Five of the best backyard birding books

Tips to attract more birds to your backyard

Winters can be hard on us, but have you ever wondered what our feathered friends go through when the temperatures drop and snow covers the ground and their normal sources of food?

For birds and other wildlife, winter is a difficult time and finding a reliable source of food often becomes a matter of life and death.

As more and more native plants disappear, bird feeders become more and more important to backyard birds.

In our garden, many of the traditional backyard birds are already busy stockpiling sunflower seeds in every nook and cranny they can find, whether its tree bark or tucked between crevices in garden benches and other secret backyard hideouts known only to them.

How successful we are in attracting birds and wildlife depends on many factors. Thankfully, many of these factors are within our control.

Blue Jay getting a little drink at the bird bath.

Providing habitat for our feathered friends, for example, is an ongoing project created over time. There are steps, however, we can take immediately to provide a safe haven for our woodland wildlife. A brush pile (click here for earlier post) is one such addition that will help bring in a greater variety of birds including owls and other predators (click for earlier post on attracting owls) that will begin to see it as a source of food in the form of mice and other small critters that call it home.

If you are looking to purchase one of these books, or any Gardening or birding book for that matter, be sure to check out the incredible selection and prices at alibris books.

A naturalized garden is an excellent way to entice birds through natural food sources. Here, a goldfinch feeds on sunflower seeds.

Native plants that include berries and fruit will attract fruit-eating birds and mammals that may not be attracted to our bird feeders. Please take a moment to read my complete story on using native plants in our garden

Winter is also the ideal time to learn more about helping out the wildlife that either call our gardens home or visit it on their neighbourhood rounds. The following are five of the best books available for backyard bird watchers and those who want to attract more of them to our yards. They are conveniently linked to Amazon, but many can be found or ordered through your local bookseller.

Alibris is an umbrella group of independent booksellers from the U.S. and the U.K. that provide exceptional deals on used books and music. Be sure to Also check Alibris for great prices on new and used books.

1) All About Backyard Birds: Eastern and Central regions.

Available in paperback new and used.

Most birders are familiar with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s excellent birding website and handy app on their smartphone. In fact, I doubt there are many serious birders who are not using the handy birding app to help us identify unusual birds in our garden either by sight and unusual markings, or through their many songs and calls. This book is based on that website, which has had more that 14 million unique users to date.

It’s perfect for a new birder, young and old.

The highly regarded book, published in 2017, has an impressive has a very positive rating with 60 on-line ratings.

The publisher notes that the book: “delivers best-in-class content and proven user-friendly formats. Each regional version – eastern/central North America and western North America – provides 120 of the most popular species and is filled with beautiful illustrations by Pedro Fernandes. With charts, maps, and other bird identification tools, All About Backyard Birds offers beginner birders the ideal way to start birding.”

The book also includes a tutorial for the MERLIN app (available for free on line) already being used by more than 1 million birders.

A portion of the net proceeds for the sale of the book goes directly to the Cornell Lab to support projects, including children’s educational and community programs.

2) National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America, 2nd Edition.

Available in paperback both new and used for very reasonable prices.

This is another top notch general source for backyard birders, and it’s hard to go wrong with any product from National Geographic. For travellers, at least in North America, this guide offers an excellent source of information.

The publisher writes: “This comprehensive and beloved guide reveals the most ubiquitous and remarkable species of North American birds, clearly organized by family and paired with identification tips, behaviour, vocal descriptions, and more. The new edition features a "Backyard Basics" section from the world's most prolific birdwatcher, Noah Strycker, with tips on attracting and feeding your favourite birds and creating bird-friendly landscapes. Also included are updated descriptions of 150 common North American species, paired with comprehensive range maps, as well as lush indentification artwork and bite-sized facts. With new contributions from Strycker and a modern redesign, the second edition of this perennial favourite will appeal to new and experienced bird enthusiasts alike.

3) The Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible: The A-to-Z Guide To Feeders, Seed Mixes, Projects And Treats.

Available in both hardcover and paperback both new and used formats.

Rodale has always been a strong publisher when it comes to gardening books. I have a number of them that I go back to on a regular basis. In fact, Landscaping with Nature, Using Nature’s Designs to Plan Your Yard by Jeff Fox published by Rodale Press, was my go-to book for planning and designing much of my woodland gardening book going back at least ten years ago. The book explains the fine details of creating a natural garden right down to using classical music to place large boulders in your garden. It’s proven to be a very valuable resource.

The author of the Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible, Sally Roth, will help guide backyard birders to focus on which foods attract which birds, hints on choosing and maintaining feeders and the best native fruit-bearing trees, flowers and shrubs to plant to attract birds.

The publisher writes: Pull up a chair next to the window looking out on your bird feeder and join author Sally Roth in an informative, inspirational, and often light-hearted look at the foods, feeders, and plants that invite birds to visit your feeding station.”

The author shares a lifetime’s worth of bird-feeding experience including how to identify birds at your feeder, and what foods are best for certain birds. She also includes tips on improving the attraction of your garden to birds.

4) National Wildlife Federation: Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife, Expanded Second Edition.

Another outstanding book by the highly regarded National Wildlife Federation. It’s available in both Kindle and paperback forms, new and used for a very reasonable price.

If you are not familiar with the National Wildlife Federation, it is the largest U.S. nonprofit conservation organization, with 6 million members and 51 state affiliated organizations.

This book takes backyard birding to another level by urging readers to – not unlike this blog – create a backyard that is more nature-friendly by providing habitats for local wildlife, not just birds. The book includes 17 step-by-step projects that brings the entire family back to nature with easy projects. The book explores wildlife-friendly practices and how to attract backyard pollinators.

The reward from following the many ideas in the book is not only a more wildlife-friendly yard, is a blueprint for getting your garden certified by the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife program by following the certification application checklist that is included in the book. A worthwhile investment in its own right and one that our garden qualified for a number of years ago.

The publisher writes: Your backyard can come alive by creating an environment with plants and spaces that attract nature’s most interesting and friendly creatures! Colourful butterflies, uplifting songbirds, and lively toads can enhance your personal garden space, giving pleasure to nature lovers of all ages.”

“Author David Mizejewski, a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation, presents simple plans for reintroducing native plants that birds, butterflies, and a whole host of critters can't resist.

5) The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife (How to Create a Sustainable and Ethical Garden the Promotes Native Wildlfie , Plants, and Biodiversity.

Nancy Lawson’s the Humane Gardener is a must for any gardener who cares about attracting wildlife to their backyard, whether its birds, mammals or creepy crawlies. Her new book Wildscape is another book serious natural gardeners will want to add to this list.

Click on the link for my complete review of her book The Humane Gardener. Click on this link for my review of her book Wildscape.

Available in Kindle format and hardcover both new and used at a very reasonable price.

The book follows much the same philosophy as this woodland garden blog: one that focuses on a “practical guide for the gardener who hopes to create a backyard in harmony with nature.”

The author, Nancy Lawson, examines why and how to welcome wildlife to your backyard through profiles of home gardeners as well as interviews with scientists and horticulturalists.

The book includes information on planting for wildlife by choosing native plants, providing proper habitats for animals as well as birds, bees and butterflies and encouraging natural processes and evolution in your garden.

Finally she explores the “humane gardener,” who she describes as someone who attracts wildlife and peacefully resolve conflicts with all the creatures that may inhabit your garden. The humane gardener, she concludes, “is someone who sees the garden as a meeting place for all creature, not a territory to be defended.”

Isn’t that the way we all want to garden?

Author Profile: Vic MacBournie is a former journalist and author/owner of Ferns & Feathers. He writes about his woodland wildlife garden that he has created over the past 25 years and shares his photography with readers.