Trip to Washington state this summer, need an ID guide (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

I'm visiting Seattle in June for a conference and taking the opportunity to get a holiday in afterwards, so I've got 2 weeks to see the sights. I've borrowed an old US field guide but after doing some 'target practice' in the bird forum gallery, it's a bit limiting for my purposes.

I need some advice on either a guide to the birds of the Pacific North West or all of North America, on a par with the Collins guide over here ideally.

Also if anyone familiar with the area is feeling particularly motivated, some ideas on good birding locations would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Owen

I'd go for The Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America. The National Geographic Field Guide is pretty good too.

Hi, Owen -
My wife and I spent two weeks on the Olympic Peninsula a couple of years ago in May. We first visited the flat and easily birded Nisqually refuge near Olympia, south of Seattle, for a good variety of water and land birds. Then we went on our first pelagic trip out of Westport (http://www.westportseabirds.com/). You’ll be late for migrant seabirds but the water should be calmer and temperatures warmer.
The whole peninsula is a fascinating place to hike and bird. The west side will be prone to moister weather while the east side, in a rain shadow, is very dry. We liked Hurricane Ridge in the north for easy access to high elevation species and the extreme northeast at Neah Bay/Cape Flattery area for seabirds. The latter is a long drive and may be a lot for you to squeeze in. We didn’t have time to go east into the Cascades or Mount Ranier (still snow covered in May and usually is until late June) but there are excellent birds there as well.
There’s decent sea and shore birding right in Seattle and the Washington listserv (the Tweeters) is here: http://www.scn.org/tweeters/

The Sibley’s western guide would be my choice of books.

Steve

Add my vote as well for Sibley's guide to western North America. I don't know how it compares to the Collins guide, having not seen that one, but Sibley's guides are the best for the US in my opinion, for sheer quality of the images, plus multiple plumages and flight shots for each species. The western/eastern versions are as portable as any others available, and it is organized with generally 1 species per page, with descriptions and range maps on the same page as the paintings.

Owen, Cape Flattery is on the northWEST corner of the peninsula. The attached photo is a sample of one of the many coves you'll find there. Lots of dramatic scenery.

Steve

Thanks all. Hamhed it looks fantastic thanks for the info