Guide to Ducks and Geese

by Chuck Hagner, Tom Vezo (Photographer)

An easy-to-use introduction and ID guide Includes all North American ducks and geese With a "What to Look For" list for each species Common, numerous, and often easy to observe, ducks and geese are nonetheless sometimes difficult to identify. This straightforward introduction to ducks and geese will help you put a name to almost every duck or goose you'll find in the wild. It offers large, colorful photos of every species found in North America--dabbling ducks, diving ducks, and geese--as well as the loons, grebes, and other waterbirds you're most likely to see. In most cases, both a male and a female in breeding plumage are shown. Accompanying text describes the species' habits, behaviors, characteristics, and calls--information that will help anyone appreciate these wild creatures and make a positive ID in the field.

Genres: Birds

116 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2006

Reviews

[Kyle Loehrke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response
I really enjoyed reading this book because I learned many things about all the breeds of ducks and geese that live in the United States. I didn't know that there were so many different breeds of ducks. I learned many things about the migratory birds in the book including where they live, how common they are, how big they are, and what to look for to identify them. Almost all of the things I learned in this book will help me be a better waterfowl hunter.
Plot
In the beginning of this book it split the duck breeds into two categories. The two categories ducks fall into are diving ducks and non diving ducks. Diving ducks dive completely underwater for food and they can stay under water for a large amount of time. Non diving duck do not dive underwater for there food, they eat plants and other vegetation on the surface. Each breed of ducks had a description about it and also a picture of the male and female. I think it is very interesting that almost all of the males and females of each breed of ducks look completely different from each other. Most of the time the male is more colorful than that female also. After the ducks the book talked about loons and grebes. I knew what loons were but I didn't know that there were multiple different breeds of loons. I think loons are very cool and I love the sound they make. I had heard of a grebe before I read this book but I didn't know much about them. Now I know that there are different breeds and that some actually live around here. Some types of grebes are very cool looking but some are very weird looking. After the grebes there were a couple miscellaneous birds and then the book talked about geese. I knew that the Canadian goose was the most popular goose in North America and I learned that it lives nearly all over the United States. I also learned how to identify a snow goose which is very helpful because last year I had a small flock of snow geese which would spend nearly all of there day right in front of our house in a field. I wonder which breed of geese most domesticated geese are. I know that my grandma and grandpa had a goose when I was very young.
Characterization
There are no real characters in this book because it only talks about the birds but I can relate to the author a lot because we both love waterfowl and like nature. The person who took all of the pictures for this book must have worked a long time to get close up shots of each type of bird.
Recommendation
I recommend this book to anybody who is in nature a lot, enjoys bird watching, or is a waterfowl hunter. When waterfowl hunting it can be difficult to identify certain breeds of ducks and this book teaches you a lot about how to identify the birds. I know that i will use this knowledge and many other people could too. The main group of society I would recommend this book to would be 15 year old males. In the future I will most likely be reading more books about ducks and geese and books that teach you how to identify certain breeds of different animals.

[Janet C-B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this guide book very readible with supberb photos of each species. Lately, when I am birding, I see large flocks of ducks which all look alike to me. What I found most helpful in this guide was the brief summary of field marks for each species. I plan to carry this guide on future birding adventures. I also plan to re-read and study the species of birds that are common in my area.

I rated the book 4 stars vs. 5, because I would have appreciated range maps to quickly identify which ducks I am likely to see in my area, or at a travel destination.