Birds of Northern California

I have several bird field guides, and this is by far my favorite. I'm at a moderate level of identification. While not the definitive identification guide (I'm partial to National Geographic Society's "Field Guide to the Birds of North America")this wonderful book tells you more about each bird than any other field guide I've seen. I always wanted to know a little more about each species I look up than just their identification, I've always been curious about their lives and habits. Each bird is given a long paragraph about it's lifestyle or other interesting pertinent information. It's fascinating to read cover to cover. Because I was so pleased with this book, I've looked for other Lone Pine Field Guides. I also recommend "Bugs of Northern California". Again, you won't find every bug listed here, but you will learn a lot. The writers of both books show great respect for the species they are describing. I won't hesitate to buy more of Lone Pine Field Guides.

I am an advanced-amateur birder, and I own four separate bird guides. I live in the Bay Area, and this is by far the guide I use the most. I've owned it for three years, and virtually every bird I've seen has been within its pages. It's very easy to navigate because of its "thumbnails" in the opening pages - you can easily spot your bird there without having to flip through the whole guide. It's also very well written. It is always eloquent, occasionally humorous, and does a wonderful job of capturing the personality and "feel" of each bird. A problem I have with the overrated Audubon guide, and even sometimes with the fine Sibley and Stokes guides, is that they are too consistently technical. They rarely give unusual background or personality information about the birds. By contrast, this Fix-Bezener guide has something pleasurable to read in every entry. Some folks might want to supplement this guide with the Stokes Field Guide, Western Region, because it includes photographs. Or perhaps with a Sibley guide if you really want to get into the details. But for 90% of Northern California birders, this single guide will do just fine.

There are many kinds of birds around my workplace - Oracle, in Redwoodshores. I have always been curious what they are. I bought this book and found it very useful. With the help of this book, I've identified several species, including geese, stilts, seagulls, horans, egrets... (you can find the specific name, like Canada Goose, if you read this book.) It's amazed to find that there are so many kinds of birds around Oracle and in the pond in front of it (a.k.a. Lake Larry). One thing I would like to say about this book is its distribution map (in three colors for summer, winter, and all year round) in North California for each kind of bird. It's very useful because by checking that, you can eliminate some candidates if you are trying to figure out what exact kind of bird you saw. In the brief description for each bird, the authors managed to squeeze some interesting points in, like Canada Goose is now a community management problem, and cranes bow before they dance to their mates. If you live in the Bay Area, and want to see water birds, please come to Redwood Shores, go around Oracle green builds (the outer skirt), with this book.

As a novice birder, identifying species is the most challenging facet. This book is set up to facilitate rapid identification of the birds you encounter. Thumbnail pictures in the front section allow for rapid scanning of various species' prominent features without paging endlessly through the book. The data on each bird in subsequent pages is succinct and interesting to the casual or begining birder. Esoteric information is pleasantly omitted. I use it more than my Sibley guide.