Subject: [Tweeters] bird guide for young birders
Date: Thu Jul 30 10:03:43 PDT 2020
From: plkoyama at comcast.net - plkoyama at comcast.net

Tweets,
I agree with Andy that the Birds of Puget Sound guide is best for kids. I gave this book to most of my non-birding relatives to use for their yards, and they really liked it. I think beginning birders often do better with photos, and this book provides interesting facts about each bird, contains all the usual local species and has a couple of lines to write in a date seen or comment if desired. It is small enough for a child to carry or to put in a parent's purse or pocket. The slight downside is that it just covers birds on the west side of the state, but that's where kids usually start anyway. I used to sell a lot of these when volunteering at the Seattle Audubon Nature Shop, back in the pre-Covid era! You can still get it there by mail ordering or by picking it up at the door on 35th NE in Wedgwood.
Penny Koyama, Bothell

From: Andy McCormick
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2020 8:30 AM
To: Bob Sundstrom ; J Christian Kessler
Cc: Tweeters (E-mail) ; Emily Birchman
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] bird guide for young birders

Hello-

For new borders of any age, I think a guide that reduces the number of birds to consider is better for them. The most important goal for a new birder is to learn the common birds well. The Sibley Guide and Nat Geo guides can be overwhelming and have too much information for an 8-year old. However, having one around is a good idea if the new birder wants more information.
I would recommend a smaller regional guide such as the Lone Pine Birds of Washington State by Brian Bell. Another good choice is Birds of Puget Sound Region by Hal Opperman. Both books focus on local more common birds. It's true that it encourages picture matching, but I don't think that can be avoided in new birders. When they are ready to learn about bird more deeply, there are more sophisticated guide available.

Andy McCormick
Bellevue, WA


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From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu> on behalf of Bob Sundstrom <ixoreus at scattercreek.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 7:33:25 AM
To: J Christian Kessler <1northraven at gmail.com>
Cc: Tweeters (E-mail) <tweeters at u.washington.edu>; Emily Birchman <stollea at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] bird guide for young birders

An 8 year-old grandniece (now 9) became intrigued by birds on her own, and liked to talk about them. I gave her my older copy of Sibley's Western U.S. guide, and she has spent many hours with it, especially drawing birds from the illustrations. It's also a good carrying size for a small child.

Bob Sundstrom


Sent from my iPhone


On Jul 27, 2020, at 1:48 PM, J Christian Kessler <1northraven at gmail.com> wrote:



Emily --

I do not have an opinion as to which guide would be best in your case. Rather, I'm judging from my own two grandsons. One is 9, has a strong interest in team sports, as do both his parents. He is intelligent and well educated for a 9 year old. But his knowledge of the natural world is that of an average 9 year old, he knows the species he sees regularly in his yard. Were I buying for him, I would buy the "young birder' book. My other grandson is 6, and has a strong interest in all aspects of nature and in birds. His father grew up birding with his own father (me) and has the same full spectrum outdoors/nature interests I do. This grandson is comfortable with the differences between sparrows and finches (not to mention warblers or such). For him, I would give him Sibley.

hope this is helpful,

Chris Kessler

On Mon, Jul 27, 2020 at 12:40 PM Emily Birchman <stollea at gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all,

I have a dear friend whose 8 year old daughter is getting interested in birding. She wondered if I could recommend a bird guide that would be ideal for younger birders like her daughter. I wondered if anyone here has any opinions on this? Would it be better to just start her w/ the Sibley guide, or is there a comprehensive guide written more for kids?

I found this one: https://www.amazon.com/Young-Birders-America-Peterson-Guides/dp/0547440219 which seems like maybe a good one to start with, but it doesn't contain all the species - but maybe that doesn't matter too much?

Thanks for any input you might have. :)

Sincerely,
Emily Birchman
Kenmore, WA
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