Birds of Maryland & Delaware Field Guide: Includes Washington, D.C. & Chesapeake Bay

Along with other books by the same author, I picked up Birds of Maryland & Delaware Field Guide: Includes Washington, D.C. & Chesapeake Bay for my 7 year old son who is quite curious about the world around him. He, like many children, enjoys seeing and hearing the happy sights and sounds of birds whether they are in our backyard or on a family trip. As a home educator, this book and others in the same series of Field Guides by state/ region, prove to be an excellent and brief overview for budding bird watchers. The guides themselves are somewhat limited in scope, in that they tend to show the most common birds rather than attempting to include every known bird in the particular region. I like how the book arranges the birds by their predominant color and provides a handy location map with color coded details as to when you may see the bird such as "year round" or in "winter." You will find a helpful Index/ checklist at the rear of the book so that you can check off the birds you have observed. The author includes a list of helpful resources as well for those who seek to take their study further. You can also find similar books to this one for other states and regions. Like the Birds of West Virginia Field Guide, this book also has a companion CD Birds of Maryland & Delaware Audio CDs: Includes Washington, D.C. & Chesapeake Bay with introductions by the author and several bird calls.

I am new to bird watching, and basically purchased this book to help me identify the birds that are visiting my bird feeder. It is a great size, smaller than the average book you buy, and I love how it is organized. All you have to do is flip to the section of the appropriate color that is most dominant in the bird! I also like how the femals that are different, are listed seperately so that you can look them up easily as well. Birds that have different plumage during different seasons are also listed seperately so that it is always easy to look up a bird by its color. I have yet to know if it includes most birds, but so far...I haven't yet come across one I couldn't find in the book. I would recommend this book, at least for beginners! (more advanced birdwatchers might think differently)...

As a mostly clueless beginning birder, I found this book the perfect place to start. To ID a bird, the book says to first note the color. (And it's conveniently organized by color). Then it says to note the size: is it bigger than a robin or smaller? Within the color sections, the book is organized by bird size. Next the book has one note characteristics of the bird's bill, as well as other characteristics such as habitat, what the bird is eating, the way it perches, and how it looks in flight. I find the book quite logical and helpful in identifying mystery birds. One somewhat annoying feature is that water birds are grouped in with non-water birds, but still the book is easy to use. Each bird has a decent color photo of a typical bird of that type. If the male and female are different, there's a picture of both. Juveniles are also described and sometimes pictured, such as a juvenile cardinal. Basic information is provided: size in inches and centimeters, appearance of the female, male and juvenile, type of nest, number of broods per year, number of eggs, incubation, information on fledging, migration type, food, and information similar birds. For example, in the turkey vulture section, Stan tells you how to tell it apart from a black vulture. He also provides a helpful little map of Maryland and Delaware showing where you'll find a particular summer, winter or year-round. I especially enjoy the "Stan's Note" section providing some interesting tidbits about the bird. For example, Stan notes that "The vulture's naked head is an adaptation to reduce risk of feather fouling (picking up diseases) from carcasses." Overall, this is an excellent beginner's book covering 140 common species in Maryland and Delaware. The audio CD of bird calls is sold separately. In my local bookstore, it comes packaged with the book in a small leather binder, which I as a vegan am not happy about. I would love to have bought the both together without purchasing leather.

My neighbor the birdwatcher loves this book. Birds are grouped according to color, so it's easy to identify the bird you've sighted. Photos are sharp and beautiful. The write-ups give nice info on size, nests, eggs, and habits. "Stan's Notes" provide additional observations. Fun, educational, and easy-to-use.