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Small group of hawks, book recommendation



Spotted a small kettle of hawks while walking from the car to the office
yesterday.  Mainly redtails, but also an Osprey leading me to believe the
birds may have been migrating.  They were just little specks against the
clouds, but the always present bins in the car provided a good look at the
long bent wings of the Osprey.

Let me recommend a book for those interested in identifying the many
shorebirds migrating through the area.  Stokes "A Beginners Guide to
Shorebirds" is available for a shelf price of 8.95.  Don't let the name
fool you as I feel the book is useful for beginners, intermediates, and
even more advanced birders.  Each of the roughly 60 species of regularly
occurring shorebirds in the US and Canada (excluding Alaskan specialties)
is covered, most with multiple photos of birds in flight and on the ground.
Each species is given 2 full pages, one of text and one of photos.  Also
included are discussions on plumage, molt, habitat, and feeding.  Several
features I enjoyed were a listing of species by length of migration (short,
medium, long), a breakdown of shorebirds likely to be seen by habitat, and
migration timetables for spring and fall for each species.  I consider
myself fairly adept at shorebird identification, but really enjoyed my
first look at this book.  I even learned something new the first time I
opened the text, our locally breeding Willets leave the US in the winter
and are replaced by Willets moving south from more northerly breeding
areas?  I didn't realize the Willets we see in the summer are different
individuals than the ones in winter.
The book is exactly the same size as a Peterson's so it fits well in a
pocket while out in the field.

Best,
Steve Shultz
Cary, NC

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