How to Become an Expert Birder

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OK -- so you're into birding, but still feel frustrated when you can't ID a bird in flight or a song you know you've heard before.

Maybe it's time to get serious.

Here you'll find all the resources that will help you take it to the next level.

Question: In this photo, where is the bird's malar stripe? (Answer at bottom.)

The Curious Wren - Your Birding Guide 

Let the Curious Wren be your guide to birding.

She has a whole series of lenses about birding, bird feeders, field guides, bird books, gifts and equipment.

Some lenses are "How To" lenses.

One part of her series is Birding USA -- state-by-state guides to birding -- Florida, California and more!

Go to the Curious Wren hub for links to all her lenses.

Quick Quiz 

What's the bird in this photo?

Answer found in module at bottom of this page.

Essentials: A Good Field Guide 

The Sibley Guide to Birds

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Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

National Geographic Field Guide To The Birds Of North America, 4th Edition

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The Coolest New Thing! 

Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song

$27. Book has built-in audio player - hear the song as you study the bird! 250 species and corresponding songs. Also has "lavish full-color illustrations."

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Bird Song CDs - Get Memorizing! 

More Birding by Ear Eastern and Central North America: A Guide to Bird-song Identification (Peterson Field Guides)

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The Singing Life of Birds: The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong

Comes with a CD.

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Amazon Price: $18.48 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Western Region

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Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern Region

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Videos/DVDs 

The Life of Birds

The amazing 10-part series about birds worldwide.

Amazon Price: $30.49 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Winged Migration

Documentary featuring unbelievable close-ups of birds in flight.

Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Sharpen Your Knowledge of Families 

Stokes Field Guide to Warblers

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Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Stokes Beginner's Guide to Shorebirds

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Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Sparrows of the United States and Canada: The Photographic Guide

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Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Raptors of Western North America: The Wheeler Guides

Wheeler also has guidebook for Eastern raptors. Rave reviews for both guides. "Tour de force and a labor of love, and the immediate new standard for diurnal raptors in western North America. "

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Amazon Price: $34.65 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Hummingbirds of North America: The Photographic Guide

This book gets rave reviews from guides in Southeast, AZ - a true hummer mecca. The great photos make this a great field guide.

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Get Into Ornithology 

Isn't it time to get scientific?

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Handbook of Bird Biology

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Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure and Function

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Amazon Price: $30.11 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Birding Journals - Keep Track of Your Sightings 

National Geographic Birders Journal

A fully illustrated life list, the journal offers generous space for recording dates and locations of bird sightings.

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The Birder's Journal

Has black and white sketches of over 500 American species. Use colored pencils to record exactly what you saw. Each bird gets half a page.

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Pocket Life List: A Birdwatcher's Life List and Diary of North American Birds

6.6 x 4 inches. 850 species. Each North American species is listed by common and scientific name. Space is provided to record when and where a specimen was sighted, along with other essential notes. Silhouettes in the margin key the sections containing each bird Order. Each species is also indexed by common and scientific name.

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Amazon Price: $13.22 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Bird Watcher's Journal

$24.99. Refills available too (at Amazon). Spiral-bound pages encased in a durable water-resistant cover that zips closed. Holds pen too.

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Books By Expert Birders 

Learn from the best!

The Feather Quest: A North American Birder's Year

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Tales of a Low-Rent Birder

Dunne's collection of 19 essays and sketches.

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Kingbird Highway: The Story of a Natural Obsession That Got a Little Out of Hand

Ornithologist Kenn Kaufman's humorous account of the year he spent birding (and hitch-hiking) across America at age 19.

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Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere With Migratory Birds

The fascinating story of long-distance migration.

Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Go Birding on Your Vacation 

Florida's Birds: A Field Guide And Reference

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Hawaii Birds: An Introduction to Over 140 Species of the Most Common and Distinctive Hawaiian Birds

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A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America

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Birds of Europe

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Birds of the West Indies (Princeton Field Guides)

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More Foreign Field Guides 

A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica (Comstock Book)

A guide to the birding mecca of the world.

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A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (Comstock books)

426 pages.

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Amazon Price: $29.54 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

A Guide to the Birds of Panama

412 pages.

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Amazon Price: $34.65 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now

Answer to Quizzes 

1) The malar stripe is his "moustache."

2) The bird in the photo is a male Western tanager.

by nancoix

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