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Choosing & Using

Field Guides

You’ve made thedecision to learn moreabout nature, to move

past the generalities of“pine trees" and

“songbirds" and learnthe specific names of

various species, as wellas something about

their life cycle and theirplace in your habitat.

How do you begin.

Unless you are lucky enoughto have a mentor who will

take you into the woods andshare years of accumulatedknowledge with you, it is likelythat you are going to turn tofield guides for help. The numberand variety of these guides onthe market today isastounding.

This wealth of information iscertainly wonderful, but it canalso be overwhelming. The trickis not in finding a guidebook, butin finding the right guidebook foryour needs and your learningstyle.

Finding a Field GuideFinding field guides is as easy

as a trip to the local bookstoreor library.

If you travel, you will often findbooks geared specifically toeach geographical area, andthese can add a lot of interestto your trip.

Nature centers are a goodsource of guides, wildlifemagazines suggest many mail-order sources, and most large

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cities now have at least onestore devoted to nature andwildlife.

Nurseries frequently offerfield guides to plants, and yourlocal County Extension Serviceor Government Printing Officeare other sources ofinformation, as are botanicalgardens and special interestorganizations, such as nativeplant societies.

Don’t neglect the children’sarea of the bookstore or library.Although guides designed foryounger readers won’t go intoas much detail, they are a greatway to get the whole familyinvolved and often have larger,clearer illustrations than adultbooks.

Additionally, check out thecategories marked “NatureWriting" or “Ecology." While nottraditional field guides, thesebooks often offer not onlymethods of identification, butalso a sense of humanity’srelationship to nature. Here youcan find such diverse topics asNative American uses forplants, wildflower folklore,conservation efforts on publiclands, or ways to use yourknowledge of nature to developsurvival skills.

If you have access to theInternet, whether at home orthrough computers at thelibrary, you will discover a wealthof online field guides. These canbe especially helpful whenresearching a subject such asdragonflies where there aremany family members yet very

little printed material available.Most sites will also suggestlinks to additional resources.

In this electronic age, actionand sound can become part ofyour guides when you choosevideos, CD ROM’s, or cassettes.

Choosing a Field GuideMost guidebooks are

illustrated, but some usephotographs (generally in color)while others rely on drawings(sometimes in color). Both havetheir merits.

Some people, especiallybeginning naturalists, find iteasier to recognize a specimenfrom a photograph, and feelmore comfortable with colorpictures because they “lookreal." These do, however, havetheir limitations.

The field specimen you aretrying to identify won’t

necessarily match the photounless you are looking at it atthe same time of year and atthe same point in its life cycle.

Drawings or paintings, on theother hand, generally includethe flower, leaves, seedcapsules, and other distinctivecharacteristics and are usefulno matter what time of yearyou begin your search.

Ideally, your personal libraryshould eventually include bothtypes of guidebooks.

Those books which rely onphotographs are often arrangedaccording to dominant colors.For example, a wildflower guidemight be broken down into

“...each plant is unique;each has its own stories,

legends, andsuperstitions and itsown uses for medicine,

food, magic or beauty – inshort, each has its own

folklore. Learning thisfolklore is an excellentway to begin to truly

know the plants – theirnicknames and proper

names, their virtues anduses, and their tales and

legends."

– Wildflower FolkloreLaura Martin

Tree Shapes

Pyramidal Conical Columnar

Spreading Vase-shaped

Broad Rounded

–Audubon Society,Field Guide to North American Trees

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“yellow flowers," “red flowers,"and so on. Once again, this isgood for the naturalist who isrelying on more obviouscharacteristics to make theidentification, and can work wellif used during the bloomingseason.

Other guides are grouped byspecies which have similarcharacteristics, and still othersby “families" which are arrangedalphabetically by their Latinnames.

Generally the common nameswill also be listed in the index,but these can be unreliablesince they often vary fromregion to region in the country.The Latin names, or “scientificnomenclature," may seemintimidating at first, but theybecome more familiar with useand can offer a surprisingamount of information on theirown about each species.

Using Latin names will alsomake it easier to be sure thatyou are looking up exactly thesame species in different books.

Another consideration is thescope of the guide. You will findthat some books cover theworld, while others concentrateon North America, and stillothers narrow their view to aspecific state or region.

If you are fascinated bybutterflies and love seeing thevariety that nature hasprovided, then you might enjoy aguide that illustrates thoseinsects from all over the world.If, however, you have decided

that you just want to identifythose species in your own area,then a regional guide will simplifyyour task by eliminating thebutterflies which aren’t likely tobe found in your backyard.

Seasonal guides may also be ofinterest to you. Some booksspecialize, for instance, in fieldmarks available in winter, such astree bark or animal tracks, whileothers highlight autumn traitslike leaf color, seed pods, andfruit. Habitat-based guides canbe helpful too, concentrating onspecific surroundings, such aswetlands or deserts.

When choosing a field guide,think about how you intend touse it. If you are interested inbird identification and will domost of your bird watching fromyour picture window, with thesame birds repeatedly visitingyour feeders, then you will be ableto study them in a more leisurelymanner, gradually absorbing thedetails of their appearance.

On the other hand, if you’rewalking in the woods there is a

good chance that you will getonly a fleeting glimpse of a birdin constant motion. In thatcase you need a guide which issmall and portable but whichclearly indicates specificidentifying characteristics, plusoffers good information onhabitat and song.

Beginners will be moreconcerned about generalappearance, while those who aremore experienced will look for in-depth material such asillustrations of alternateplumage (on younger birds,adults in different seasons,etc.).

Obviously, the moreinformation on each speciesthat is included, the lessportable the book will be. As arule, the best time to identifywildlife is in the field, while youare looking at the specimenand can check details, so atleast one of your guidesshould be pocket-sized.

As you think about how you’llbe using your guide, give each

Parts of a Bird

– Stokes, Field Guide to Birds

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book a test. Choose a speciesthat you already know, pretendthat you have spotted it for thefirst time, and see how easy itis to “identify" with each book.Use the same example for allthe books that you areconsidering. It is likely that youwill find variations in how quicklyyou are able to eliminate the“wrong" species, the helpfulnessof the illustrations, the amountof information about thespecies, and the general level ofcomfort that you feel whileusing the book.

As a rule, the quickestidentification takes place whenall the information about eachspecies – picture, range, andinformation – is located on asingle page. Don’t bediscouraged if it seems to takea long time to make anidentification when you firstbegin. Practice is the bestteacher, and soon you’ll findthat you can more quicklynarrow your choices.

Using a Field GuideBefore going out in the field,

be sure that you are familiarwith the appearance of plantsto avoid, in particular poison ivy,poison oak, poison sumac, andStinging Nettle.

Never eat any fruit ormushrooms unless you arecertain beyond any possibledoubt that what you are eatingisn’t poisonous. Don’t rely onwildlife for clues as to safety.One of the favorite foods ofmany birds is Poison-ivy berries!Be sure to teach your childrenthe same safely rules.

Virtually all field guides,regardless of subject matter,will include for each examplethe size, color, habitat, range(where it is found), appearanceat different times of the year,food or soil preferences, andsome remarks about similar-looking species.

Most will also have a sectionon “How to Use This Guide." It isworth taking the time to readthese pages, because they willinclude the symbols andabbreviations used in the text,information on how the book isarranged, charts showing thelabeled parts of the wildlife orplants upon which the book isbased, often an illustration ofthe various species insilhouette, and a wealth ofother material, includingsuggestions for additionalreading.

As youexplore yourenvironment,it will be veryhelpful tohave both a good set ofbinoculars (at least 7x35, whichmeans a magnification of 7through a 35 mm lens), plus a

hand lens (magnifying glass, 6Xto 10X magnification).

Birds are often too far away tosee details clearly with thenaked eye, and small wildflowerscan often only be differentiatedby very tiny characteristics.There are small binoculars on themarket which will focus at closerdistances, making them handyfor studying butterflies andother insects, and magnifyinglenses which fold up into casesso that they are easier to carryin a pocket.

It is best to do youridentification in the field but, ifthat isn’t possible, plantmaterial can be saved in yourbook or a plant press andbrought home for further study.

Include as many parts of theplant as possible (stem or twig,leaf, blossom) and make notesabout other characteristics(bark, soil, fruit).

Never take plants which areendangered, and don’t takesamples when there are only afew of them growing in a givenarea. In those instances, aphotograph is a much betteralternative. In addition, as youstudy your specimen, be carefulwhere you put your feet and yourequipment, taking care not tocrush surrounding vegetation.

When studying wildlife, keep arespectful distance away to besure that your presence doesn’tscare the animal, and also thatit doesn’t alert potentialpredators to a nest or otherhiding place. The most

Poison Ivy

– Golden Guide, Weeds

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important part of studyingnature is learning to respectand care for it.

Taking notes on what youidentify will both enhance yourenjoyment and increase yourlearning. You might want to jotthings down in the margins ofyour book or keep a separatejournal, but it is definitelyworth establishing the habit ofkeeping records.

Your notes should includethe species, whether it is maleor female (if appropriate),where you found it, the date,the surrounding habitat, andany unusual characteristics orbehavior. Start to noticepatterns. Looking back overyour notes will give you adeeper appreciation for thecycles of nature as you realize,for example, that ahummingbird reappears at yourfeeder on the same date eachyear.

Unlike humans, the rest ofnature responds to an eternal,unchanging clock, and that canbe very reassuring to those ofus dependent on thesometimes whimsical and ever-changing demands of work andfamily.

Don’t stop with just keepinga written record of yourdiscoveries. There are manyways to “collect" nature as youlearn about it. Taking picturesis an obvious choice, and youmight decide to create aseries of specialty albums –mushrooms, animal tracks,seed pods, and so on. These

can be helpful when you try toremember what you have seen,and they can also be used toeducate others.

As you work with your fieldguides, you will start to learnwhat characteristics are mosthelpful when attempting toidentify a species.

For example, a beginner seeinga bird usually notices the colorfirst, and perhaps the generalsize. The experienced birdwatcher knows thatidentification is easier if one hastaken note of smallercharacteristics, such as eyerings, head patches, and beakshape.

Similarly when studyingflowers, the color of the blossommay catch your eye, but you’llquickly learn to notice thenumber of petals and the typeand placement of the leaves.

Nature identification reliesas much on eliminatingpossibilities as it does onmatching up characteristics. Ifyou are trying to identify atree with deeply lobed leaves,you might first eliminate allthose without similar leaves,and then consider moredetailed characteristicsamong the species thatremain. Many plant guides areset up in this manner, askingyou to make a series of choiceswhich will gradually narrow yoursearch to just a few possiblematches.

As you gain in knowledge, youwill probably find that you wantmore than one field guide foreach category that you’restudying. Take your time andbuild your library gradually,making notes on what you havefound helpful in your currentguide, and what you wish itoffered in additional material.

Which Guide To BuyWhen all is said and done,

which field guide is the best.As you may have gathered,there is no definitive answer tothat question. Your ownexperiences will ultimatelydetermine the best books foryour needs.

In the meantime, thefollowing series of guides comehighly recommended by manynature lovers and would be agood place to start:

• Stokes• National Geographic• Peterson• Audubon

Leaf Arrangement& Types

Alternate Opposite Whorled

Simple

PalmatelyCompound

Even-pinnatelycompound

Odd-pinnately

compound

– Golden Field Guide, Trees of North America

Bipinnatelycompound

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This article was written by Maryland Master Wildlife Habitat

Naturalist Cathy Gilleland.

For more information or for the name of a Master WildlifeHabitat Naturalist in your area, please contact:

WindStar Wildlife Institute

E-mail: wildlife@windstar.orghttp://www.windstar.org

WindStar Wildlife Institute is a national, non-profit, conservationorganization whose mission is to help individuals and familiesestablish or improve the wildlife habitat on their properties.

Most botanists and moreadvanced naturalists alsorecommend Newcomb’sWildflower Guide for itsnearly foolproof key system.

While not a traditional fieldguide, Mary Blocksma’s book,Naming Nature, A SeasonalGuide for the AmateurNaturalist will be veryinspiring. The author begins:“One day I was gazing out mywindow at a stretch of treeswhen I was suddenly struckwith the realization that Icouldn’t name any of them."

This started her on a year-long project to name just afew parts of the wildlife in herenvironment each week. Manyof her experiences willresemble your own, and theresults are very readable aswell as informative.

In the end, as MaryBlocksma writes and somany of us have felt, “...Whatbrings me joy is more thanknowing names. Many names,like last summer’swildflowers, have alreadyfaded away. It was theprocess of naming that drewme like a magnet into amagnificence of green, pulledme into flowers, opened myears to the cadences ofbirds. For the first time, Ireally feel like taking care ofthings."

Gather your field guidesand start today to learn andcare for nature, and be sureto share your knowledge andinspiration with others.

RESOURCES

Bookss Butterflies Through Binoculars,

Jeffrey Glassberg

s Mushrooms of North America,Orson K. Miller

s Common Plants of theMid-Atlantic Coast, Gene Silberhorn

s North American Wildlife, Reader’s Digest

s Owls, An Introduction for the Amateur Naturalist,Gorden Dee Alcorn

s A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold

s The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats, Janine Benyus

Internets For dragonflies:

www.dragonflies.org/catalog.htm

s For butterflies:www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm