Coat Pocket Bird Book: A Field Guide to Birding |  | Authors: John Gillette, David Mohrhardt
Publisher: Thunder Bay Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $5.00
You Save: $9.95 (67%)
New (5) Used (4) from $2.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1955523
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.4
ISBN: 1882376145
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.29774
EAN: 9781882376148
ASIN: 1882376145
Publication Date: August 1, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Trade Paper, Thunder Bay Press, very good, new
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This book, and its companion Kitchen Table Bird Book, have been published for birdwatchers who want to know more about birds of the Great Lakes region than is found in standard field guides. Two excellent general guides have long been available - Peterson's Field Guide to birds East of the Rockies, and the Golden Press Birds of North America - and by working with one or another or both there isn't one single feathered flying body anywhere in our region that's safe from rapid identification. But by their very nature, these field guides are only aimed at providing identification. They have space for only the briefest bits of information about each bird. Peterson depicts more than 1000 birds in the 136 color plates of his book, while the Golden Press contains even more because it covers birds on both sides of the Rockies. There simply isn't room in those books for more than a few words about each bird, plus a small drawing. They are comprehensive, solid reference works, but they include hundreds of birds most of us will never see. This book, and its Kitchen Table companion, march to a different ruffed grouse. They were written to give readers a lot more information about a lot fewer birds - but the birds they do list are those you are most likely to meet in the Great Lakes region without fanatic chase. We make no apologies for not including all birds that flap and flit through our region. Together, our two books will introduce you to only about 150 birds. But if you meet and know 90 percent of these, you will find yourself in company with the top 10 percent of those who consider themselves active birdwatchers. And you'll know a lot more about each bird than you'll learn from the field guides, useful as they are.
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| Customer Reviews:
Coat Pocket Bird Book February 11, 2000
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is an excellent source of information, particularly for birds of the upper midwest. This book, first published by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, is intended for the novice...it's something to be taken along on walks in the country, or peeks out the kitchen window, and to be scribbled in. Well-organized, beautifully illustrated, and informative, the birds are described in entertaining prose by John Gillette, an inveterate birder, raconteur, and "real" human being. Much of what he writes is affective in nature, as well as cognitive-- this book will teach you but leave you wanting to learn more. It will confirm the excitement/feelings you have when you first discover the avian treasures encountered along the way. Dave Mohrhardt's superb illustrations are true works of art; not simple sketches but along the lines of Audubon.First published in 1984, and republished in subsequent batches, I have been without my first copy for two years and I miss it! John Gillette was my uncle, and passed away as the book was finished. Spending time in this book is a good way for readers to meet a great man, a patient teacher, and a curious and studied birder.
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