[mcmerlin]

Hi,
I'm planning on going to North america for 2 or 3 weeks soon with a friend. It will not be a specifically birding trip- we want to visit New york and do some touristy stuff, see the sights etc. however, we will also be doing a fair bit of wildlife watching, and aim to visit a national park or 2 , and/or other wildlife rich areas. we may even venture into canada a little way, but not sure yet, still in the planning process. but anyway i need a bird ID book, and was wondering if anybody could recommend one for me please? ideally one which is not too heavyweight and can be easily used in the field. Will most likely be sticking to the eastern part of north america this time round.
Cheers.

[Hyrax]

On my recent trip to the West coast I used 'The Sibley guide to the birds of Western North America' and found it to be ideal - compact yet fairly detailed and accurate. Obviously you'd get the Eastern one, but I imagine it's just as good.

[TwoDipsfromAmsterdam]

Another vote for Sibley's Eastern Guide. I've found it very useful for my visits.

David

[Al_in_Virginia]

A lot of folks here in the states use Peterson Feild Guide to Birds of North America.
I own a couple and keep one in my car!
Al

[jedigrant]

Sibley, National Geographic, and Peterson guides all have a smaller Eastern regional guide that would work for you, being small and easily portable. Personally, I'd go with the Sibley guide.

[Mysticete]

I would recommend Sibley's (the regional guides are much more portable, so if you are staying in the east I would just get the Eastern edition) and Nat Geo. However Nat Geo will be releasing a new version this fall, so it might be best to delay purchasing this book.

[fugl]

Another vote for the eastern Sibley--the best of the bunch IMO.

[jmepler]

Of the dozen or so field guides that I have, the eastern Sibley sees the most use by far.

Mike

[mcmerlin]

Cheers guys, Sibleys eastern it is then. might get the western 1 aswell actually just in case, plus i definetly plan on visiting the west at some point soon aswell.

[etudiant]

Hi mcmerlin,
No knock on the Sibley, but imho the Kaufman Birds of North America guide is a strong contender.
It is comprehensive for the area and in one convenient compact volume.
If your travels have multiple objectives, it can be a bother to have several guides.
Of course, if you have a suitable iPhone or Android phone, you can carry Sibley on the phone, a vastly more convenient solution still.

[Swissboy]

Originally Posted by etudiant

......carry Sibley on the phone, a vastly more convenient solution still.

That would definitely not be convenient as far as I'm concerned. Pictures small, no decent overview at all. But I agree on the weight.

As for the books, I am voting for NG. Love their approach more. But that's definitely a matter of what one is used to and of personal tastes.

[Hoyden]

I guess that it all comes down to preference. I own all of the above mentioned guides and if I can only carry one, it will always be the Sibley's.

[fugl]

Originally Posted by Swissboy

That would definitely not be convenient as far as I'm concerned. Pictures small, no decent overview at all

Agreed, much too fiddly to replace the paper version as a field guide, but worth having anyway for the sound files. So I carry both, the paper Sibley for ID purposes, the iphone version for the song & calls.

[swamp_rattler]

I have tons of field guides to our North American birds, and the advice you have thus far received has been very good. I will support the notion that the Kaufmann guide is very good...and aimed at beginner-intermediate birders. It covers the whole of N.A. north of Mexico and is very much pocketable.

Sibley is also very good...indeed, my favorite guide as a more serious birder. The best American bird app, IMO, is no doubt the Sibley eGuide, for Android, Blackberry, or iPhones. A good one-two punch would be the Kaufman guide (book) and the Sibley app.

National Geographic is another strong contender definitely worth considering. When the new edition is released this fall, I'm hoping it will give Sibley even more reason to update his guide!

[MichelleOhio]

I use Kaufman, but own most of them. Sibley is lighter in weight than Kaufman if that matters. Have fun and good luck!

[mcmerlin]

ordered both sibleys eastern and western :) cheers guys

[MichelleOhio]

Good choices! Enjoy.

[John Hague]

McMerlin, if you have an iPhone or iPad I would go for the Sibley app. I visited Canada in 2008 and just had the Western Guide and this year I went again and just used the app... it has loads of calls on too that you just cant get in the book.

You can also chose to have just the state you're in which reduces the numbers of birds you need to look through or you can have the whole of North America. Obviously a book at home to gen-up with is essential but the app is superb. I did a bit of a review here http://thedrunkbirder.wordpress.com/...ing-by-iphone/

All the best

John