By Bob Lewis
This small field guide, published by R.W. Morse Co. of Olympia, Washington, slides easily into a back pocket. Small in size, but somehow able to cram 502 pages full of details on over 400 Northern California bird species, this photographic guide bucks the “bigger is better” trend of many popular guides.
The authors of Birds of Northern California are well known to many Bay Area birders. Dave Quady, the principal author, is known as the Grey Owl to many of us: Famous for teaching owling classes and leading field trips for Golden Gate Audubon, Dave is President of Western Field Ornithologists. Jon Dunn’s name appears as principal author of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, and many of us have traveled with Jon to far-away places as he guides Wings field trips. His publication list is long, and his knowledge of local and world birds legendary. Kimball Garrett, as Ornithology Collections manager of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County, brings extensive knowledge of the status and distribution of California’s birds, and Brian Small’s photographs have appeared regularly on the covers of every bird publication there is. He’s co-author of three other photographic field guides.
This is a photographic guide. The pages are small, and often only a single species appears on a page. This contrasts to larger guides using artwork, where several species can be compared on a single page. Graphic Designer Christina Merwin has, however, done a good job of placing similar species on the same page where possible. Examples are Hooded and Bullock’s Orioles; Bell’s and Sagebrush Sparrows; Dusky and Gray Flycatchers; Peregrine and Prairie Falcon.
The photographs are sharp and generally posed in a slight angle toward the reader, ideal for showing off as many field marks as possible. Many species are illustrated in several plumages: male and female, basic and alternate. immature and adult. 468 of the 650 bird images are by Brian Small; some of the remainder are by Northern California photographers known to readers of The Gull, including Jerry Ting and Glen Tepke. (Editor’s note: Bob Lewis has a photo in the guide too!) There are two maps by our own Rusty Scalf, showing public lands and habitats in Northern California.
The book is organized taxonomically, covering the most common species found in the area. There are a few “extras”: A page of six vagrant warblers, an insert of Broad-winged Hawk on the Red-shouldered Hawk page, Glaucous Gull on the Glaucous-winged Gull page, etc. At the end of the book are sections on Recently Introduced Exotic Species, and on Mountain, Great Basin, and Pelagic Specialties. Each species is carefully described, with important field marks emboldened. There are comments regarding voice, behavior, similar species and location found. Occasionally there’s an interesting “Did you know” paragraph offering some special bit of knowledge. The book has a small section on habitats and a checklist to keep track of sightings.
I’d recommend this book for the beginning and intermediate birder. It will help you separate similar species, remind you of field marks and voice, and will tell you where to go to find a desired species, and when it might be in Northern California. It includes over 99 percent of the birds you’ll see on a typical birding trip in Northern California, and it slides easily into your pocket. It’s not the guide to take along when you’re searching for a vagrant Magnolia Warbler or Blue-headed Vireo at Point Reyes. But it does mention a surprisingly large number of rare birds – some briefly, some in more detail. I didn’t expect to find Glossy Ibis mentioned, or Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, but they, and others, are indeed included.
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Click here to order Birds of Northern California from our online store. You can also purchase a copy at our Berkeley office, which is open from 9 a.m. until noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays or at other times by appointment. The office is at 2530 San Pablo Avenue, at the corner of Blake.
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Bob Lewis serves on the Golden Gate Audubon Society board and chairs the Adult Education Committee. He is one of the Bay Area’s leading birding instructors, co-teaching classes on Bay Area Birds, Birds of the Sierra, and GGAS’s year-long Master Birder class. Together with Dave Quady, Bob co-chairs the Oakland Christmas Bird Count. He is an expert bird and wildlife photographer whose eBird entries include over 40 countries and 4500 species.
