Other Birder’s Field Guides

I love old field guides. I have a modest collection on my book shelf of these treasures that I have found in used book stores over the years. Within the pages are antiquated bird names no longer used. One interesting fact about old field guides is that people used to write their names inside and mark the pages with their sightings since several of them didn’t include checklists or boxes for indicating species seen. Roger Tory Peterson remarked, “It is gratifying to see a copy marked on nearly every page, for I know it has been well used.” Do people still do this today? I can honestly say that I have never done this myself, but one special book does have my name in it. More on this later.

Although these now reside on my bookshelf I can’t help but feel that they aren’t quite mine. There is a history that goes along with these old books. A history that I am not a part of.  There are simple check marks next to some birds, and scribbled notes along the pages with the various dates and locations where other birds were found. A Plain Titmouse was recorded in 1949, Hooded Merganser in1950, and a Bullock’s Oriole on the 4th of July in 1956. Like most field guides these probably were taken to a national park, or made a long distance cross country trek to some vacation spot. They belonged to Margaret, Harold, Richard, Elizabeth, and one was a gift from Aunt Molly. Another previous owner by the name of Fern wrote a thoughtful note inside to the next person that would possess her book. She had no idea who it might be (yours truly), but her words bear witness to the fact that she enjoyed birds and wanted to pass on her enjoyment by saying so.

Within the pages of these books are some of the best bird art ever produced. Painters such as Don Eckelberry and Roger Tory Peterson, line drawings by Major Allan Brooks, Earl Poole and Terry Shortt all contributed to these  original bird books. Terry Shortt’s Spoon-billed Sandpiper below is one such drawing and evokes the quickness of a peep in flight. A bird I can only dream of seeing myself.

I also own a book that has personal family history. Apgar’s Birds of the United States published in 1898. An old book with scientific descriptions and black and white illustrations. It even has a section on how to properly prepare skins for display or study. You won’t find this “illegal” activity in modern guides. This copy was owned by my Great Grandmother who wrote her name on the inside in 1902. Obviously by a pen dipped in an ink well. As a boy I would pull this book off the shelf at my Grandmother’s house and leaf through it looking at the old illustrations and reading the bird names no longer used such as Scaled Partridge, Bartramian Sandpiper and Man-o’-War bird. Each time my Grandmother telling me, “Be careful. That book is very old. It belonged to your Great Grandmother.” One day quite unexpectedly, she gave it to me.

The one book that does contain my name in it was a gift. My old boss, a casual birder himself, visited the Festival of the Cranes event in Bosque del Apache, New Mexico one fall. He returned with a personally autographed copy of Roger Tory Peterson’s Western Birds and presented it to me. It is one of my favorite possessions. Not only because of the personalized signature by an iconic figure of the birding world, but because my boss was much more than my employer at the time. He was a true friend and we shared an interest in things beyond the work place. He has passed on and continues to be missed, but I remember fondly the group outings chasing local birds, his love of nature and the day he handed me this thoughtful gift. It is irrepleacable.