Here are my go-to book and guides for all things nature. I use them for identification, learning new facts, and keeping track of phenology happenings.
The books and guides are organized by topic:
The books and guides are organized by topic:
BIRDS
The Sibley Guide to Birds
David Allen Sibley This is a great field guide to birds! It has wonderfully detailed drawings for identification and includes color morphs and variations for various species. I also like the additional tidbits of fun and useful birding information this guide contains. One downside is because it has so much information and good stuff in it, it is a bit of a hefty book. Not great for toting around in the field, but a great birding resource to have handy on your book shelf! |
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Jon L. Dunn & Jonathan Alderfer This Field Guide is the one that I used during my Ornithology class in college (although it was the 6th edition). It is a more compact field guide which is nice when you're carrying them around in the field. This guide has some great drawings and points out key characteristics to look for when identifying a bird. I like they tabs this guide has, making it easy to quickly flip through and find your bird. The flaps on the front and back cover also help with the ease of finding a bird in the guide. |
Birds of Minnesota Field Guide
Stan Tekiela I'm from Minnesota so the Birds of MN is my choice, but Stan Tekiela has MANY other bird books to choose from, including your state! This is a great guide for kids and beginner birders (and seasoned birders, too)! It has photographs instead of drawing which can be helpful if you're newer to birding. I also like how the birds are arranged by color, so it's really easy to flip through and find your bird in question. He also includes some general information about the bird. |
Stokes Nature Guides: A Guide to Bird Behavior, Volumes 1-3
Donald and Lillian Stokes This 3 volume set covers a variety of birds from big to small. It is the book set I turn to when I want more in depth information about a specific species. It covers everything you may want to know about a bird! Pictured is the older edition which I have, but there is a newer edition with a different cover. Be sure to get all 3 books from the set to get all the bird info you desire! |
The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds
Paul R. Ehrlich, Darryl Wheye, David Dobkin I heard about this book from my Ornithology Professor in college. It is an older book, published in the 80's but has great information! It is considered a companion to your identification guide because it goes more in depth with the information it has to offer. The other part I really like are the essays. The pages on the left give you information about the bird species, and the pages on the right have essays. At the end of each bird species account, all the essays that are related to the bird and its behaviors. There is a huge array of essays and every one is interesting! This book is not one I have read cover to cover, but I do often find myself going down a bunny trail as I keep reading essay after essay in the book. Highly recommend this book if you would like to learn more about birds and their life history. |
PLANTS
FUNGI
INSECTS