A stunning full-color guide to one of America's most popular hobbies, with a region-by-region approach that unlocks the key to quick and easy bird identification.
Some 63 million Americans report that they enjoy observing their avian friends from their homes, and newcomers join the backyard bird-watching ranks all the time. But how do backyard birders learn who's who when typical field guides bombard them with choices that take forever to sort out?
The Backyard Bird Lover's Field Guide keeps it simple with a regional approach that cuts the possibilities down to size. Instead of poring over hundreds of species that don't come anywhere near our own backyard, readers will find about 30 of the most likely prospects for each of seven regions of the country. Each entry is packed with advice on favorite foods, welcoming plants, and other temptations to lure birds to the backyard, along with glimpses into the birds' personalities.
Sally Roth has a gift for conveying her passion for the subject along with her extensive knowledge. "Roth's love for birds and her hands-on practical experience are inspiring," say Sharon Dunn and Michael Dunn, owners of the Duncraft Birdfeeding Catalog, about Roth's Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible. Filled with you-can-do-it features, such as tricks to help birders identify birds in a flash and ways to avoid confusing two similar birds, this new field guide will receive similar praise.
Sally Roth is an award-winning author of 20 or so popular books about birds, nature, and gardening, including the best-selling "Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible," and a contributing editor for "Birds & Blooms" magazine.
Her latest book is "An Eye on the Sparrow: The Bird Lover's Bible," which uses quotes from the Bible as a jumping-off point for examining the natural behavior of the birds behind those Scriptures. It's a bird book, and it's for everyone, religious or not.
Sally's also an enthusiastic public speaker, whether it's grabbing a stranger on the street ("Hey, want to see something cool?") or talking to an audience of hundreds ("Hey, want to see something cool?"). She'll be appearing in the Michiana area (northern Indiana/Michigan) in early spring of 2013, as well as other places.
She and her husband Matt Bartmann share their home in the high Rockies with two dogs, one cat, a family of pine squirrels, a hard-working packrat named Sisyphus, a spotted skunk who lives beneath the house, a well-fed bunch of birds at the feeder, and a stable of old Volvos.
A really cute and accessible guide to suburban bird watching! I enjoyed the author’s anecdotes and how she separated birds by geographical region. The category for birds found almost everywhere, though, was much more accurate to my home in Upstate New York than it was to my home in Southwest Florida. She used the American robin for comparison everywhere and I had never seen one before coming to NY! It was still a great beginner’s guide though, and the author listed some more books for further, more expansive reading, which I’ll be looking for on my next bookstore trip.