FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Mary Zimmerman's essay on bird guides

[EGLEAVES@xxxxxxx]

TN-BIRDers:
 
I think many of us can identify with Mary Zimmerman's  ruminations on her 
bird guides, which herewith I send to the list with her  permission.
 
Ed Gleaves
Nashville, TN
 
==============================================
  
I think my use of field guides has evolved as  I have evolved as a birder. 
But of course, field guides were evolving during  that time as well. My first 
field guide was, of course, Peterson's. But it was  an edition before off-set 
printing made it easy and economical to have colored  illustrations on every 
page. Illustrations were grouped together at various  points in the book and 
most 
were black and white.  When I went to college I  found Golden Guides and that 
became my main guide due to the color  illustrations. This was at a time when 
I couldn't really call myself a birder. I  didn't know anyone else who was 
even remotely interested in birds and so I  didn't really know where or, more 
importantly, when to go look for birds.  I merely always had my binoculars and 
field guide with me when I went for a walk  in the woods. 
 
At one point I went on a real "birding"  outing with a friend of a friend. It 
really opened my eyes to a whole new  world. About that time I moved to 
Chattanooga and started taking classes  with Daniel Jacobson and Joe Stone. I 
bought a new edition of Peterson and used  both it and the Golden Guide, though 
Peterson gradually won out. When I  moved to Nashville and began birding with 
Michael, I resisted buying National  Geographic because I felt I didn't need 
another guide. However, as my birding  skills increased by birding with Michael 
and so many other "real" birders, I  found that I was constantly seeking out 
someone with a National Geo after I had  consulted my two guides. After I 
finally 
bought one for myself, it became my  primary guide. I continued to carry my 
other two "old faithfuls" and  consulted all three for a while. One big 
improvement in National Geo over  Peterson, and the reason I had continued to 
carry 
the Golden Guide, was the  placement of the range maps on the page next to the 
descriptions. Since National  Geo also included the maps with the description, 
the Golden Guide was the first  of the two "old faithfuls" to be left at 
home. I continued to carry  Peterson with me for a long time, but eventually 
used 
only the National Geo. The  first National Geo I bought was the 2nd Edition. I 
purchased the 3rd, but didn't  like it as much and left it at home on field 
trips. 
 
One of the reasons I had resisted the  National Geo was the illustrations. I 
don't know if it was just that I had  become so accustomed to Peterson's or 
what, but National Geo's just didn't look  right. I still feel that Peterson's 
illustrations are more life-like, but the  essential details are in National 
Geo.  This fact was particularly brought  home to me in a class Michael taught 
using skins. In trying to sort out skins of  fall warblers, the National Geo 
won out over Peterson. Had Sibley never come out  I would probably still be 
using the National Geo. However, I  almost exclusively use Sibley now. The 
large 
format one, not the smaller  regionals. I purchased the first edition, but the 
colors were terrible. That  copy was badly damaged when the airlines left it 
my luggage in the rain and they  replaced it. By that time the colors  had been 
corrected. I now keep the  water damaged book in the car to consult on field 
trips. 
 
When I travel, I take only Sibley. I have  both the smaller regional editions 
but don't like them as well, and rarely use  them. Perhaps it's just my age 
and eyesight! What I particularly like about  Sibley is the arrangement. I like 
how he has small illustrations of the entire  group (i.e. owls, hawks, 
flycatchers) at the beginning of each section. I felt  all along he should have 
included page numbers there and was glad to see that he  had with the regional 
editions. I really like that he devotes a page or a half  page to each species. 
This allows for many more views, thus more detail, of each  species.  I also 
like that, when he does place two species on a page, he  uses columns, so that 
similar poses of the two species are side-by-side, making  comparison easy. 
When the book is opened flat, you have several similar species  arranged 
side-by-side, with similar poses also side-by-side. As in National Geo,  the 
drawings 
aren't as natural looking as Peterson, but again, the details are  what count. 
At least at the stage of birding I'm at now, when I'm paying  more attention 
to minute details than I use to do.
 
As to Kaufman's and All the Birds,  they came after my use of field guides 
had changed. I don't use field guides as  much or in the same way as I used to 
use them. I rarely carry one now when  birding locally. If there is some detail 
I need to look at I have Sibley in the  car, or someone usually has a guide 
with them. Even traveling, I do most of my  studying at home, or in the motel 
and don't usually feel the need to consult a  guide in the field. Of course 
I've done little traveling and all in the states,  where even birds I've never 
seen are familiar because I've seen them in field  guides for years. This is 
another reason why I like national guides over "East"  or "West" guides, you 
become acquainted with birds from outside your range and  thus are more likely 
to 
be able to ID an accidental. 
 
However, I have become a "collector" of field  guides and have both Kaufman's 
and All the Birds. I am impressed by  both. If I were a beginning birder, and 
therefore constantly consulting guides,  I suspect that I would use either, 
or both, of them more than  Sibley. Primarily do to the size, but also because 
they seem a little less  intimidating to a beginner. I think too much detail 
can be overwhelming to  someone just learning.  I have always worked on the 
premise that you  should consult as many books as possible. I think this is 
particularly  true in the beginning. Each guide has its good points and bad 
points. 
Some  would say guides such as Kaufman's and All the Birds are not any good,  
that even beginners should use guides with enough details to be able to 
separate  difficult species. I disagree. First you have to get the person 
"hooked". 
Once  the person has birding in his blood, he'll seek out the more detailed 
guides on  his own. I don't think a beginning birder is really going to be able 
 to sort out a Least from a Western Sandpiper, or a Willow  from an Alder 
Flycatcher. Don't scare him from birding by insisting  that he should be able 
to 
ID them. Either Kaufman or All the Birds  will get him where he needs to be. 
When it gets to the point that he is not  satisfied with the "peep" or "empid" 
ID, he'll turn to National Geo or  Sibley. 
 
As to other, invaluable, aids - first and  foremost - fellow birders. When 
Phillip and I went to Arizona, we spent one day  with a woman that Frank Fekel 
knew from NJ. She had moved to AZ about 2 yrs  before and had been an avid 
birder before moving. We found the tips she gave us  on how she learned to 
separate different species of one genus, such as myiarchus  or empidonax 
flycatchers, 
were more helpful than any of the field guides. She  also gave valuable tips 
on what types of habitat to look for specific species.  So my final advice, 
consult every field guide you can get your hands on, but  don't forget your 
fellow birders.
 
Hope I didn't get too long-winded -  Mary

 


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