Specific Field Guides

If you have a smart phone or tablet, I recommend Audubon’s field guide apps. They have an advanced search feature which allows you to search by region, habitat, colors, size, etc. The apps are updated at times to improve ease of use and to add species, photos, and other useful features.

I like the regular Audubon field guides.  Mine have color photos, which I find easier to work with than drawings.

I have used field guides for many years, and own several from different publishers. However, I find I reach for my field guide apps more often because of several advantages they have over a book.

The ability to search on location and characteristics is one of the biggest advantages. Yes, you can get field guides specific to an area, but they are not usually helpful when trying to identify something that is not a very common species. Birds, insects, and animals do not always stay within their designated field guide ranges. The app gives you the ability to filter on what you know about an organism, which helps narrow down the possible choices for identification.

Another advantage an app has over a book is having several pictures of an organism in cases where it is helpful to see both male and female (birds), top side of wing and underside of wing (butterflies), and variations due to location (birds and insects, generally).

The bird app and the reptiles and amphibians app even have audio samples of bird calls and frog and toad calls. These are very useful because many times you will hear a bird, frog, or toad but never see it.

All that being said, the most useful field guide is one you will use. ?

I have an iPad that I run the apps on. I do not usually have it with me when I’m out in nature. I rarely took my field guide books out in nature either; there are just too many of them to carry into the field. ?

When I notice something I have not already identified, I am careful to observe as much about it as I am able. It is helpful to write down my observations if I have paper and pen available. If possible, I take a picture to help with identifying it later.

If I’m not able to identify something, I make a mental note of what characteristics I need to observe to be able to identify it, so that the next time I observe it I know exactly what to notice.