[.ca] Birds of Michigan Field Guide (ISBN 159193043X)

Great little book:
I love this book! Large, accurate pictures and easy to use (the bird info is on the page opposite the pic, no more thumbing through to find it!). It deserves to be in every Michigan bird lover's library.

Very Good for Beginners:
This is a very good book for Michigan birdwatchers who are just beginning to learn their birds. The birds are organized by color. This is very helpful to beginners, but bad for birders with a little experience. In the "brown" category the Mourning Dove is right next to the Pied-Billed Grebe. So the water fowl are spread all throughout the book, which is not helpful if you know enough about birds to at least know that what you are looking for is a water fowl. The same goes for all the other types of birds. Organization by color has its problems. Still, the pictures are a rather good quality and the range maps are helpful, as are the author's comments about each bird. In short, a very good book for beginners (and older children); not a book for birders with even a little experience.

Stop shopping and just buy this book! Deserves SIX STARS!:
I don't consider myself "well read", but I know a great book when I see one. The cover hints what's in store when your thumbs open the book for the first time-brilliant and sharp color photographs that show both sexes, birds are organized by color (very nice), Michigan maps of where different species can be found (including county outlines), in-depth characteristic descriptions, a "compare feature" for distinguishing similar looking birds...and as the title states, ALL featured species actually live in Michigan! The overall size of the book is perfect for the back pocket or to carry a field without giving the arm a workout. Pages are of quality paper stock. The author has a very logical approach; he gives the reader accurate, easy to find information on birds without all the usual wordy fluff found in most titles. College students or hard-core bird watchers would probably think the content lacks. In my opinion, this book wasn't designed for "that level"; it's a Field Guide and a damn good one. If you want to ID birds, then you just found the perfect book, buy it. Enough said.

Great for New Bird Watchers:
This book should be the guideline for all other bird watcher books. There are so many features that make it easy enough for kids just starting out. The small glossy pages,color tab pages, real life photographs, range map and "stans notes" make identifying a bird easy, you spend less time flipping through a bulky book and more time watching the birds! The book features over 200 birds IN MICHIGAN. My husband and I take this book with us whenever we go out. Its small and sturdy enough that it fits right into our binoculor case.

Better than the Peterson's Guides!:
I came across this book from a fellow classmate in my BIO 229 (Nature Study) course at CMU. We purchased the Peterson's Guides as part of the class material, but Tekiela's book is soooo much better! The real-life pictures and color codes make identification much easier and faster, and all of the birds featured are natives to Michigan. This is essential when you consider how quickly birds move around- you don't have time to wade through the Cranes and Puffins to find your species! I would recommend this to anyone with a birdfeeder or an interest in bird watching.