National Geographic Guide to Birding Hot Spots of the United States: good ? (2 Viewers)

[aguila]

hi

I live in Germany and plan my 2nd visit to the United States for Bird Watching.
(I only have been to Yellowstone until now)

While looking for a good book about the best sites, I found
"National Geographic Guide to Birding Hot Spots of the United States".

does anybody know this book ?
can you recommend it ?

Markus

 

[jedku]

I have the old east/west editions. I have not seen the new one. Also, this is written from my memory since I don't have the books here with me in Hungary.
It's excellent as a general overview of a large selection of the most famous birding spots in a very large country. It is written by real birders and gives specific information on regional endemics and lists the most interesting species a birder is likely to find at each site also includes nice compact regional driving maps to reach sites and notes about how best to bird the sites. It's very readable and provides an excellent overview of USA birding spots for general armchair use. However, for any one locale it has only a few pages. If you are staying in only one region of the USA, you will want to find more local birding spots by using the ABA guide for that state or by searching the web for a local Audubon club which may have a page of the best regional birding.
This book is best if you are planning a campaign of birding which involves flying to all the corners of the country and staying no more than a few days in each place. Also, it is great for simply dreaming about such a campaign. The writing is good and there are nice NG quality photos of the places themselves rather than just of birds. It makes the book enjoyable to read.
I have found the books useful for example when I had only one day in San Diego and the book alone led me to 2 excellent sites with driving directions, the best routes to bird at the sites and lists of interesting birds to be prepared to see. In addition, I have had long drives up and down Interstate 95 on the east coast and visited Santee, SC, Okeefenokee, GA and Savannah NWR having found the places in the book and using only the book to bird the spots.
So I recommend this book if you are travelling beyond a single state or if you just want a well-written and concise overview of USA birding spots.
It's probably the best site guide for the entire USA. The other that I own is 100 best bird...USA or something like that. It is not as good as NG, but nice. ABA also has one for birding major metro areas. It is geared for the business traveller who may want to get in some local birding. I don't like it as much as NG.

EDIT: This is the prior edition I am talking about, along with its western part, in case there is any confusion. These are the previous editions of the book you are asking about despite the new title.
http://www.amazon.com/National-Geog...ef=sr_1_2/002-8908441-3811249?ie=UTF8&s=books

 

[Runaround]

As jedku pointed out, this book is useful for general planning and if you are going to do a lot of traveling while here. If you are going to be in a more limited area, there are many local guides that give better information.

What part of the US are you planning to visit? Take a look at the books listed on the ABA site for those areas. I've also had good luck contacting local bird clubs and Audubon chapters. On more than one occasion the local bird club put me in contact with someone who acted as a guide for the day. My "guides" just enjoyed birding and having some company and none of them would take any money. In fact, I almost had to arm wrestle the lunch check away from one retired couple. I figured the least I could do was buy them lunch. To pay back the birding community, I now volunteer through a local bird club to act as a no-cost guide for visiting birders. It's fun to show people a species they've never seen before, even if it is a common bird for you.

The one major problem I see with this book is that it takes you to the Hot Spots. Some of these hot spots can be so crowded at times, especially weekends, that you are birding shoulder to shoulder with a few thousand of your newest friends. On the up side, not many birds get missed. The local books can point you to areas near the hot spots that are just as productive and a lot less crowded.

If you'd like, feel free to PM me and I can help you get in contact with bird clubs in the areas you'll be visiting.

 

[Jaeger01]

hi

I live in Germany and plan my 2nd visit to the United States for Bird Watching.
(I only have been to Yellowstone until now)

While looking for a good book about the best sites, I found
"National Geographic Guide to Birding Hot Spots of the United States".

does anybody know this book ?
can you recommend it ?

Markus

I have the current editions of both the East & the West. I regard it as OK but the limitations are very few locations per state. I suggest you go to this web site:

http://www.birding.com/WheretoBird.asp#US

go to this section of a page for a state, (Important Birding Locations in (which ever state): print out the pages (assuming you have internet access) for the areas you will be close to. Better yet, take your Pocket PC or laptop and use it to find the area (almost every hotel and inn has free or inexpensive wifi or broadband connections) you are interested in. Or most inns and hotels/motels have a computer for use by guests, use this on a location basis. This will give you much better information.

Jaeger near Chicago

 

[Katy Penland]

In addition to the above, Markus, if you know already what region or state you're visiting, post a query in the "Information Wanted" forum, which has been really helpful in getting locals to give in-depth suggestions.

The ABA/Lane Guides provide some wonderful location-specific info for their respective regions, available online from the American Birding Association. I can certainly vouch for the one for Southern California:

http://www.americanbirding.org/pubs/siteguides/index.html

 

[aguila]

In addition to the above, Markus, if you know already what region or state you're visiting, post a query in the "Information Wanted" forum, which has been really helpful in getting locals to give in-depth suggestions.

The ABA/Lane Guides provide some wonderful location-specific info for their respective regions, available online from the American Birding Association. I can certainly vouch for the one for Southern California:

http://www.americanbirding.org/pubs/siteguides/index.html

hi

thanks to everyone.

the problem is that I do not no where to go. I can only visit
North America once every 2 or three years and there is so much to see:
Warbles in the North East, Everglades, the Rockies, Arizona, Texas, the Rainforest in the pacific north west and much more.
the nature in the US is awesome and it is very hard to decide
where to go.

I am especially interested in Raptors. And the mountain bluebird - the most beautiful bird I've ever seen (in Yellowstone).

Markus

 

[Katy Penland]

Do you know what time of year you would like to visit?

 

[Rick Wright Tucson]

Visiting US--try Arizona

Dear Markus,
You are getting good advice: settle on a potential destination or two, then read the bird-finding guides to that area. For southeast Arizona, you will find the ABA/Lane guide useful, but the Tucson Audubon Society guide is even better.
If you are interested in raptors, you can't beat southeast Arizona at any time of year. Right now, Richardson's Merlins, Crested Caracaras, Prairie Falcons, White-tailed Kites, and Ferruginous Hawks are all reliably seen within an hour of Tucson. And in the summer, Mississippi Kite, Common Black-hawk, and Zone-tailed Hawk are here. Of course, everyone wants to see Harris's Hawk, which is a common urban raptor year-round. My raptor workshops this week expect to see 200+ individuals of possibly 10 species.
Feel free to drop me an e-mail if you have any other questions.
Best wishes,
Rick Wright
www.birdaz.com/de
www.birdaz.com/blog

 

[aguila]

Do you know what time of year you would like to visit?

if money and time allow it, I plan a trip next november or december.
I start a new job next year, so I am not sure yet when I can take off.

if I can go only one week I may go to Florida (Munich Miami is about 6 hours flight).
if I have 12 ore more days I am thinking about going further west.
I think in december the southern states like Arizona or Texas might be my best option.
I hope to find overwintering bald eagles there too.

Markus

 

[jedku]

Since you are still thinking about a wide variety of places, you will get alot of help and ideas from this book.
Good luck,
Marc

 

[aguila]

thanks to everyone.
I just ordered the book. it is not that expensive and will give me a good overview of the
possibilities in the US. later I can always get a more specific guide or search the web.

Markus

 

[Tero]

If you have specific states in mind, Falcon guides, try amazon, has state by state guides to wildlife areas. It has maps how to get there. If you are stuck in one part of the state, you look for those that are close by.

The books in the title do have many good spots, but not all of them are the best all year.