Some Bird Books From Algonquin

Hobbyists around the world enjoy purposefully attracting birds to their yards. Songbirds in your Garden is an excellent book for learning more about how to go about making your yard more attracting to birds. The first part of the book talks about the basics: providing food, water, and shelter. It also discusses how to help birds that have nests of babies and how to construct a Bluebird trail. The second section discusses the use of sounds to attract birds, attracting hummingbirds, and landscaping your yard for the birds. The last section of this book provides many tips on helping birds survive. One chapter is even dedicated to taking care of young birds that have fallen from their nests or whose parents have been killed.

I enjoyed reading through this book. The “Rule of Thumb” notes found in the margins are particularly valuable for the reading that is just skimming through the book looking for some quick ideas. The margins also contain some ideas called “Try This” and short profiles of various common backyard birds. Much supplemental information is provided in blue-background boxes scattered throughout the text.

There is only one serious problem with this book. All illustrations are black and white making it difficult to use it for identifying birds correctly. If the book is used in combination with a full color identification book, the user will have no difficulty. I recommend this book if you want to succeed at attracting more birds to your garden. It sells for $14.95 and is available either directly from the publisher or through online or local bookstores.

100 Birds and How They Got Their Names. Diana Wells. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. 2002.

100 Birds and How They Got Their Names is a book to keep on your shelf along with your bird identification field guides. This book is a delight to read because it shares the meaning of the some of the birds’ names and a discussion of how we came to know these birds by their popular names today.

I loved listening to the sounds of Loons when I camped with my son. It was fascinating to learn that the name Loon comes from a Scandinavian name meaning “lame”. Loons, while graceful in the water, are clumsy on land. Listening to the laughing of the loons on a lake is an experience not to be missed.

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