A Birder's Guide to Louisiana (ABA Birdfinding Guides)

I never leave home without this book when I'm contemplating a trip around Louisiana. I have used this book many, many times and every time I say, "I really should write a review, if for no other reason than to express my appreciation for the sheer amount of energy, time, bandwidth, and fuel it must have taken to compile this."There are so many great things to say about this book. For one, it's what I use to plan my travel. Wherever I go, I pull up the corresponding chapter and daydream about the birds I'll see based on the authors' description of the destination.And they don't just describe the destination. They describe how to *experience* the destination. This is incredibly important. For example, they don't just throw out an address or the name of a park. They tell you where to enter, what to do after you enter, how much birding you'll be doing while walking (versus birding by car), where the danger zones are, and a whole host of other information.Yes, I know I'm a little late in writing this review, but in my defense, I didn't really discover the book until about 10 years after it was published. And then imagine my glee when I discovered I could also get an electronic version. All the global searches my little heart can handle??? Yes, please! Now, if I want to search for specific words, like Calcasieu, or LeConte's, or sandhill, or owl, I can just search the electronic version!My lateness in discovering the book was evident a few months ago, in October of 2023, when I attempted to track down my first ever Seaside Sparrow on Davis Rd. in Cameron, only to be baffled by this monstrosity of a refinery sitting where I was promised a bird area. I was so outraged I literally wielded my book and shook it out my window at the security guard, like it was a Bible and he was a heathen standing in the way of my Lifer Dance. He called some other heathen over and they both thought it was soooo funny. I wanted to pommel them with my Bird Bible. But they had guns. And a refinery. So I left.However, because of A Birder's Guide to Louisiana, I was able to discover Oak Grove, Rutherford Beach , Sam Houston Jones State Park , Friesen Rd. , Fabacher Rd. , and LA-108 during that same trip! And it helped me finally figure out how to experience Honey Island after years of wanting to go there but knowing how to tackle it ! I'm sure there are other eBird lists I could attribute to this book, but I'll stop here for now. (Amazon made me delete my eBird lists I included in my original review.)Another thought I always have when I'm using my travel guide is how I'm inspired by the book to create a real-time, updatable website that lists all of these awesome destinations, except maybe just for the Baton Rouge area. But the mere thought of such an undertaking makes me exhausted every time I contemplate it, which makes me even further appreciate the huge amount of effort it must have taken to compile all of this intel.Many thanks to Richard Gibbons, Roger Breedlove, and Charles Lyon for this massive undertaking! It is an amazing resource!

Good details with directions, expected species. Definitely useful if you are planning a trip and want to see particular birds.

An essential for Louisiana birders! Has a checklist of birds you can keep as you see birds in your journey. It's pricey but worth every penny! The write ups about locations is clear, concise, and give extra little tid bits of information that are helpful (whether a place may be desolate, no restroom, etc). Get this as a gift for your birder. My only suggestion with the book is that it should have included Waddell Wildlife Refuge and Enforcement Training Center, I have enjoyed some great birds there: Eastern Towhee, Eastern Bluebird, Yellow-throated warbler, etc.

Good information that isn't always easy to find.

I was hoping for lots of color photos of birds to assist with identification. There weren't any. I guess I wasn't a very smart shopper.

Provides a good oversight of places and expected birds of La. Directions are easy to follow and allow you to tailor your birding expectations.

If you live in Louisiana, or are visiting, and you want to do some great bird watching, this is a must have guide. The guide is divided up into regions with clear directions to various bird watching areas. The guide provides a description of the areas, how to get there, and what and where to see at different times of the year. I'm a new birder who live in lower Louisiana and I find this guide indispensable.

No colored photos of Birds.B&W, uninteresting. More maps that bird pics.We returend it.Not worth the $ 26.