Book Review: A Birder’s Guide to Colorado

If you were going to write a guide for birding enthusiasts and photographers, what would you put in it? Could it be varied enough for photographers of all skill levels to use, small enough to carry but big enough to hold lots of information, and a book that would help you build a photography outing? Well, thankfully for us, the folks at the American Birding Association have created a series of books that do just this.

The ABA is among the most respected birding groups in the world, and they’ve done a great job with “A Birder’s Guide to Colorado.” Author Harold Holt is a long-time and well-respected Colorado birder. His book contains historical information on the regions of Colorado, maps showing directions to birding sites from major interstate freeways, as well as nearby points of photographic interest. Each chapter details a particular region of the state. For example, the chapter on the Eastern Plains contains information on the I-76 corridor, and includes information on the Julesburg Area, the Sterling Area, and the Colorado 144 Loop. And each of those areas are broken down further to include specific locations, resident species that you should see, worthwhile times to go and other potential viewing areas in the region. Other chapters include Front Range and Rocky Mountains, Southwestern Corner and more.

Should you want to be turning your lens to residents who don’t wear feathers, there is also a section on other mammals, reptiles and amphibians that can be found across the state. A list of Colorado specialty birds can also be found at the back of the book, and a bar graph of the major species of birds found in the state is there as well. The bar graph is set up so you can immediately tell what your chances are of seeing any particular bird on the state list for each region in the state, and each month of the year. This chart is a really useful guide for planning that trip to get the images you need of a particular species.

To get you closer to the action, contact information for local Chambers of Commerce, Tourism Councils, as well as phone numbers for the many national and state parks, U.S. Forest Service locations and road conditions are provided. Just about all the info you’ll need to create the ideal itinerary for a birding or photography outing can be found in this spiral-bound book. Additionally, exquisite black and white drawings of local avian residents fill its pages.

Starting the book off, though, is probably the most important text you’ll find: the ABA Principles of Birding Ethics and the Code of Birding Ethics. This book is a fine compendium for the serious local birder or photographer and a great resource for the photo traveler. Though a few years old, there’s no way to go wrong using this book to find and make great images of the abundant bird life in Colorado.

Note: There are other books in the ABA series; also available are volumes on The Bahamas, Idaho, Virginia, the Rio Grande Valley, the Texas Coast, Florida, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Southeastern Arizona, Massachusetts, Churchill, Wyoming and Southern California. See the ABA website for more information at www.americanbirding.org.