If you have a library pretty local - I'd got check out what they have to decide what you like before you invest in one. I got a feild guide for myself at Barnes and Nobels - but browsed through the librarys selection before I decided.
I just love birds!
~Angie~

I like my Golden Press field guide - "A Guide to Field Identification - Birds of North America." They're not actual photos, but the drawings/paintings are detailed enough with both male and female of the species along with a range map for the different seasons. There's lots of good information in these field guides. I'm sure you can find a Texas bird field guide too, but this is a good general field guide that I have used for many years.

I have also had the Golden Press fieldguide for about 15 years and it was getting pretty dog-eared so this past year for Christmas I asked for the Peterson Guide for Eastern and Central North America. It is also paintings not photos but it has a lot more detailed information on identification, I think.

My very favorite is Stokes Field Guide to Birds by Don and Lillian Stokes. There's an Eastern Region and Western Region - I have the Eastern Region which splits the country in half just west of the DFW area. Actual photos, and show male/female/juvinal plumage when different. Notes whether they come to feeders, use nest boxes, describes their song/call, tells what habitat they like, what type of nest, what they eat etc. I mark the date on the page when I identify a new bird I see. Great field guide.

I have seen the Peterson field guides and those are good ones too. Stokes is also very good. I think checking them out from the library is a great way to figure out which one you like best - like Angie said.

We use Birds of Texas from the Smithsonian series and Petersons Field Guides Birds of Texas.

There is a date area at the bottom of the pages to put in when you spot them. Fun from year to year to see how close they come. these were very helpful in our woods in East Texas. i don't know if we'll use them much on our new city lot in Old Tyler.

Gail

New here and posting away on every link.

I am not much of a bird watcher, but I noticed an article in the local newspaper about some yellow crowned herons nesting in a tree in a local neighborhood. I don't know what a yellow crowned heron is or why it made the newspaper, but if you are interested look up the website for Fort Bend Herald, it is in the Richmond, Rosenberg area.