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Pileated Woodpecker
Birds of Gervais Mill Park
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State and Local Organizations Nest Boxes The nest boxes in the park were placed by local boy scouts and scoutmaster Craig Miller. Paul Erdmann, while working at the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, monitored and helped to maintain these boxes. Now that Paul no longer works or lives in the immediate area, Steve Bachman is helping to look after them. See this link for a report on recent efforts. Among others, we rely on the following websites for useful information about the care and maintenance of the nest boxes: Field Guides and Reference Books: Three books that we can recommend ...
Birds of Minnesota and Wisconsin
by R. Janssen, D. Tessen, and G. Kennedy
(Lone Tree Publishing; August 2003)
This book, co-authored by the preeminent authority on the distribution of
bird species in Minnesota, Bob Janssen,
is an excellent beginner's guide to all of the regular species of Minnesota. Birds
are described one species per page, with lots of interesting textual detail.
The drawings are generously-sized, but uneven in quality. Generally, only one
respresentative of each species is included, and for many species this is not always
helpful. Still, it's one of our favorite books, and when used in conjunction with
a comprehensive guide (see Sibley below) it is very useful.
Birds of Minnesota Field Guide
by Stan Tekiela (Adventure Publications, July 2004)
This is a very small book (6.0" x 4.5") which makes it very convenient to carry in
the field. It features a page for each of approximately 100 species, organized by
the primary color of the bird. For this reason, some species are profiled on two
different pages (primarily due to male and female differences). Because it
includes only the most common species found in the state (with some curious omissions),
and because its beautifully photograped birds may not be representative of what is seen
under less-than-ideal viewing conditions, it's not always a useful field
guide. Still, for very casual birders, it may serve as a convenient introduction
to birding.
The Sibley Guide to Birds
by David Allen Sibley (Knopf, October 2000)
This is the most comprehensive of the widely-available guides to the birds
of North America. It contains all of the species regularly found on the continent,
and features numerous drawings of each species, intended to represent a wide variety of
plumages and variations. Textually, the species accounts are quite brief. The
full, North America-wide version of this book is not intended as a field guide (it's too
large!), but "Western" and "Eastern" field guide-sized editions are available.
by R. Janssen, D. Tessen, and G. Kennedy
(Lone Tree Publishing; August 2003)
This book, co-authored by the preeminent authority on the distribution of
bird species in Minnesota, Bob Janssen,
is an excellent beginner's guide to all of the regular species of Minnesota. Birds
are described one species per page, with lots of interesting textual detail.
The drawings are generously-sized, but uneven in quality. Generally, only one
respresentative of each species is included, and for many species this is not always
helpful. Still, it's one of our favorite books, and when used in conjunction with
a comprehensive guide (see Sibley below) it is very useful.
Birds of Minnesota Field Guide
by Stan Tekiela (Adventure Publications, July 2004)
This is a very small book (6.0" x 4.5") which makes it very convenient to carry in
the field. It features a page for each of approximately 100 species, organized by
the primary color of the bird. For this reason, some species are profiled on two
different pages (primarily due to male and female differences). Because it
includes only the most common species found in the state (with some curious omissions),
and because its beautifully photograped birds may not be representative of what is seen
under less-than-ideal viewing conditions, it's not always a useful field
guide. Still, for very casual birders, it may serve as a convenient introduction
to birding.
The Sibley Guide to Birds
by David Allen Sibley (Knopf, October 2000)
This is the most comprehensive of the widely-available guides to the birds
of North America. It contains all of the species regularly found on the continent,
and features numerous drawings of each species, intended to represent a wide variety of
plumages and variations. Textually, the species accounts are quite brief. The
full, North America-wide version of this book is not intended as a field guide (it's too
large!), but "Western" and "Eastern" field guide-sized editions are available.