Stokes Beginner's Guide to Shorebirds

by Donald W. Stokes, Lillian Q. Stokes

A pocket-size, brilliantly colorful, simple-to-use guide to shorebirds, containing dozens of full-color photographs that enable readers of all ages to identify the most common species; range maps; tips on the best times to view shorebirds, information on habitat needs, life cycle, food preferences; and much more.

Genres: Nature, Reference, Birds, Nonfiction, Field Guides

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 18, 2001

About the author

Donald W. Stokes and Lillian Q. Stokes are widely recognized as America's foremost authorities on birds and nature. Their books include the bestselling Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the Stokes Field Guide to Birds, the Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds, the Stokes Nature Guides, and the Stokes Backyard Nature Books. They live in New Hampshire and Florida.

Reviews

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 4 out of 5]

An attractive, well organized, and helpful little guide. It won't take long for one to desire to move beyond what it offers, but it is a really nice resource for beginners.

[Trish Mcintosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was recommended to me during a guided bird walk. I live near the shore and was entirely overwhelmed by shorebirds. I love this book and consult it regularly. It is well organized and have multiple tools to help differentiate between similar birds.

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great guide to shorebirds. Helpful photos (featuring numerous plumages across the seasons and/or sexes), range and migration maps, and clues to figuring out which bird is which, including comparative silhouettes. The book is arranged by size of the bird and explains ways in which to distinguish similar birds from each other.

The one major downfall of this book is that it does not include gulls or terns, two of the most confusing shorebird groups to identify. However, considering that this is designed to be a small introductory guide that fits in your pocket, I can understand why it's limited in scope, and I will turn to a larger, more comprehensive guide for help with those groups.

Despite this shortfall, it's an excellent guide and I know it'll be helpful to me in my forays to the shores and other bodies of water.

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim one year during a visit to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge because I didn't have a shorebird-specific guide and we needed one to help sort out what we were seeing on the mudflats. Like the title says, it's a beginner's guide so not comprehensive. But small enough to easily stick in your day pack.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handy pocket guide, excellent for beginners.

[Andria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful at the beach.

[Adam Heckathorn]

I think this is going to help!