A richly illustrated guide celebrates California’s coastal birds and the wonders of witnessing them. "A compact treasury of natural history knowledge." —Burr Heneman, former executive director of Point Reyes Bird Observatory "A meditation on beauty and survival." —Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club A birding paradise, Point Reyes National Seashore boasts a breathtaking coastline that attracts an array of winged beauties and their flightless fanciers year-round. Both a waystation for feathered vagrants and home to a wealth of native species, this coastal sanctuary is teeming with avian life, and in Birds of Point Reyes expert birder and ornithological illustrator Keith Hansen celebrates this airborne abundance. From the sparrows and cormorants to the hawks and ravens to the wild wanderers who sweep through in vast seasonal migrations, Hansen introduces readers to the wildlife that soar and swirl overhead through over 25 awe-filled portraits of Point Reyes’s birds. Both experienced birdwatchers and less-than-expert birders will delight in Hansen’s reflections, brought vividly to life by full-color artworks that reward the reader’s sustained attention and help to identify the many-splendored species of the region. With this guide Hansen invites readers to imagine the world’s fastest hunt through the eyes of a cliff-dwelling peregrine, to appreciate the evolutionary complexity of the shorebird beaks prodding the sands of Drakes Bay, and to attune to the serenade of birdsong. Grab your binoculars and get ready to see these birds like never before.

The northern California coast, from Monterey County to the Oregon border, is home to some of the richest avian habitats on the North America continent. Field Guide to Birds of the Northern California Coast provides a comprehensive ecological overview of this extensive and diverse region, and detailed discussions of the most common waterbirds, raptors and landbirds found there. Accessibly written and user-friendly, this guide contains nearly 250 species accounts, including seasonal rhythms and behavioral characteristics of each species, and is illustrated with 120 color photographs. Also featured are site guides to the most productive and accessible birding locales, with each coastal county represented. Rich Stallcup (1944-2012) was a preeminent California field ornithologist, naturalist, and conservationist. He was founder of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, former president of Western Field Ornithologists, and author of many articles and books on bird identification, biogeography, and conservation. Jules Evens is a wildlife biologist with four decades of experience observing Northern California's coastal bird life. He founded Avocet Research Associates, a biological consulting firm specializing in wetland ecology with a focus on rare, threatened, and endangered species. Previous books include The Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula (UC Press, 2008) and An Introduction to California Birdlife (UC Press, 2005).

More Tales of a Low-Rent Birder brings together twenty-five recent essays that originally appeared in major birding publications. In these pieces, Pete Dunne ranges from wildly humorous to sadly elegiac, as he describes everything from the "field plumage" of the dedicated birder to the lingering death of an accidentally injured golden plover. Running like a thread through all the essays is Dunne's love and respect for the birds he watches, his concern over human threats to their survival, and his tolerance, even affection, for the human "odd birds" that birding attracts. Truly, these essays offer something for everyone interested in birds and the natural habitats our species share.

This beautifully illustrated and user-friendly book presents the most up-to-date information available about the natural histories of birds of the Sierra Nevada, the origins of their names, the habitats they prefer, how they communicate and interact with one another, their relative abundance, and where they occur within the region. Each species account features original illustrations by Keith Hansen. In addition to characterizing individual species, "Birds of the Sierra Nevada" also describes ecological zones and bird habitats, recent trends in populations and ranges, conservation efforts, and more than 160 rare species. It also includes a glossary of terms, detailed maps, and an extensive bibliography with over 500 citations.