I don’t usually review books, but this is a rare exception.
I was asked to review a recently published guidebook, Kristen Hine’s “Birds of Florida.” It’s part of the Helm Wildlife Guides series, offered by Bloomsbury Publishing.
Frankly, I’ve never heard of Hine, Helm or Bloomsbury.
But I’ve heard of Florida. And birds. This could be fun, I thought. Writing a bird guide is a uniquely difficult challenge. I should know. I wrote one.
Most books are species identification guides, covering a broad geographic area. Nearly everyone who enjoys birding has a comprehensive guide to the birds of North America on the bookshelf — or one each for eastern and western species.
In 2000, David Sibley published one of the most famous — “The Sibley Guide to Birds.” It’s a large, heavy reference book, too big to fit in a pocket, or even a backpack. Because of that, the book was republished as two books for portability: “Sibley Birds East” and “Sibley Birds West.”
Naturally, as a bird nerd, I own all three. I also bought the Sibley app for my smartphone.
Other books are location guides. These explain where to look for birds, rather than how to identify them. They are typically limited to small geographic areas. On a trip to Tucson last May, I relied on my “Birds of Southeastern Arizona” guidebook. It had been sitting on my bookshelf since I bought it in 2010.
There are several good location guidebooks for Maine. The newest book came out last year: “Field Guide to Birds of Maine,” written by Nick Lund. The second edition of “Birdwatching in Maine: The Complete Site Guide,” edited by Derek Lovitch, was published earlier this year.
My own book, “Maine Birding Trail: The Official Guide to More Than 260 Accessible Sites,” debuted in 2009.
Here’s my personal experience: is there anything worse than pouring your heart into writing a bird guide, then watching it go slowly out-of-date? Much has changed In just 15 years. Boreal chickadees could be found along the Maine coast as far south as Vinalhaven when my book came out. Since that time, they’ve vanished all the way to the Canadian border.
Bank swallows have nearly disappeared from Maine altogether. Cliff swallows are likely right behind them. Even barn swallows are declining precipitously.
Meanwhile, southern birds continue to push north as the climate warms. Red-bellied woodpeckers and Carolina wrens are routinely surprising birders north of Bangor. The tufted titmouse was a southern Maine bird when I wrote the book. Now it nests in my yard.
So, could this “Birds of Florida” guide pull off the difficult feat? In just 224 pages, could it help the reader both identify and locate Florida birds? I’ve been birding in most of Florida. I’ve seen all of Florida’s nesting species. I figure I’m qualified to judge.
I think the guide works, for a couple of easily overlooked reasons. Foremost, it emphasizes habitat. The best way to find birds is to know where to look. Birds are picky about habitat. Each species has a preference. Before the book mentions a single bird or site, it describes the 10 major habitat groups in the state. Next, it goes on to describe the top 17 birding sites aligned with those habitats.
When the book finally starts describing each species, it takes only one paragraph to describe where to look.
Secondly, the book is concise. It covers the basics of identifying each bird, while resisting the temptation to over-describe it. An identification-based guidebook points out all the basic field marks, as well as plumage variations that occur with age and season.
Such detailed complexity is beyond the scope of this book. It seeks to be a handy pocket guide to the birds most likely to be encountered in Florida.
Likewise, the book does not waste pages on rarities. It describes a few Caribbean birds that regularly stray into Florida, and that’s all that’s necessary. It also doesn’t squander pages on rare migrants passing through to the tropics.
In short, it’s the kind of guide that a Mainer might find useful during a Florida vacation this winter. Snowbirds might keep a copy in the RV.
Experienced birders may miss having identification details for immature offseason birds. They may want more specific information on where to find particularly difficult species or rare wanderers. But there are other resources for that.
When I seek a bird I’ve never seen before, I lean heavily on eBird. I confess that’s how I got my last Florida lifer — a bird I had seen and identified for the first time in my life.
