Really excellent overview of Bay Area geology. I feel like I have a better high-level understanding of where the Franciscan, Salinan, and Great ValleyReally excellent overview of Bay Area geology. I feel like I have a better high-level understanding of where the Franciscan, Salinan, and Great Valley rocks come from and where to expect them, which is definitely an improvement on my prior state of knowledge. What's lacking is any help in field recognition of different rocks. The guides to specific locales are very helpful, but I still don't still like I can look at a rock outcrop and say too much about it unless it's obviously serptinite or packed with fossils or something. Regardless, maybe that's for another book to tackle. This one is great at what it does....more
This is a fantastic guide. I used it for a week vacationing back east as I tried to teach myself something about odes (yes, dragonfly and damselfly peThis is a fantastic guide. I used it for a week vacationing back east as I tried to teach myself something about odes (yes, dragonfly and damselfly people call them odes). Each species gets a very detailed treatment, with excellent photos, range maps, comparisons with similar species (very useful), and, the holy grail, actual natural history details. It's so rewarding to read about some little detail of behavior and think "I saw that!" Totally helps cement the information and enriches future experiences.
The one flaw is the lack of "flippability" or any kind of index system useful to newbies. To some extent this may be a problem with any physical guide to a diverse group. Experienced birders never think about their ability to flip from flycatchers to frigatebirds b/c they can make high-level IDs on their own and are familiar with taxonomic order, but to neophytes (tenerals?) it's tough to navigate 300+ taxa with only the dragonfly/damselfly division in mind. I think this book could benefit from some kind of high level visual key like, "skinny abdomen -> damselflies, wings open -> spreadwings." The inconsistent page layouts also prevent quick browsing, and the reliance on unmodified photos probably does too. This is one great advantage of illustrated guides like Sibley and hybrid approaches like the Kaufman butterfly guide. I suspect some judicious editing could have done the same for these books and still kept the page count and info content the same, and hopefully Pauslon's humor and personality, which are both apparent and welcome. Maybe in the next edition....more
This is a book of keys and highly localized descriptions, but for what it is it's amazing. An invaluable resource for anyone botanizing Mt. Diablo andThis is a book of keys and highly localized descriptions, but for what it is it's amazing. An invaluable resource for anyone botanizing Mt. Diablo and useful for anyone botanically inclined in the Bay Area. I often find the keys and descriptions more useful than Jepson. Maybe that isn't saying much....more
Mosses are fairly hard to identify, mostly because they are so small. This book is required reading if you want to ID mosses in California, mostly becMosses are fairly hard to identify, mostly because they are so small. This book is required reading if you want to ID mosses in California, mostly because there aren't many other image-based resources for moss identification, and keys can get pretty technical pretty quick. While this guide is not comprehensive, it will lead you in the right direction. My main caveats are a) not everything is photographed in situ (many photos are microscopic and/or of dried specimens), and b) there is no key to fall back on when you can't find a good match among the photos or leaf illustrations....more
Decent guide to most of the saltwater fish you might encounter fishing or diving around here. Not all the photos are perfectly representative, but it'Decent guide to most of the saltwater fish you might encounter fishing or diving around here. Not all the photos are perfectly representative, but it's decent....more
This is a stay-at-home hardcover manual, and I haven't found a better one for New England inverts (I only go exploring there once or twice a year, so This is a stay-at-home hardcover manual, and I haven't found a better one for New England inverts (I only go exploring there once or twice a year, so maybe there are better guides I don't know about). While it's mostly keys there are a ton of great illustrations and a handful of color plates, which makes it considerably more accessible to non-experts like me, especially when compared with tomes like The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon. My main complaint is that they wasted pages on the tetrapods, which receive infinitely better treatment in more popular field guides. More writhing squirmy beasties, please!...more
I got this to help ID some wildflowers I photographed during a recent vacation back East. While I was there I relied mostly on the Peterson and AuduboI got this to help ID some wildflowers I photographed during a recent vacation back East. While I was there I relied mostly on the Peterson and Audubon guides to the eastern US, which are decent, but lacking in some key areas upon which this guide improves. Like the Peterson guide, it approaches comprehensiveness for the region, and like the Audubon guide, every single species has a color photograph. Unlike either of them, every species has a range map on the same page as the photo (no annoying flipping back and forth), which also shows seasonality using color (not immediately obvious but learnable). Every photo also has a scale bar showing the actual size of the flower. Scale bars and range maps are excellent visualizations that more field guides should employ, especially botanical ones. The flowers are organized by color, then by morphology and family. The back cover has a ruler (yay!), but it's not in metric (boo).
My only real problem with this book is that while they list the families shown at the top of each page, they use common names without the additional scientific names ("Rose Family" instead of "Rosaceae"). If you care enough about botany to learn your families, you will probably know the scientific names instead ot the ambiguous common ones. I was flipping through the white section looking for Polygonaceae and it took me a while to realize they call it the "Smartweed Family." There also isn't much in the way of natural history, just morphology and habitat. This is one area in which the Audubon guide has this one beat.
Overall, this is one of the best pictorial botanical field guides I think I've used. I wish we had some regional guides like this for CA....more
This is a nice, colorful guide to the often mystifying world of intertidal California. Most of the common things you're likely to encounter are in theThis is a nice, colorful guide to the often mystifying world of intertidal California. Most of the common things you're likely to encounter are in there, and it's small enough to fit in a big pocket. The binding is also sturdy and I believe the cover and pages hold up fairly well to a good splashing or dunking....more
Coleoptera is the most speciose group of organisms ever classified, and California is a big, ecologically diverse place, so it's impossible to fit eveColeoptera is the most speciose group of organisms ever classified, and California is a big, ecologically diverse place, so it's impossible to fit every single CA beetle into a field-sized guide. That said, this book does a decent job. There are enough photos to narrow things down to family most of the time, and often to genus, and the text accounts list all or the most common species in each genus, often with useful morphological and behavioral traits. Definitely a good one to have in the toolkit....more
This is a great guide for what it is: an overview of almost every living thing you might encounter in the Sierra Nevada that will fit in your backpackThis is a great guide for what it is: an overview of almost every living thing you might encounter in the Sierra Nevada that will fit in your backpack. If you're looking at something and wondering, "What kind of plant is that?" or even "Is this a plant or a fungus?" then this guide is perfect. Visually oriented, mostly organized by color, with some additional groupings by habitat make for a pretty good experience when looking up complete unknowns.
Of course, the downside is that if you really want to get specific, this book is just a starting point. For instance, I've been using it to work out some of the things I saw on a trip to Plumas County last weekend. I saw this one little green woodland orchid all over the place, but it's not in this book. There are actually several little green orchids in the area, but I don't think any of them are listed.
Anyway, well worth the money if you, like me, don't know that much about the Sierra....more
This book is the field companion to the stay-at-home-tome Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi, but don't let its mycena-tThis book is the field companion to the stay-at-home-tome Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi, but don't let its mycena-thin silhouette confuse you: it's just as packed to the gills with useful knowledge, zany stories, and pictures of crazy mushrooms and crazier mushroom-lovers as its girthy sibling. This book stays in my hiking bag from November to March. I've beat my copy up mercilessly, but the binding and pages are sturdy. Couldn't ask for much more in a regional field guide....more
Pretty much the standard guide for western herps. Pretty good overall, good illustrations and maps, a bit light on the natural history but it's meant Pretty much the standard guide for western herps. Pretty good overall, good illustrations and maps, a bit light on the natural history but it's meant for the field. Sturdy binding, despite thickness....more
This is the best reference I've found for plants in the Bay Area, and it's pretty much always in my hiking bag from February to June. It has some coloThis is the best reference I've found for plants in the Bay Area, and it's pretty much always in my hiking bag from February to June. It has some color plates, but it's mostly keys, so be forewarned that you'll need some botanical terminology and either the plant in hand or a bunch of detailed photos. A lot of couplets use measurements, so photos with a ruler in frame are often useful.
They keys are pretty good, though, and more comprehensible than the Jepson ones, IMO. Plus, unlike Jepson, you can take this into the field without a mule. Comprehensive coverage of all vascular plants and ferns is awesome. The only real issue I've found is a few missing taxa (some species of Gilia I think)....more
An exceptional field guide. Layouts and illustrations are clean and consistent, every species account includes multiple plumages (if relevant), maps, An exceptional field guide. Layouts and illustrations are clean and consistent, every species account includes multiple plumages (if relevant), maps, and useful points of identification. The organization is taxonomic, which can be troublesome for beginners, but the illustrations are so nice that the book is highly "flippable," i.e. it's relatively easy to flip through and find something close to what you're seeing. My only real complaint is that the pictorial indexes that lead each family only show non-breading plumage. Those grids of illustrations are useful and unique among the field guides I own, but showing only non-breeding plumage is obviously less than ideal during the breeding season....more
Haven't used it too much, but it is highly technical, and most of the keys seem to assume you have a whole specimen in hand, flower, fruit, and leavesHaven't used it too much, but it is highly technical, and most of the keys seem to assume you have a whole specimen in hand, flower, fruit, and leaves. Nevertheless, it's comprehensive, and unlike the full Jepson, you can carry it in a backpack....more
I think this is the only field guide exclusively dedicated to the opisthobranchs of the nearshore Eastern Pacific, so I guess we should be grateful thI think this is the only field guide exclusively dedicated to the opisthobranchs of the nearshore Eastern Pacific, so I guess we should be grateful that it's pretty good. Fairly comprehensive, including undescribed species, with photos and range information for all (no maps, though). Most entries have etymological info, which is always a plus. My main complaints are 1) it doesn't seem to respond too well to getting wet, which sort of happens a lot when you're tidepooling, and 2) there is usually only one photo per species, which can be a bit limiting for species with multiple morphs (e.g. Acanthodoris rhodoceras)....more
Haven't had to use this too much yet, but my one dip in to look up thornbacks was pretty promising. Lots of detailed information, with decent illustraHaven't had to use this too much yet, but my one dip in to look up thornbacks was pretty promising. Lots of detailed information, with decent illustrations. I don't actually see sharks and rays in the wild that often, so I'm guessing this will be more of a go-to reference when I read about CA elasmobranchs elsewhere....more
This is one of my favorite guides, efficiently compiling a very large, diverse group of animals in a single, baggable volume. The ordering is taxonomiThis is one of my favorite guides, efficiently compiling a very large, diverse group of animals in a single, baggable volume. The ordering is taxonomic (despite color-coding), which might be confusing if you're just starting out, but once you learn something about your families and superfamilies, it's very useful. Peterson-style arrows point out distinguishing features, and each butterfly is depicted with a modified photo on a white background, which combines the detail of photos with the focus of illustrations. Great stuff. I also find the scale shadows on each page very useful. Did I mention the comprehensive range maps? Score....more
Sibley's bird guides have become the authoritative field guides to the birds of North America, and with good reason: thoughtful, consistent layout comSibley's bird guides have become the authoritative field guides to the birds of North America, and with good reason: thoughtful, consistent layout combined with beautiful, precise illustrations and lots of helpful ID notes make for a great experience. So, I was pretty intrigued to find he made a guide to trees. Like the bird guides, it is beautiful and packed with great information (the range maps are particularly useful), but overall it's not quite up to snuff. I've actually been reading the guide (intro, looking up favorite trees, etc) for a few days, but I just gave it a test drive in the field today and found it sadly wanting, especially in comparison the the drier key approach used in my go-to plant guide for this area, Beidleman and Kozloff's Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region. One major problem is a lack of any kind of preview or index system. Sibley's bird guides begin each family or major group with a grid of all the species contained therein, which is pretty useful for giving the whole group a glance and picking out the bird you've got in your binocs, and when this fails those guides are still pretty flippable: go somewhere close to the bird you're looking at (passerines, divers, raptors, etc), start flipping, and you'll see something similar. It's much harder to do this for trees, given their highly variable appearance, so it's hard to narrow down possibilities. Sure it's a pine but... this is the west. There are a lot of pines. Many practical tidbits seem to be lacking as well, like the "hairy armpits" where the veins fork on the underside of a coast live oak leaf, or the way a juniper's berries smell like gin when crushed.
Overall, I think this is a great home reference, but I'll stick to keys in the field....more
This is a great little guide to the insects of CA. It's not comprehensive, but it covers most of the basics, esp. the common stuff.This is a great little guide to the insects of CA. It's not comprehensive, but it covers most of the basics, esp. the common stuff....more
Pretty good set of regional keys. No photos of the plants, though there are photo plates of habitats and numerous line drawings. Keys seem decent, andPretty good set of regional keys. No photos of the plants, though there are photo plates of habitats and numerous line drawings. Keys seem decent, and the species descriptions, while brief, include localities. The Tom Killion print on the cover is, of course, beautiful, but the maps on the inside covers are also very fine, showing the whole county and a detail of the Mt. Tam area. Having this book makes me want to spend more time in Marin....more
This is one of the best field guides I own. "Marine invertebrates" encompasses an enormous number of species, but Hoover strikes the right balance betThis is one of the best field guides I own. "Marine invertebrates" encompasses an enormous number of species, but Hoover strikes the right balance between capturing that diversity and excluding particularly rare animals for the sake of brevity. He also always notes when he is excluding things, so if you don't find what you're looking for, you know there are still more options. I wish other non-comprehensive field guides did this. He also includes Hawaiian names whenever available, which is super cool. So far I've been SCUBA diving with two charter companies in Hawaii, and both had this book aboard their boats....more
I relied on this for a recent trip to Oahu and the Big Island. Great recommendations, right amount of background, though, of course, doomed to be dateI relied on this for a recent trip to Oahu and the Big Island. Great recommendations, right amount of background, though, of course, doomed to be dated. ...more
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