Books and Guides. Everyone has their favorite. You have many who swear by their particular guide and it is important to pick one that suits your needs aesthetically. I actually now really like the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (layout, entire us and the images and info all have me hooked, which I am in the minority on.) while Jeanette prefers the style of the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America. Here are some of the top guides:
New Jersey Birding Locations
What a great book if you are a birder and you live in New Jersey! A Guide to Bird Finding in New Jersey. A must own to get started with where exactly you should be looking for birds and what you can expect to see there. Click on any of the pictures for links to purchase the books.
There are so many other birding books that can help increase the learning curve and get you better suited to identifying birds in the field. Books on Shorebirds, Warblers, Raptors etc. are available at any B&N or Borders. I recommend purchasing them from your “local branch” of the New Jersey Audubon Society. Use them to help understand your target bird(s). If you are looking for Warblers in May the Peterson book on Warblers is a huge asset for IDs. Hawks and Eagles? Try Pete Dunne’s many choices on the subject. Cape May birding? Clay and Pat Sutton offer a wealth of information on New Jersey’s most famous birding location.
All of these can help improve your birding IQ without leaving the comfort of your own home. There is no substitute for being in the field with birds so get out there and “watch.”
Rare Bird Alerts. If you have advanced past the casual backyard birder you may want to consider keeping on eye on the various New Jersey bird alerts. Birders, by nature, are usually kind, considerate and like sharing. So when a great bird is seen what better way to enjoy it than to share it with others!? The RBA information can also be helpful in getting an idea of what birds you can see on a birding excursion. Here are the big ones:
You can also subscribe to the top two “ABA List” listservs so you get email notification when ever a new post is made. For info on the GO HERE – For ABA Mailing list Info