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    Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners: South: Your Guide to Feeders, Food, and the Most Common Backyard Birds
    Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners: South: Your Guide to Feeders, Food, and the Most Common Backyard Birds
    Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners: South: Your Guide to Feeders, Food, and the Most Common Backyard Birds
    Ebook264 pages1 hour

    Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners: South: Your Guide to Feeders, Food, and the Most Common Backyard Birds

    By Stan Tekiela

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    About this ebook

    Find Joy in the Beauty and Wonder of Birds

    Birding is among the most popular outdoor activities—especially in the South, where hundreds of different bird species can be seen and observed. Now is the perfect time to join the fun and let our feathered friends astonish and inspire you. Award-winning author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer Stan Tekiela has written best-selling bird identification guides for every Southern state. In Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners: South, he provides the information you need to become a skilled birder in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, east Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, east Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

    The first section of the book presents “how to” information. Learn the basics of bird feeders. Get to know your birdseed. Create a bird-friendly yard—and even make your own bird food with do-it-yourself recipes.

    The book’s second section is an identification guide, featuring 54 Southern birds that are most likely to be seen at your backyard feeder or near your home. The species are organized by color, making it simple to identify what you see. If you spot a yellow bird, go to the yellow section to discover what it is. Each bird gets a full-page photograph with notations about key field marks, or identification characteristics. The full-color photos are paired with information ranging from the bird’s nest and eggs to favorite foods, as well as Stan’s fascinating naturalist notes.

    Give birding a try, and get started with the guidance of an expert. You’ll be amazed by how much joy birds can bring, and you’ll have a lifetime to enjoy them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAdventure Publications
    Release dateSep 15, 2020
    ISBN9781647551285
    Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners: South: Your Guide to Feeders, Food, and the Most Common Backyard Birds

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      Book preview

      Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners - Stan Tekiela

      Birds that are mostly black

      Birds that are mostly black and white

      Birds that are mostly blue

      Birds that are mostly brown

      Birds that are mostly gray

      Birds that have prominent green

      Birds that have prominent orange

      Birds that have prominent red

      Birds that have prominent yellow

      DEDICATION

      To the memory of my mother, Adele.

      Edited by Brett Ortler and Dan Downing

      Cover, book design and illustrations by Jonathan Norberg

      Cover photos by Stan Tekiela. Front: Painted Bunting Back: Eastern Bluebird

      All photos by Stan Tekiela except pg. 20 (Barn Swallow) by Mirko Graul/Shutterstock; pg. 118 by Frode Jacobsen/Shutterstock; pg. 20 (Northern Flicker) by Anatoliy Lukich/Shutterstock; pg. 19 (Ruby-throated Hummingbird) by Gerald Marella/Shutterstock; pg. 136 (displaying) by Hartmut Walter; pg. 144 (juvenile) by Brian K. Wheeler and pg. 138 (main) by Jim Zipp

      To the best of the publisher’s knowledge, all photos were of live birds. Some were photographed in a controlled condition.

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Stan Tekiela’s Birding for Beginners: South

      First Edition 2020

      Copyright © 2020 by Stan Tekiela

      Published by Adventure Publications

      An imprint of AdventureKEEN

      330 Garfield Street South

      Cambridge, Minnesota 55008

      (800) 678-7006

      www.adventurepublications.net

      All rights reserved

      Printed in the United States of America

      ISBN 978-1-64755-127-8 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-64755-128-5 (ebook)

      Table of Contents

      INTRODUCTION

      Getting Started

      Bird Feeder Basics

      Get to Know Your Birdseed

      Other Foods

      Storing Birdseed and Feeder Maintenance

      What’s That Bird? Tips for Identifying Birds

      Bird Basics

      Tips for a Bird-Friendly Yard

      Do-it-Yourself Bird Food

      Birding Citizen Science

      Frequently Asked Questions

      How to Use This Guide

      Sample Pages

      THE BIRDS

      Black

      Black and White

      Blue

      Brown

      Gray

      Green

      Orange

      Red

      Yellow

      BIRDING ON THE INTERNET

      CHECKLIST/INDEX BY SPECIES

      GLOSSARY

      EMBRACE NATURE WITH MORE FROM STAN TEKIELA

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Getting Started

      Welcome to the world of birding! If you’re a beginner trying to identify the birds in your backyard, this book is for you. Birding is a simple pastime that’s incredibly popular, and it’s not hard to see why: You can watch birds in any season, and as far as hobbies go, a basic setup is about as cheap as it gets. All you need is some green space, a bird feeder and perhaps a pair of binoculars. I’ve written this book to help birders who are just starting out. This book contains 54 species of birds in the South, all common backyard visitors. It includes summertime favorites such as orioles, bluebirds and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and year-round residents such as cardinals, chickadees and nuthatches. The birds I chose for this book are among the most common and familiar visitors to backyard feeders.

      Once you start identifying backyard birds, I’d encourage you to find my state-specific field guide for your state. I’ve written guides for each state in the South, and each book contains around 140 species, including a wide variety of birds you’re not as likely to spot in an average backyard, including raptors, shorebirds and more. It also contains a detailed range map for each species, showing when and where each bird is usually found.

      I sincerely hope you enjoy your start to bird watching. Have fun, and again, welcome!

      House Finch male

      Bird Feeder Basics

      To get more birds to visit your yard, an easy way to invite them is to put out bird feeders. Bird feeders are often as unique as the birds themselves, so the types of feeders you use really depends on the kinds of birds you’re trying to attract.

      Hopper feeders are often wooden or plastic. Designed to hold a large amount of seeds, they often have a slender opening along the bottom, which dispenses the seeds. Birds land along the sides and help themselves to the food. Hopper feeders work well as main feeders in conjunction with other types of feeders. They are perfect for offering several kinds of seed mixes for cardinals, finches, nuthatches, chickadees and more.

      Tube feeders with large seed ports and multiple perches are very popular. Often mostly plastic, they tend to be rugged enough to last several years and can be easily cleaned. These feeders are great for black oil sunflower seeds and seed mixes, which are favorites of titmice and all the other bird species that also visit hopper feeders.

      Some tube feeders have small holes, allowing incredibly tiny thistle seeds to be dispensed just a few at a time. Use this kind of feeder to offer Nyjer seed, which will attract various finches.

      Other styles of tube feeders have a wire mesh covering with openings large enough for birds to extract one of their favorite foods—peanuts out of the shell. Most birds enjoy peanuts, so these feeders will be some of the most popular in your yard. Another variety of tube feeder has openings large enough for peanuts in the shell. These are also very popular with the birds.

      Ground feeders allow a wide variety of birds to access the food. The simplest and easiest feeders to use, they consist of a flat platform with a lip around the edges to keep seeds from spilling out. Some have a roof to keep rain and snow off the food. With or without a roof, drainage holes in the bottom are important. Ground feeders will bring in juncos and many other birds to your backyard, including pheasants, and even mallards if you’re near water.

      Suet feeders are simply wire cages that hold cakes of suet. The wire allows woodpeckers, nuthatches and other birds to cling securely to the feeder while pecking out chunks of suet. The best suet feeders have a vertical extension at the bottom where a woodpecker can brace its tail and support itself while feeding. These are called tail-prop suet feeders.

      Nectar feeders are glass or plastic containers that hold sugar water. These feeders usually have plastic parts that are bright red, a color that is extremely attractive to hummingbirds, but orioles and woodpeckers will also stop for a drink. They often have up to four ports for access to the liquid and yellow bee guards to prevent bees from getting inside.

      Mealworm feeders can be very basic—a simple glass or plastic cup or container will do. Pick one with sides tall enough and make sure the material is slippery enough to stop the lively mealworms from crawling out. Bluebirds especially love this wiggly treat!

      Get to Know Your

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