North American Bird Watching for Beginners: Field Notes on 150 Species to Start Your Birding Adventures

by Sharon Stiteler

Learn how to identify 150 North American birds

From the tiny ruby-throated hummingbird to the powerful bald eagle, there’s a fascinating variety of unique and beautiful birds that call North America home. This compact field guide is the perfect introduction to birding. You’ll find essential information about 150 North American species and expert advice on how to get started on your bird-watching journey.

What sets this book apart from other bird

The basics of bird watching—Learn important birding terminology, what equipment to have on hand, and how to log and submit your bird sightings.Complete bird profiles—Discover full-color photos and need-to-know details about each species’ appearance, behavior, and population range.Easy-to-find information—This book’s simple organization makes it the ideal companion for your bird watching adventures, with clearly marked sections for common backyard birds, songbirds, shorebirds and waterbirds, and raptors.

Get to know your feathered neighbors with this field guide to the birds of North America.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Reference, Birds

313 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2022

Reviews

[Marks54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am getting ready to take a summer birdwatching class and this seemed like a good intro volume to use for preparation. The focus is on fairly common species that I might expect to encounter in the class. Illustrations of both males and females are provided and the notes are short and readable. Learning the calls will be more of a challenge but there are some apps that can help and I will not try to learn too many too soon.

[Mary C. Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice introduction to birds

Good pictures and concise explanations.

A good introduction for my seven-year-old granddaughter

A favorite of mine has always been the red winged black bird.

[Cole Thorpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little introductory guidebook. Would be handy to have in your pack when you're doing outdoorsy things and have birds in the back of your mind.

It is definitely designed for beginners, so it lacks some detail, but it's very approachable. Just depends on your priorities whether you'll be satisfied with it or not.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon Stiteler is my birdwatching superhero. I started following her when Neil Gaiman mentioned her on Twitter, and the adventures they had together. I *even* once received a Stokes cap from her (swoon). Overall, throughout the years on Facebook and other social media platforms, she's kept birding entertaining and awesome, and I'm so so glad this book lives up to her nature. I've been birdwatching since I was a kid, and even though this book is geared for beginner birders there are still facts in here I didn't know. Thanks, Sharon! I'd like to get one signed one day!

[Leanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for new “birders”! Easy to read, and learn about some of your favorite birds you might enjoy watching. I have many pages marked and the book is close to my windows! Anyone would easily find this helpful and entertaining on their home 🪺🪶

[Vickie Peatrowsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bird book

I love the colored pictures and the detailed information that is in the book. Descriptions are great. I only wish there was a picture of the territories for the birds.

[Hannah Buschert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is it funny and personal; it's educational and thoughtful. I've been birding for over 10 years and found information that was useful. From how to look at birds to where to find them, this book covers the things a beginner needs to know. And it includes a number of common species to help you get started. It would be a great gift for beginners to advanced birders and even non-birders of all ages in North America. Sharon Stiteler's North American Bird Watching for Beginners should sit on any birder's shelf, easily accessible for regular reviews on the tips, tricks, and language of birding.

[I was given an advance copy of this book by the publisher.]

[Brandon Denning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent for beginners

If you’re new to birding, this book is a great place to start if you want a physical book to take with you. Apps are great but unless you have a keen eye, sometimes they’re incredibly hard to describe or tell apart. This will give you a quick guide for some of the most common backyard birds, songbirds, shore birds and raptors in a digestible format

[Aiden Tearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book!!! Absolutely would read again, definitely something I would give to someone like a beginner like me. However, there’s one thing I’m gonna be picky up about, that is that there is no epilogue. I feel like there needs to be some sort of end to the book. However, really great book but totally recommend.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! I graduated from casual backyard bird watching to active birding in the last few months. I wish I had this book a few months ago but still found it enjoyable and informative! I bought a copy for myself and another to share. Highly recommend!

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing beginners book! Sharon discusses the lingo of bird watching, resources on where to record sightings and how to identify birds. And the book has real images of common birds found in North America. I’m excited to begin my journey in birding!

[Pam Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for beginners with several interesting tidbits for those who have been birding for a while.

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

a lot of unnecessary and incorrect phonetic aids.

[Meg Dunk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for beginning birders!

[Alison Allegresso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently hilarious descriptions of birds: “Tiny head with an eye that looks like it’s apologizing.” (Mourning Dove)

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining bird guide. Humorous.

[Shreya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have seen ~90% of the birds described the book in bird walks in the UW arboretum, Union Bay area and Burke Gilman trail thanks to wonderful groups of birders I get to hang out with. This book seems like a great starting guide for birders who want to be able to visually identify birds and also provides a good introduction to keeping logs of birds one thinks one has found.