My suggestion would be to buy a few! I like National Geo also, mainly
because it has more of the unusual species that could show. I will say
that in general the quality of the warbler photos is terrible though
(National Geo) which is why having more than one guide can be handy.
Happy birding!
Tim R
Coos Bay
On Wed, Oct 21, 2015 at 3:21 PM, Alan Contreras <acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
My thoughts are pretty much in alignment with Tom’s. I think the Geo
guide’s text is sufficiently better and more detailed so that I prefer it
(also it is a bit smaller and easier to carry), but the illustrations in
Sibley are more consistent in their “look” so that there is a certain ease
of use related to the pictures. Sibley’s maps have improved; both books
are good. I think these are the two choices for everyday field use by more
experienced birders.
There are all kinds of other useful books out there including Peterson,
Ted Floyd’s guide, Rich Stallcup’s remarkably useful little book on
“nearshore seabirds” and so on.
These days I tend to use the apps a lot on my phone. There are definitely
issues with what’s available. I like the Sibley phone app better than the
geo app, particularly for how it handles the art. They both have adequate
but limited sound files - what we really need is an app of nothing but chip
notes !
One piece of advice for owners of field guides: read them a lot. There’s
nothing like being prepared when you see something odd.
Alan Contreras
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
On Oct 21, 2015, at 3:47 PM, Tom Crabtree <tc@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Michael,
You will get emails from people with a lot of different recommendations.
There isn’t a bad answer (except maybe the DK book). The new editions of
each guide provide improvements. Personally, I like the National
Geographic Guide (Sixth edition). To me it has better illustrations, more
complete text and more up-to-date range maps and is an easier size to carry
in the field. For what it’s worth, it is the #1 selling field guide at
Amazon (Sibley is #2). They even have a “Western” version that is even
more compact. A lot of people will recommend Sibley. The Stokes guide is
good if you prefer photos to drawings. The Crossley Eastern Guide is a
good reference for pictures, but the text is lacking and it is huge. The
good news is there is so much choice available now. When many of us
started there were only two choices, Peterson’s and Pough’s.
Tom Crabtree, Bend
*From:* obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] *On Behalf Of *Michael Medina
*Sent:* Wednesday, October 21, 2015 10:06 AM
*To:* OBOL
*Subject:* [obol] Field Guide Recommendations
Hopefully this doesn't spark a too heated debate.
I was looking to replace my first edition Sibley with a newer one (I'm
aware of the color corrections they did on the later printings). However
someone recently made a disparaging comment about Sibley which got me
wondering if it's worth replacing the first edition.
I've got an old library of Petersons from the 80s, NatGeo from the late
90s, Stokes from the late 90s, and maybe one other.
Is there newer versions of these that are better? Something new that I
should have?
Thanks
Michael Medina
Portland, OR
