Hi I’m shortly heading off to Vancouver Island – Seattle – Mt Rainier area for three weeks. I’m wondering about birding field guides for that part of the world. Budget and space means only one field guide, (or maybe two!). I’ve done some research and there is Sibleys Field Guide, plus other such as field guides focusing on the Puget Sound, or Washington State. So I’m now confused! Any advice much appreciated. Thanks Ian Sinclair
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Hello Ian,I live in British Columbia, although not Vancouver Island. Of the 2 field guides already mentioned, I prefer the National Geographic one, and in your case I’d recommend the Western NA guide. I don’t know what your time is like, but if you do plan to do a boat trip of some type, I would highly recommend a drive out to Tofino and a boat trip from there. This town is on the west side of the island and adjacent to some very good seabird waters. You will have an excellent chance for whales and also Sea Otters. It is, however, 3 or 4 hours from Victoria – an overnight trip would be necessary, but the birds would be well worth it!Gary DavidsonNakusp, BC From: IROE < iroesinclair@bigpond.com> To: birding-aus@birding-aus.org Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 2:34 PM Subject: [Birding-Aus] Vancouver Island and Seattle birding Hi I’m shortly heading off to Vancouver Island – Seattle – Mt Rainier area for three weeks. I’m wondering about birding field guides for that part of the world. Budget and space means only one field guide, (or maybe two!). I’ve done some research and there is Sibleys Field Guide, plus other such as field guides focusing on the Puget Sound, or Washington State. So I’m now confused! Any advice much appreciated. Thanks Ian Sinclair
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Of course if you have an iPhone or android device make sure you get Birdseye bird finding guide for North America so you can see which birds have been reported around you. The app is free and you can purchase regions. Birdseye hotspots is also invaluable for finding…hotspots to go birding. Regards Alastair eBird.org/content/australia Global tool for birders, critical data for science eBird ACT ebirdact@gmail.com Hi Ian, You can’t go past Sibley, in my opinion. Also, there is a Sibley for Western North America, which is slightly thinner (and lighter) than the full Sibley. Also, if you’re a smartphone app person, Sibley has an iPhone and Android app using exactly the same software as the Morcombe app uses in Australia. You’ll probably need a bird finder too. National Geographic has an OK one – I’m not at home, but will check when I get there to see which one we have used. You *MUST* do a whale-watching trip out of Victoria. Not just for the whales, but for the possibility of seeing Tufted Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklets. Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria —–Original Message—– IROE Sent: Friday, 28 August 2015 7:34 AM Hi I’m shortly heading off to Vancouver Island – Seattle – Mt Rainier area for three weeks. I’m wondering about birding field guides for that part of the world. Budget and space means only one field guide, (or maybe two!). I’ve done some research and there is Sibleys Field Guide, plus other such as field guides focusing on the Puget Sound, or Washington State. So I’m now confused! Any advice much appreciated. Thanks Ian Sinclair
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
I expect Ian has already done Google but this site looks pretty good. Some elements of the site look to be not available at the moment but they have forums (~chatlines) and rare bird alerts and talk about outings. If the birds get boring (probably unlikely), a Canadian friend reckoned that scuba diving with Orcas in the channel between Vancouver Island and the Rest of Canada was pretty good! Martin Martin Butterfield http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/ On 28 August 2015 at 16:10, Philip Veerman < pveerman@pcug.org.au> wrote:
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
There are no doubt email chat groups in the USA with a focus on birds. These should be as useful to a birding traveller as B-A is to us (or visitors to Aus). I don’t know how many or where. The one I subscribe to (based in California – because one time several years ago I thought I would go there) though is much stricter in rules than B-A is and does not permit any discussion of peripheral issues, nor any wandering from the topic restricted to local birds. Philip
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
What a great, kind and helpful mail, in support of Paul’s…thanks from many of us, I dare say! Cheers Peter Madvig —– Original Message —– Sent: Friday, August 28, 2015 10:11 AM
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Good advice from Paul Dodd, and an excellent point about getting the western version of Sibley. The National Geographic Guide to the Birds of North America is also an excellent choice, and more compact than the full Sibley. Both books are widely available and pretty inexpexpensive. I tend to take the Nat Geo with me as it’s smaller than the full SIbley and also an iPad mini stuffed with nearly every electronic guide to North America availabl. Sibley has excellent recordings and the best illustrations, period. iBird Pro is probably the guide that I use the most. Cornell, one of the world’s greatest ornithological institutions, distributes a free app (Android or iOS) that’s well worth downloading: http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ The app is called “Merlin” after a nothern hemisphere falcon, and because it’s a bit of a magician. A bit of text, range maps, photos and sounds for around 400 species. Very nice. For Aussies visiting the Western states and territories it’s good to know: * Migration is a huge deal up there, autumn (“fall”) being the peak season. Summer is good for breeding birds. You can read about a place with tens of thousands of some bird only to find exactly zero a few weeks later. The migration guides for British Columbia tend to show arrivals and departure *by week*, not even by month. Just as the concept of ‘nomadic’ birds doesn’t really figure into the thinking of birders in North America, it’s hard for Aussie birders to appreciate exactly how significant migration is. I grew up in North America. In the winter, we had about ten species around (I can only count five off the top of my head)..and then there would be hundreds of species in the spring and fall. Pretty amazing…but not worth the winter… Check trip reports from your travel time to get an idea of what should be where. * Birders are great up there! Often well-organized, friendly clubs have meetings where they’ll be thrilled to meet a birder from Australia. There are likely more outings during migration than summer, but something ought to be on. * While the tree diversity there is low compared to Australia, there are still a great range of habitats. In that area there are great coastal/marine, wetland, forest, sage, and grassland communities. Lots to see! * Miles are a lot longer than kilometers
* Worst fire season pretty much ever right now…check local conditions. * The areas near Vancouver and Victorial (Vancouver Island) are really outstanding at any time of year I’ve been through there. Ducks, geese, hummingbirds, owls, amazing. * There are a lot of mammals out there, including bears. Lots and lots of bears. For those with an interest, the Princeton Field Guide to North American Mammals has a digitital edition: http://www.mydigitalearth.com/mde/Default.aspx?alias=www.mydigitalearth.com/mde/digital Is it great? It is not. Is it handy? For sure. And, unlike any other mammal guide I’ve seen anywhere, there are recordings. (You can get a CD set of South American mammals and that’s all I know of.) If you have dogs and feel like messing with their minds, play some of the canid sounds and see if/how they react. The great thing about electronic guides is that they don’t add bulk or weight to the luggage. Paper is still easier for flipping through unfamiliar families. Enjoy!
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Hi Ian, You can’t go past Sibley, in my opinion. Also, there is a Sibley for Western North America, which is slightly thinner (and lighter) than the full Sibley. Also, if you’re a smartphone app person, Sibley has an iPhone and Android app using exactly the same software as the Morcombe app uses in Australia. You’ll probably need a bird finder too. National Geographic has an OK one – I’m not at home, but will check when I get there to see which one we have used. You *MUST* do a whale-watching trip out of Victoria. Not just for the whales, but for the possibility of seeing Tufted Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklets. Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria —–Original Message—– IROE Sent: Friday, 28 August 2015 7:34 AM Hi I’m shortly heading off to Vancouver Island – Seattle – Mt Rainier area for three weeks. I’m wondering about birding field guides for that part of the world. Budget and space means only one field guide, (or maybe two!). I’ve done some research and there is Sibleys Field Guide, plus other such as field guides focusing on the Puget Sound, or Washington State. So I’m now confused! Any advice much appreciated. Thanks Ian Sinclair
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org