Stokes Bird Gardening Book: The Complete Guide to Creating a Bird-Friendly Habitat in Your Backyard (Stokes Backyard Nature Books)

An ideal book for anyone who enjoys the added beauty that birds can bring to a garden, "Stokes Bird Gardening Book" covers every aspect of birdwatching and provides charts and garden plans for every region of the country. 300 color illustrations. 20-40 charts. 8 garden plans.

This newest addition to the Stokes series offers beginners information on attracting birds to their property. Most of the book gives practical ideas on enhancing one's current yard, such as adding water attractions at different levels and increasing natural and artificial nest cavities. Lists of recommended trees, shrubs, and flowers are included but are not illustrated or as detailed as those in Stephen W. Kress's The Bird Garden (LJ 12/95). A third of the book is devoted to describing 103 bird species typically attracted to backyards and includes a color photograph with a description of habitat, food, and nesting requirements?information found in many similar books. Those who are well read on this subject will not find much new here, but the Stokeses are respected authorities with a PBS television show, and this reasonably priced title may be in demand. Recommended for public libraries.?Bonnie Poquette, Appleton P.L., WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Stokeses, authors of 21 previous bird and nature books, offer bird-watchers and gardeners a basic guide to attracting birds. They begin with a chapter on planning and planting such a garden, reminding readers of the birds' four needs: food, water, nesting sites, and shelter (from rain, snow, sun, wind, and predators). The authors list flowers, shrubs, vines, and trees that attract birds, and they explain how to create a hummingbird garden. There is a chapter on eight easy things to do that will attract birds (for instance, creating a brush pile, letting dead trees stand, and providing nesting material in the spring) and one on "bird-friendly" lawns. Other chapters deal with bird feeders, birdhouses, birdbaths, ponds, and pools. The book also offers a list of 103 species of birds, describing their habitat, feeding, and nesting needs. The text is augmented by 170 color photographs, maps, and charts. George Cohen