to what you want or need than anybody else, including experts, especially including some amateur who has an online bird blog.

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