Prairie Dawn Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Do you have any favorite field guides to recommend (any topic)? My ds has been poring over the ones we have, and I'd love to have a good collection in a variety of topics to refer to. We really like the two we have that use photographs: Insects and Spiders, and Birds of North America, both by the National Wildlife Federation, so photos are a plus. Topic suggestions also welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 For trees, the National Wildlife Federation book http://www.amazon.com/National-Wildlife-Federation-Field-America/dp/1402738757/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423658693&sr=8-1&keywords=National+wildlife+federation+trees+of+North+America+field+guide It has the best key to identifying trees I have found. It is not a dichotomous key as there are more than two choices at each juncture. (I find true dichotomous keys to be unwieldy for trees.) For example, the book pages are color-coded for these categories: needlelike leaves; scalelike leaves; fan-shaped leaves; opposite leaves; alternate, compound leaves; alternate, simple leaves; and palms, yuccas, and cacti. Moving to the first pages of the Needlelike Leaves section, you have choices of: needles in sheathed bundles; needles in clusters of 10-60; needles single, attached to tiny, woody pegs; and needles single, attached directly to branch, all with text descriptions and with eleven color photographs on that two-page spread to assist you. The Needles in Sheathed Bundles selection would give you the choice of 'Eastern pines, pages 66-77' or 'Western pines, pages 78-93'. Each species has a page devoted to it, with size, identification, habitat, and other notes. There are close-up photos of bark, needles, and cones, as well as a photo of the entire tree so you can view the habit. If the tree has a specific range, it will be shown on a map. In addition to the identification and photos, the book contains basic tree botany, information about the types of forests of North America, the steps to identifying trees, and a very well-done visual glossary (line drawings and color photos) of leaf shapes, margins, undersides, twigs and buds, flowers, types of fruit, and types of bark. (My second grad work is in horticulture :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Don't know the age of your dd, but once you have a standard field guide for each type of animal or plant and she has made her way through those, you might want to go to the next level of field guides ones with a greater depth on the ecology and natural history of the species (but usually fewer species per book). These are my picks. Many of them can be picked up used. They do not have color photographs as it is assumed you have already identified the animal or plant and want to learn more about it. For standard comprehensive photographic field guides I like the Kaufman series. They are really easy to make IDs with. National Wildlife has some nicely photographed ones too. insects guide: http://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Insects-America-Guides/dp/0618153101/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423661070&sr=1-3&keywords=field+guide+to+insects Birds: http://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Guide-Birds-America/dp/0618574239/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423661256&sr=1-1&keywords=Kaufman+guides Mammals:http://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Guide-Mammals-America/dp/0618951881/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423661330&sr=1-1&keywords=Kaufman+mammals Butterflies: http://www.amazon.com/Butterflies-North-America-Kaufman-Guides/dp/0618768262/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423661358&sr=1-1&keywords=Kaufman+butterflies Wordier guides for older kids who want more than range maps and standard markings: http://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Amphibians-Frogs-Salamanders-Northeast-ebook/dp/B00O3ZPK1C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423661572&sr=1-1&keywords=Discovering+Amphibians http://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Moths-Nighttime-Jewels-Backyard-ebook/dp/B002PXSKD4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423661596&sr=1-1&keywords=Discovering+moths Stokes Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles http://www.amazon.com/Amphibians-Reptiles-Stokes-Nature-Guides/dp/0316817139/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423660316&sr=8-1&keywords=stokes+amphibians+and+reptiles Stokes Guide to Nature in Winter http://www.amazon.com/Stokes-Guide-Nature-Winter-Donald/dp/0316817236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423660712&sr=8-1&keywords=stokes+nature+in+winter John Eastman's Book of Field and Roadside http://www.amazon.com/Book-Field-Roadside-Open-Country-Wildflowers/dp/0811726258/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423660800&sr=1-1&keywords=John+eastman+plants Book of Forest and Thicket by John Eastman http://www.amazon.com/Book-Forest-Thicket-The-Wildflowers/dp/0811730468/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y The Book of Swamp and Bog by John Eastman http://www.amazon.com/Book-Swamp-Bog-The-Wildflowers/dp/0811725189/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1GVGTGYJGEH3SAVFV2F0 (good if you live in New England or the Mid Atlantic states) http://www.amazon.com/Naturally-Curious-Photographic-Month-By-Month-Journey/dp/1570764255/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=08F8E6K07NGGSQ2XMKA8 I also love love love this CD: (all ages) Lang Elliot Guide to Night Sounds http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Night-Sounds-Nighttime-Amphibians/dp/0811731642/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 When you get beyond those, pretty much each state has a university press book specific to that area for anything you can imagine. These tend to be too big for field use, photographic, beautiful, and extremely specific. They also run about $50 each, so they aren't cheap. But if you're passionately interested in X, it's a great resource. I'll also suggest the Audubon apps. These have much less than a guide, but are also much easier to carry. I have pretty much all of them loaded on my phone for field herping trips, so we can look up birds, flowers, trees, insects, fungi, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie Dawn Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 Thank you all!! This is SO helpful. Checking out links... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Not sure where you live, but in Ohio the Division of Natural Resources (DNR) puts out a set of state-specific field guides that are actually good, and you can get them for free. They are not exhaustive, but they are very useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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