Bumble Bees of North America

– An Identification Guide by Williams, Thorp, Richardson & Colla from Princeton University Press

I just got my hands a wonderful new book; Bumble Bees of North America and I must say, I couldn’t be more impressed.  This is a fine, paperback book of good quality and with many color photographs, charts, identification keys and maps.  I have so much good to say about the field guide, let me get the two not-so-good things out of the way first.  A few of the photographs seem a bit dark and out of focus.  The latter is likely due to magnification, but with the new world of inexpensive, quality cameras, I’d have expected better from a bug book.  Also, I’m older and find 10 pt type just too small for comfortable reading.

That said, I absolutely love the book; it is full of wonderful facts like the fact that bumble bees are really just hairy wasps, that have evolved to become vegetarian rather than carnivore; they require pollen proteins rather than meat proteins.  Who knew?

The first part of the book includes information about attracting, decline & conservation, threats, maps and seasonal activity and a Forage Guide by Ecoregion which includes specific plants foraged by bumble bees in that region.

More than half of the book is divided into four groups of specific anatomical differences.  Apparently there is so much color variation within a specific species of bee; color cannot be used as an identification marker itself.

Within each of the four groups, is a two-to-three-page species account of each bee in that group.  Identification both by naked eye and microscope, photographs of both male and female and charts showing color variations found in the specific species.  Maps, status, habitat, nesting behavior and seasonal occurrence are also given for each species.  I find the list of sample foods preferred by each bee might help me with my ‘Pollinator Garden’.

Just before the well organized glossary, full of macro-photographs and diagrams, is a thirty-page identification-key to female vs male bee.  This part of the book is well over my head, and quite scientific. The book is clearly written for both for amateur and entomologist.

All in all, I find the book perfectly helpful in my quest for information about these big ‘bumblers’.  Who knew there are cuckoos in the bumble bee world, that are every bit as parasitic as any cuckoo in the bird world; taking over other’s nests so that other bees will feed and nurture their offspring for them?

Bird-song

You all know I’m a fairly new birder…and still learning to identify most birds; not to mention their calls. Lately, I’ve heard a song that sounds a lot like the "Mar-co --
Po-lo" call that kids call back and forth when playing the hide-and-seek game. I never could see the bird (believing it was something new), but regularly have heard the call. I often answered it with a whistle, but suspect the ‘answer’ was more likely to another I’d hear a couple yards over.

A birding pal, Dave Moore, suggested it might be a Black-capped Chickadee; but this sounded nothing like the "chick-a-dee-dee-dees" or the 'seets', and chatter that I’m used to hearing from the little black and white birds.

However, I happen to have a copy of Ted Floyd’s Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, a rather large ‘field guide’, but certainly worth having for the several beautiful photographs of each bird; great for research. Probably even better, if that’s possible, is the accompanying CD which holds 587 down loadable bird songs…again, several songs for each bird covered.

Because of Dave’s suggestion, I popped in the CD and headed right for the BLCACH foulder (is that the abbreviation for this bird?) The first recording I clicked on was the exact call I’ve been hearing! Who knew? Wow! Seems most birds have several calls…kind of like discovering (on my own) that crows also make a weird rattling sound I heard when they were mobbing an owl, in addition to their caw-caw we most often hear. That was easy to confirm though, because I was watching the birds.

I just love learning this stuff. One of the things I learned from another lovely little book; "Finding Your Wings: A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers, by Burton Guttman, is to be ready to identify birds. The author suggests reading about and knowing which birds to expect. I plan to spend more time listening to bird calls while I'm reading about the birds. I'm quite sure this will further help me learn to identify what I hear and see while out bird watching. Whoo hoo!

Thanks again Dave!

And thanks to Ted Floyd who gave me the permission to post the call here...but then I couldn't figure out how to upload the file. Grrrrrrr; pictures yes, sound files no. You can hear the call on Cornell's site, here.

Addendum; Because of Bosque Bill's comments, I've added a link to a page with a whole bunch of different Chickadee calls. It's a wonderful page; check it out!

Photo from Wikipedia

Books on Birds: What’s Your Fav?

I am a reader; I like to research, I enjoy reference books…especially on topics close to my heart. I don’t believe one can have too many books on a subject…but then I am book rich and money poor. LOL

Okay, so I’m on a limited budget…I have a couple books on birds and know I want to enlarge my library. I think another ‘general’ field guide to birds I’m apt to see might be a good idea. While I’m interested in all birds…I doubt I’m going to be heading to exotic countries where I might have trouble identifying those I see. Right now, I am specifically interested in the birds in my world. I ‘get it’ that Sibley is today’s bird bible…and agree; I find mine invaluable, but I appreciate different points of view and think another good field guide is a good idea.

Field Guides: which of those on birds do you find give you the most and most valuable information? I own:

• The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by David Allen Sibley
  
  I like this book…and its size. I understand his guide to birds includes both East and West…but is bulkier to carry around. Still, some birds found here are only found in the ‘Eastern’ book… Having said this, I enjoy the bits of superfluous information he offers, as well as pointers on field markers and coloration of immature birds and behavior in habitat, etc.
  
• A National Geographic Field Manual (Probably for Western America)…but it is in a box in the ton of books in my garage...I'm trying to get my house remodeled.
  
  While I don’t have the book in my hands, I can say it is a more difficult book to hold in my hands than is the Sibley book I own. Also…it is arranged by color, of all things; not unlike their book on Wildflowers. This is both a good and a bad thing, in my mind. I find I learn more reading of several birds in a species…

I am considering:

• The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley
  
• Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Ted Floyd
  
• A Field Guide to Western Birds: A Completely New Guide to Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian and North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides (R)) by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson

I am also interested in specific families of birds; hummingbirds; birds of prey, including the Shrikes; and the corvids. I’m betting this is pretty typical of new birders and it’s likely my list of favorites will grow; but in the meantime…what books on specific groups of birds have you found to be absolutely stunning in their depth of information and presentation? Somewhere I have:

• An older, small, paperback book on Hummingbirds which I wish I had in my hands right now! I’d like to get books on specific groups I find especially interesting. I tend to haunt Amazon’s ‘Used’ books…so the book needn’t be new to suggest; I might still find it.

How about books or CDs on birdsound? I am interested in learning to identify birds I hear; any especially good choices? The idea of an I-Pod loaded with hundreds of bird-sounds absolutely appeals to me…especially in that a photo can be included for each. Course, I just discovered I can have Wikipedia on my cell-phone (for a subscription fee); an addictive morsel for one who likes information. Right now learning bird calls is high on my list of things to do… but there is a plethora of choices. Have you favorites? So far I have:

• Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song by Les Beletsky and Jon L. Dunn
  
  A fun ‘coffee-table’ sort of book…page number references recording number’; the bird-calls seem spot-on, but oddly the book is arranged by habitat. Perhaps that is a good thing for some folks, but I find it difficult to use as ‘reference’. I was concerned the batteries might wear out and not be available to swap, but I was wrong; and it’s still going strong. My backyard birds think I’m a weird duck…but perhaps my neighbors do too!

Do you have favorite books on specific hobies that involve birds? Sketching, painting, photographing, carving birds? I’d like to hear your favorites here, too. I am considering:

• Art of Bird Photography: The Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques (Practial Photography Books) by Arthur Morris
  
  I hear it is pricey but well worth the cost (over $75, used!!!)

What about books on how to care for or attract birds; any favorites here? Again…not so interested in which you have, but which you found to be the best! I’m a gardener with a new yard…it’s a work in progress, so I’ll find all manner of book interesting. So far, I have:

• The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher: Birdfeeders and Bird Gardens by Robert Burton and Stephen Kress
  
  Unfortunately all three of these books are in boxes while I work on my home; lordy I miss my books!!!
  
• Attracting Birds to Your Backyard: 536 Ways to Create a Haven for Your Favorite Birds (A Rodale Organic Gardening Book) by Sally Roth
  Personally, I think nearly anything by Rodale is a good deal
  
• Stokes Bird Gardening Book: The Complete Guide to Creating a Bird-Friendly Habitat in Your Backyard (Stokes Backyard Nature Books.) by Donald Stokes and Lillian
  
  Again, perhaps it is because I garden that I found the habitat-part of the book to be a little on the thin side, but I did enjoy reading which birds were especially attracted to which kinds of plants and flowers.

Just because I find Julie Zickerfoose (blog, articles, etc) so fascinating, I’m also considering:

• Natural Gardening for Birds: Simple Ways to Create a Bird Haven (Rodale Organic Gardening Book) by Julie Zickefoose and Bird Watcher's Digest Staff
  
  I may have already grown beyond this book however; I’ve got shelves of gardening books and have read so much already.
  
• Private Lives of Garden Birds by Calvin Simonds, Julie Zickefoose, and Scott Shalaway
  
  This one looks to contain the same sorts of gems that her husband Bill’s book (below) does!

Books for newbies or for specific challenges. I’ve found two that I totally enjoy and heartily recommend to anybody just starting out. Heck, Thompson’s book is probably great for any casual birder; there’s a lot of good information and advice in there:

• Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges by Bill Thompson III, Julie Zickefoose
  
  Invaluable; tidbits of information on how to tell certain flycatchers apart, specific fieldmarks for determining similar birds when size is impossible to figure (like Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers) and so on. Really great book; I just wish he’d tackle another 50 birds! LOL
  
• Finding Your Wings: A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers (Peterson Field Guides (R)) by Burton S. Guttman
  
  I have recommended this book to several beginning and casual birders; to the one they have enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. This book really does show you how to see birds.

I sincerely hope you leave your suggestions (click the word COMMENTS, below)…so that we can all find several books we might enjoy...and why. Thanks!!!

A Lovely New Book...

As a new birder, the first book I picked up was a Sibley's Field Guide...but I wanted more and found it in a new book (March, 2008) that I've recommended to others. Their reactions have caused me to mention it here:

Finding Your Wings: A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers by Burton Guttman is a lovely, interactive book that teaches how to look at birds; how to see them and how to recognize different types of birds. While the book references Peterson Field Guides regularly, I used my Sibley’s and was easily able to complete the exercises and quizzes offered.

As a new birder, one of the most interesting concepts the author teaches is to study a bird’s silhouette, which strikes me as valuable when an awful lot of birds are viewed in just that manner. Another is his suggestion to study movement and jizz, the impression a bird gives with the subtle, characteristic combination of it’s size and shape, it’s posture and its ways of moving.

From what to wear and polite birding manners to how to buy binoculars, from types of bills to shapes of tails and what these things mean to the kind of bird that carries them and from behavior to habitat ...the author teaches how to really see birds.

A fine bibliography is included.
At Amazon.com from <$9 to $15.