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The Joy of Birding: A Beginner's Guide
The ideal illustrated companion for becoming a successful bird watcher.
If you’ve ever been intrigued by chirping in the treetops or wished you could attract more bird life to your front porch, The Joy of Birding is for you. This colorful and unique guide combines the best of all birding books—it offers basic instructions for beginning birders, a key for identifying popular birds, and tips for attracting beautiful winged visitors to your neighborhood and backyard.
Author Kate Rowinski shows readers how Reading it is almost as much fun as birding!
If you’ve ever been intrigued by chirping in the treetops or wished you could attract more bird life to your front porch, The Joy of Birding is for you. This colorful and unique guide combines the best of all birding books—it offers basic instructions for beginning birders, a key for identifying popular birds, and tips for attracting beautiful winged visitors to your neighborhood and backyard.
Author Kate Rowinski shows readers how Reading it is almost as much fun as birding!
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2011
About the author
Kate Rowinski
24 booksKate Rowinski is the author of a number of books, including The Wilderness Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking, The Ultimate Guide to Making Chili, and The Quotable Cook. She co-owns the Horse and Hound Gastropub in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband Jim, her daughter Brooke, and her son-in-law Luther Fedora.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 15, 2011
As soon as I began reading this book I could tell author Kate Rowinski is someone who is enthusiastic about birds. As a hobbyist and not a biologist or researcher, she speaks to the novice bird watcher in a welcoming and easy to comprehend manner.
The book begins with the basics. Where do birds live, what do they eat, where do they nest, what do their different songs and calls mean; understanding the bird is your first step. There are chapters on bird identification, basic anatomy, bird feeding basics such as where to place your feeders and what to feed them. Yes, placement and types of food make a big difference in whether or not you will have birds in your yard. There are chapters on bird photography, how to make your yard a more friendly place for birds and information on binoculars and other field gear. All written in plain english.
One of the chapters lists the 25 Backyard Birds You Should Know. There are beautiful color photos of each bird and a few paragraphs of interesting facts and information. I have seen many of these birds in my yard or within a few miles of my house. These are birds that have a wide range across the US and southern Canada and are good choices to begin learning to identify. You don’t even need a backyard to enjoy watching the birds, you can find them at a local park or nature area.
While I already have bird books, I’m always looking for new ones, especially ones I can recommend to others. I was impressed with the coverage of birding basics, the colorful photos and overall easy reading style. This is an excellent guide for the beginning birder. Add a good field guide and you will be on your way to identifying, enjoying and even photographing birds.
The book begins with the basics. Where do birds live, what do they eat, where do they nest, what do their different songs and calls mean; understanding the bird is your first step. There are chapters on bird identification, basic anatomy, bird feeding basics such as where to place your feeders and what to feed them. Yes, placement and types of food make a big difference in whether or not you will have birds in your yard. There are chapters on bird photography, how to make your yard a more friendly place for birds and information on binoculars and other field gear. All written in plain english.
One of the chapters lists the 25 Backyard Birds You Should Know. There are beautiful color photos of each bird and a few paragraphs of interesting facts and information. I have seen many of these birds in my yard or within a few miles of my house. These are birds that have a wide range across the US and southern Canada and are good choices to begin learning to identify. You don’t even need a backyard to enjoy watching the birds, you can find them at a local park or nature area.
While I already have bird books, I’m always looking for new ones, especially ones I can recommend to others. I was impressed with the coverage of birding basics, the colorful photos and overall easy reading style. This is an excellent guide for the beginning birder. Add a good field guide and you will be on your way to identifying, enjoying and even photographing birds.
December 30, 2019
Author talks about spotting scopes and gives specifics on what to look for when purchasing one.
Has a Resources section at end (92% on Kindle).
I very much enjoyed reading this book. Author covers many aspects of birdwatching interests, from nests to baths to feeding to photography and more. And, even better, she is knowledgeable in all those areas. Great tips, great book.
Check out WhatBird: The Ultimate Bird Guide at www.whatbird.com
List of bird clubs in all states.
She lists Birding Supply stores at the back of the book also.
Index at end is not linked.
The Joy of Birding came through a promo email. That is how I found out about it. Through looking at that info I found out about Peterson's Field Guide to Birds in North America.
Some great tips on pine cone feeders, helping birds with nest material, and bird homes. Also, some really fabulous tips on bird photography and basic photography tips with lenses, f stops, SLRs and point and shoot cameras. This is probably my favorite section of the book. Some expert advice and tips here. Good.
I read this book concurrently with the physical book Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America.
Has a Resources section at end (92% on Kindle).
I very much enjoyed reading this book. Author covers many aspects of birdwatching interests, from nests to baths to feeding to photography and more. And, even better, she is knowledgeable in all those areas. Great tips, great book.
Check out WhatBird: The Ultimate Bird Guide at www.whatbird.com
List of bird clubs in all states.
She lists Birding Supply stores at the back of the book also.
Index at end is not linked.
The Joy of Birding came through a promo email. That is how I found out about it. Through looking at that info I found out about Peterson's Field Guide to Birds in North America.
Some great tips on pine cone feeders, helping birds with nest material, and bird homes. Also, some really fabulous tips on bird photography and basic photography tips with lenses, f stops, SLRs and point and shoot cameras. This is probably my favorite section of the book. Some expert advice and tips here. Good.
I read this book concurrently with the physical book Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America.
June 13, 2021
Fairly comprehensive, though there is no mention of drawing in a bird journal - only photography, including an extensive list of cameras and recommended features. Some chapters contain suggestions and information that can be applied anywhere, but the book is really only about birds found in North America.
May 20, 2020
I needed to borrow a digital field guide from my local library during the Covid pandemic to supplement my study of Great Courses Plus Birding in North America. I borrowed this on my Hoopla app. It is adequate for beginners, and sufficient "for these unprecedented times."
Read
March 3, 2020Good resource for backyard bird feeders. Easy read.
December 9, 2020
I’ve tried several “beginner” bird books, and they are usually overly pedantic. This one keeps the joy in birding. A pleasure to read, with great information as well.
July 27, 2012
A good beginning for a beginner. A lot of helpful tips, suggestions and recommendations. Photographs are great.
June 22, 2011
Good beginner reference book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews