Bird Watching
Categories: Outdoors & Nature , Staff Picks , Nonfiction
This morning a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk perched on the edge of my deck. As I watched the bird with his striped front turn his head watching for small bird prey I thought about the amazing book To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsession by Dan Koeppel. I listened to the audio book version during the chill autumn days last year.
In addition to examining the complex relationship between Koeppel and his father, Koeppel discusses the rules of the science/sport, obsession. Bird-witched! How Birds Can Change a Life by Marjorie Valentine Adams is a complementary bird-watching book. This collection of articles by a major contributor to birding in America helps the beginner understand how and why the rules of the American Birding Association work.
The American Birding Association rules begin with "The bird must have been within the prescribed area and time period when encountered." If it's an American bird and you see it in Mexico, it doesn't count in your country list. The definition of a species may also change from time to time, taking the bird off one list and moving it to another.
My husband and I don’t keep a formal life list but we’ve started an informal back yard list. The Sharp Shinned hawks probably selected our back yard for their nest since we have several bird feeders. Check out some of the library’s wonderful selections about watching birds, identifying birds and enjoying their beauty.
- A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America by Roger Tory Peterson
- Birds of Ohio by Stan Tekiela
- The Sibley Field guide to Birds of Eastern United States
1 Comment
I love that book!
I found it very interesting how the author tries to understand his father’s passion/obsession about birds and how he starts to share similar interest just to get closer to his father. The process of understanding his parent as a person and not as a father anymore is very interesting in this book.
The description of rules and regulation of American Bird Association changed my opinion about bird watching. But I still enjoy watching ever bird on earth.