Dunne - Pete Dunnes Essential Field Guide Companion: a Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds

Copyright 2006 by Pete Dunne

All rights reserved

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

www.hmhbooks.com.

Photographs by Linda Dunne and Pete Dunne

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Dunne, Pete.
Pete Dunnes essential field guide companion / Pete Dunne,
p. cm.
ISBN-13:978-0-618-23648-0
ISBN-10:0-618-23648-1
1. BirdsNorth AmericaIdentification. I. Title: Essential
field guide companion. II. Title.
QL681.D882 2006
598'. 07'2347dc22 2005021110

eISBN 978-0-544-13568-0
v1.0113

I took them from a German soldier who didnt need them anymore, said my father, former Staff Sergeant Gerald W. Dunne, of the binoculars clasped in my hands.

Even at the age of seven, the import of this disclosure did not escape me, but as often happens in life, the urgency of the moment superseded due regard for the past.

Can I use them to look at birds? I asked.

If you take care of them, he said, and I did, and I do, because those old 6x24 binoculars, the instrument that conferred my first intimacy with birds, remain in my care today.

This book is dedicated to the unknown German soldier.

And to my father,
who likewise doesnt need them anymore.

It has taken more than four years to move this project from concept to completion. During this time an unholy number of individuals, institutions, colleagues, and friends lent their counsel and support, and it is no exaggeration to say that this book could not have been completed without them.

First, and with due recognition, I wish to both acknowledge the contribution of and express my sincere gratitude to the many scientists, field guide authors and illustrators, and experts who have built the existing wealth of information relating to North Americas birds. I have drawn all my life from this wellspring of knowledge, which makes my efforts here more nearly the work of a compiler and scribe than author.

But in particular I wish to recognize all the officers, directors, staff, editors, and, most of all, the contributing authors of the Birds of North America Series, volumes 1 through 716. This great work served as my primary reference for information relating to distribution, habitat, and migration patterns for the species contained in this book, and it represents, in my estimation, the most comprehensive summary of any regions bird life ever crafted. I suspect that few individuals have read as much of this work as I have. With no prompting I include here the Web site address (www.bna.birds.cornell.edu), and also without prompting I encourage all serious students of birds to avail themselves of this great body of work.

During the period of our travel and study, my wife, Linda, and I were helped by scores of individuals who gave freely of their time and talenttoo many hundreds to enumerate here. My gratitude to all is nevertheless undiminished. But if singling out a few for special recognition does nothing to diminish the contribution of others, then I would like to express special thanks to Ann and Bob Ellis, proprietors of Camp EllisHome for Abandoned Dogs (and Lindas parents)who not only served as our support base during assorted West Coast campaigns but in addition cared for our somewhat troublesome pets when Linda and I were on the road. Which, for months at a time, we often were.

In this same vein, I wish to thank the staff of New Jersey Audubons Cape May Bird Observatory, who were obligated to shoulder extra work in support of my somewhat protracted semi-sabbatical. In particular I want to thank my boss, Tom Gilmore, for granting an extended leave of absence. Then the extension. And then the extended extension. Tom, I owe you, and if the patience and latitude you accorded me could be converted (with no loss of mass or energy) into environmental activism, the world would have been saved yesterday. But the world hasnt been saved, and there is still work to do, so Ill be at my desk ... tomorrow.

Speaking of saving the world (or at least big substantial chunks of it), during our travels Linda and I availed ourselves of the viewing opportunities afforded by many national wildlife refugesthe charge of a very special branch of the federal government, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Time and time again refuge personnel went out of their way to facilitate our efforts. Their professionalism and assistance wereand aregreatly appreciated. How they manage to do what they do with the funding provided is a miracle as big as the one they protect and preserve.

A number of respected friends and colleagues had their 2004 holiday season interrupted by the appearance of unsolicited manuscript that begged reviewing. These individuals not only provided useful insights regarding the species they were delegated but saved me considerable embarrassment. The only thanks I can offer is to commend them and their efforts to you: Cameron Cox, Richard Crossley, Jon Dunn, Shawneen Finnegan, Don Freiday, Tim Gallagher, Paul Gurris, Marshall Iliff, Greg Lasley, Michael OBrien, Will Russell, Clay Sutton, Chris Vogel, Sheri Williamson, Chris Wood, and Kevin Zimmer. Their expertise is eclipsed only by their generosity, and my gratitude eclipses that.

I am particularly indebted to Paul Lehman, who in the capacity of editor and friend took upon himself the extraordinary task of reviewing this entire manuscript. There is no one whose knowledge base concerning North Americas birds surpasses Pauls. His contribution to this book cannot be measured or gainsaid, but it may be called into question because of errors that will inevitably find their way into print. Accordingly, and in due deference to Paul, let it be known that no factual errors were missed by him. Rather, his corrections and well-considered suggestions were overlooked or stupidly dismissed by me.

In the same vein, I thank Wayne Petersen and Kevin Zimmer, who very generously agreed to review the page proofs and whose collective knowledge concerning the birds of North America brackets both coasts and all that lies between.

Thanks (in some cases, added thanks) are also extended to the following individuals who gave freely of their time and expertise in the field to make this a better book (and me a better birder): Jeff Bouton, Richard Crossley, Bob Dittrick, Mike Fritz, Steve Howell, Paul Lehman, Brian Patteson, Scott and Julie Roederer, Debbi Shearwater, Chris Vogel, Matt White, Sheri Williamson, and Tom Wood.

Grateful thanks are extended to my agent, Russell Galen, who facilitated the contract with Houghton Mifflin that resulted in this book; Terry Moore and Leica Sports Optics, for their generous support of our travels; and Bob Dittrick and Lisa Moorehead, for graciously allowing us to park the Road Pig in their drive in Eagle River, Alaska, for five weeks (while we went birding elsewhere).

Editors are a very special breed. It is their greatly underappreciated task to take pages of manuscript (in the case of this book, 1,800 of them) and convert them into something that will serve readers and save authors embarrassment. In this regard, Lisa White is both a credit to her profession and a candidate for sainthood. Thanks, too, to Shelley Berg for her production work.

Also in line for thanks is Anne Chalmers for her very compelling design of this book.

Finally, and without explanation, this acknowledgment would be sadly deficient without recognizing the contribution (and sacrifices) of Linda E. Dunne, whose many titles include Logistics Coordinator, Chief Navigator, Supply Master, RV Maintenance Chief, Dog Distracter, Proofreader, and Lost Binocular Finder. My wife is, in point of fact, the real birder in the family. Love you, sweetie. We can have our weekends back now. What do you say we take next Sunday off and go birding?