Birders?

[rionapo]

Originally Posted by Gnarvan

Don

I don't really have any areas in mind yet. I'm just enjoying the hiking and seeing stuff that I somehow missed in the first 57 years of my life. I live in the Columbia River Gorge and have been enjoying checking out the locals. I'm thinking it's time to get a little more serious about the birding thing. I saw 15 different types of birds around my house today with at least 2-3 more that I couldn't identify. I'll probably head to the coast to check out the coastal residents first.

I need to rig a pelican case to carry my binocs on the river when I'm out cat-boating. I saw a huge Pileated Woodpecker when I was running the Washougal river last weekend. I sure wish I had my binocs with me since that's the first one of those I've seen.

Looks like you've got some good advice for the PNW. My $.02 on field guides: You'll end up buying all of them. However, I prefer Sibley for its size, drawing quality and intro sections for each group of birds and their thumbnails of birds. Another book that is fun: Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural Histroy of North American Birds. It describes nesting, mating, courtship and feeding habits of each species along with interesting articles on evolutionary differences.

Otherwise, it's all about listening. Enjoy.

Don