Birds of the Pacific Northwest (A Timber Press Field Guide)

My son became an "birder" when our state enacted "stay at home" order. We are allowed to go outside for a walk in a forest or wildlife viewing areas. He found that photo sessions, when he is looking for birds and tries to take pictures of them with his telephoto lens, are engaging and exciting. It is a good way to get outdoors and keep ourselves busy with something fun. Well, it is not enough to take a picture of a bird, once you did, you become curious which bird it is and what is known about it. He tried several apps for it, which were good, but ultimately we settled on this book as our primary resource. He uses every time when we need to identify a new bird. The book is full color, pictures are very good quality, they are taken from angles from which you can see all characteristic "features" of each bird which help to identify them. Each bird is described on 2-3 pages, so you not only learn what its name is, but also learn interesting facts about their origin and habitat. So far, we were able to easily find every single bird that we saw and every time learned something interesting about it from the book's description. This book is exactly what we needed. I am very thankful to the authors for putting a lot of time and effort into creating this beautiful book. It is not exactly a pocket size book, but it would fit into a large outside pocket if needed. It is a good compromise between portable size and content.

Simply the finest birding book for the region I have seen and now own. The book has so many things done right that I have virtually set aside every other book I have previously relied on for birding in the backyard and back country alike. Layout- Easy to use, easy to quickly search and reference. Easy. Period. Photos- High quality, great shots and real shots that help me reference what I am really seeing in the field. With multiple aspects of most birds in a range of plumages when appropriate. Descriptions- A perfect blend of technical data and language that is appropriate to the lay-person and expert alike. I purchased this book for multiple family members and some of the more beginner birders find the best aspect to be-- 'they understand it'. I would consider myself to be a Novice birder but spend more than an average amount of time in the outdoors observing. This is a great reference tool, and incredibly reasonable in price for all it provides. It may not replace your entire birding library as it did mine, but I assure you it deserves a place in it.

Very nice Book, I use it quite often, it comes in very handy...

UPDATE 8/26/2018: I've referred to this thing endlessly this year. I will be watching this one for future revision/additions if they ever come. This is the bird guide for PNW, hands-down. My 5 stars stand. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I've only just gotten into this guide and already I am simply impressed. The photography is outstanding and without being overly contrast-laden, heavily edited as several other guides tend toward (I believe editors believe this adds clarity to the markings and colors, but really it only muddies the waters since no bird appears this way naturally). The descriptions, ranges and behavioral notes are excellent, marvelous really for a book of this size. The organization is well done and the cover and binding are strong. Not much more to ask for. My previous favorite for our region is "Birds of the Puget Sound Region Coast to Cacades" Paulson, Morse, Aversa and Opperman ... but I have to admit, except for the physical size of this book, its a bit better in most ways. It's naturally larger as is covers a much larger region, but even still I'm happy to have picked it up. A new favorite.

The handiness of this guide for birders in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) from Vancouver, BC to Boise, ID is undisputed. It photographs the majority of species beautifully, often including images of birds in flight, color morphs, appropriate subspecies, and sexual dimorphism. Some photos are not 100% perfect, like the dark image of the Black-billed Magpie, with no hint of its green and blue iridescence. However, these flaws are rare, and difficult to control with moving subjects like birds. The introduction of the book provides a descent overview of tools for birding, identification tips, confusing regional lookalike species, and of course, highlights some birding hotspots in the PNW. Each of the nearly 400 species (300 breeding) are given at least a page, including photos, description, species' dimensions (size), voice, behaviors, habitat, status, and distribution map. Maps are a bit too small, despite having page space available. However, they are detailed when it comes to temporal changes (season movements) to species' ranges. This book at 559-pages long is perhaps unnecessarily bulky, considering it's dedicated to one region within the world's smallest (by species) avifaunal region, the Neararctic. Unallocated white space is commonplace on pages and it lacks the intense detail in distribution maps I would like to see from a regional guide. Whist the seasonality in the maps is appreciated, species' status (where common or uncommon) should be included when dealing with a small region, as one might find in a birding atlas. Notwithstanding, this is a great regional guide. If a little more attention was given to species' accounts spatial allocations, map sizing and distribution detail therein, then a subsequent edition may be rendered utterly unparalleled.

Got this for my husband for Christmas. It’s a great starter book- easy to take with places- we love it!

Great field guide for birders of any level! I am a beginner from the east coast, so this has helped teach me a lot about the PNW birds I’m not very familiar with. Small enough to take with you on an adventure, and well organized if you’re trying to identify in the field.

A really nice book & great pictures

This is an excellent book. Where I retired to, has over 100 species of birds. I therefore concluded, rightly, that I really needed a good bird book and this one is excellent. Concise descriptions with clear colour photos have made this book a permanent resident of my truck along with my binoculars. Highly recommended.

Covers way more territory than the Pacific northwest. Not interested in other areas.