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Wisconsin

This page lists books about birds and birdwatching in the US state of Wisconsin.

The books are arranged by publication date with the most recent at the top of the page.


USA

For bird books that cover all, or a large part of, the USA see the following page:

USA bird books

 

Birding Trails: Wisconsin

Steve Betchkal

Sandhill Crane Press

2017

"Over 100 birding trails with over 200 species. Describes each birding trail with a list of key birds, the best time of year to visit each trail, the type of terrain, size, and complete directions to each area, many with maps of each trail."

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Midwestern Birds: Backyard Guide

Bill Thompson III

Cool Springs Press

2013

"Written by Bill Thompson III, the editor and co-publisher of Bird Watcher's Digest, this portable 5"x8" book contains the same variety of entertaining and informative entries that make Bird Watcher's Digest the nation's most popular birding magazine. Inside, you'll find profiles of the 55 most common birds in the Midwest, complete with large color photos, gender-specific physical descriptions, nesting and feeding information, bird call particulars, and interesting stories about each species. Thompson also introduces the reader to the basics of bird watching: essential gear, bird-friendly food and plantings, housing tips, and observational techniques. This guide covers Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska."

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Warblers in Your Pocket: A Guide to the Wood-Warblers of the Upper Midwest

Dana Gardner, Holly Carver

Bur Oak Laminated Field Guides: 28

University of Iowa Press

2016

"This newest addition to Iowa's popular series of laminated guides – the twenty-eighth in the series – illustrates the thirty-eight species of warblers that occur in the Upper Midwest states of Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. For each species, artist Dana Gardner provides length, range, and habitat; he illustrates male, female, and immature birds where plumage varies; and he includes birds similar to warblers such as kinglets and vireos."

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Wisconsin's Favorite Bird Haunts

Daryl D. Tessen

Wisconsin Society for Ornithology

5th edition

2009

"A guide to Wisconsin's most favored locations for birding, with maps. This detailed guide includes detailed area and site maps, with detailed descriptions, directions, bird lists, and important information for each site. Includes an annotated checklist and a detailed index listing both species names and locations."

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The Vanishing Present: Wisconsin's Changing Lands, Waters, and Wildlife

Editor: Donald M. Waller and Thomas P. Rooney

University of Chicago Press

2008

"The growth of industry, cities, and agriculture in temperate regions around the globe has displaced species and stressed, as well as polluted, ecosystems. The Vanishing Present examines how human pressures in one state - Wisconsin - are rearranging its ecology. By focusing on this revealing case study, the authors draw broad conclusions about the nature and extent of ecological change, reflecting a diversity of approaches and drawing important lessons on how best to conserve the dwindling habitats that sustain biodiversity. A fitting tribute to the home state of Aldo Leopold and John Muir, "The Vanishing Present" is an accessible and timely case study of a significant ecosystem and its response to environmental change."

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Waterfowl in Your Pocket: A Guide to Water Birds of the Midwest

Dana Gardner

University of Iowa Press

2008

"A welcome aid to identifying the many colorful and intriguing water birds of the midwestern states, from the Great Lakes west to the Dakotas, east to Ohio, and south to Kansas and Missouri. Illustrator Dana Gardner has created fourteen panels showing fifty-one species of ducks, geese, swans, grebes, pelicans, coots, cormorants, moorhens, and loons swimming and flying with complete plumage variations - dark phases, light phases, and juvenile and adult male and female forms in summer and winter. The text also includes length, common and scientific names, and frequency and distribution. Whether flying high overhead in the fall or swimming in a nearby lake in the summer, waterfowl are notoriously difficult to identify, and Gardner has worked hard to make this guide useful for beginning birders as well as those more experienced in the field."

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Fifty Uncommon Birds of the Upper Midwest

Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott

Bur Oak Books

University of Iowa Press

2007

"Although the many common birds of the Upper Midwest are lovely to hear and see, there is no doubt that the uncommon birds attract more attention. In this gorgeously illustrated companion to their "Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest", which provided a new appreciation of the not-so-ordinary beauty and lifeways of familiar birds, illustrator Dana Gardner and writer Nancy Overcott celebrate the rarer birds of the Upper Midwest. Gardner and Overcott selected species that are uncommon because of dwindling populations, species that may be common elsewhere but not in the Upper Midwest, species that may be abundant one year and absent the next, and species that are usually present but are seldom seen. Beginning with the surf scoter with its multicolored bill and ending with the gregarious evening grosbeak, which resembles a giant goldfinch, they pair watercolors of each species with text that portrays its life cycle, its vocalizations and appearance, and its habitat, food, and foraging methods as well as migration patterns and distribution."

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Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Wisconsin

Editor: Noel Cutright, Bettie Harriman, Robert Howe

Wisconsin Society for Ornithology

2006

600 plus pages atlas that describes the status and distribution of 214 species breeding in Wisconsin. Based on data collected between 1995 and 2000.

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Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest

Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott

Bur Oak Books

University of Iowa Press

2006

"In this gathering of essays and illustrations celebrating fifty of the most common birds of the Upper Midwest, illustrator Dana Gardner and writer Nancy Overcott encourage us to take a closer look at these familiar birds with renewed appreciation for their not-so-ordinary beauty and lifeways. Beginning with the garishly colored male and the more gently colored female wood duck, whose tree cavity nest serves as a launching pad for ducklings in the summer months, and ending on a bright yellow note with the American goldfinch, whose cheerful presence enlivens the midwestern landscape all year long, Overcott combines field observations drawn from her twenty-plus years of living and birding in Minnesota's Big Woods with anecdotes and data from other ornithologists to portray each species' life cycle, its vocalizations and appearance, and its habitat, food, and foraging methods as well as migration patterns and distribution."

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Wisconsin Bird Watching: A Year-Round Guide

Bill Thompson III

Thomas Nelson Publishers

2005

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Birds of Wisconsin: Field Guide

Stan Tekiela

Adventure Publishing

2nd edition

2004

"Learn about and identify birds using Stan Tekiela's state-by-state field guides. The full-page, color photos are incomparable and include insets of winter plumage, color morphs and more. Plus, with the easy-to-use format, you don't need to know a bird's name or classification in order to easily find it in the book."

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Wisconsin Birds: A Checklist With Migration Graphs

Stanley A. Temple, Robert C. Domagalski and John R. Cary

Wisconsin Society for Ornithology

6th edition

2003

Depicts relative species abundance during each month.

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Birds of Minnesota and Wisconsin

Bob Janssen, Daryl Tessen and Gregory Kennedy

Lone Pine Publishing

2003

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Wisconsin Birds: An Introduction to Familiar Species

James Kavanagh and Raymond Leung

Waterford Press

2001

A laminated, fold-out guide to common bird species found in Wisconsin.

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A Birders Guide to the Chicago Region

Lynn Carpenter and Joel Greenberg

Northern Illinois University Press

1999

"Identifying more than 250 top sites for birding within a 65-mile radius from downtown Chicago, this useful guide provides maps, directions, and other information essential for discovering the birds of the area in their natural habitats. The most thorough guide of its kind, it covers nineteen counties of the greater Chicago area. "A Birder's Guide to the Chicago Region" includes detailed descriptions of local habitats and maps that show where to find birds in nearby Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan, as well as Illinois. While providing a wealth of practical information, the guide is enriched with insightful accounts of the natural history and ecology of particular areas. An essential guide for either beginning or experienced birders, this book will appeal to anyone who appreciates nature and wants to learn more about the natural history, ecology, and especially the birds of the Chicago area."

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Birds of Wisconsin

Owen J. Gromme

University of Wisconsin Press

Revised edition

1998

"This revised edition features 90 colour portraits depicting the rich variety of bird species native to Wisconsin, and 17 additional paintings showing birds in their natural habitats. Gromme provides information on identification and on how abundant each species is within the state."

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Wisconsin Birds: A Seasonal and Geographic Guide

Stanley A. Temple, John R. Cary, Robert Rolley

University of Wisconsin Press

Second edition

1997

"A comprehensive guide to the distribution and abundance of all common bird species found in the state of Wisconsin. This work is intended as a supplement to the field guides that identify birds, explaining where to find them. It covers 265 species in all."

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The Smithsonian Guides to Natural America: The Great Lakes: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin

Michele Strutin

Random House

1997

"Describes the natural wonders of the Great Lakes region, from national parks to wilderness preserves and private sanctuaries."

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Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year: Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin

John Bates

Fulcrum

1997

"This book attempts to direct the reader to the most spectacular natural events in the Upper Midwest, and where specifically to see them."

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Wisconsin Wildlife Viewing Guide

Mary K. Judd

Falcon Press

1994

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Wisconsin Birdlife: Population & Distribution - Past & Present

Samuel D. Robbins Jr

University of Wisconsin Press

1990

"As initially planned in 1939 by Owen J. Gromme, then curator of birds at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin Birdlife would not only describe and document every species of bird known to have visited this state, but would also depict each species with his own original paintings. During the next two decades, Gromme concentrated primarily on the latter, resulting in the separate publication in 1963 of his now classic Birds of Wisconsin. Work on the present volume was assumed in the late 1960s by Samuel D. Robbins, whose labors of more than 20 years give us a veritable encyclopedia of the state's ornithological knowledge. A complement and supplement to field guides, picture books, and recordings, the book is designed to enlarge the reader's understanding and appreciation of statewide history, abundance, and habitat preference of every species reliably recorded in Wisconsin. The volume opens with a summary of the ornithological history of the state and an exposition of its ecological setting. The heart of Wisconsin Birdlife ensues: detailed accounts of nearly 400 species, with information on status (population and distribution), habitat, migration dates, breeding data, and wintering presence, followed by extensive discussion and commentary. Dr. James Hall Zimmerman, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides a special discussion of bird habitats for the book.  In addition, Wisconsin Birdlife features a comprehensive status and seasonal distribution chart, a detailed habitat preference chart, and an exhaustive bibliography."

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Birds Of The St. Croix River: Valley Minnesota And Wisconsin

Craig A. Faanes

North American Fauna, Number 73

Fish And Wildlife Service

US Department Of The Interior

1981

From the abstract:

The St. Croix River Valley encompasses nearly 11,550 km 2 in east-central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. A wide range of habitats are available for birds including upland oak, lowland deciduous, maple-basswood, lowland and upland coniferous forests, natural basin wetlands, and grasslands. Situated in the north-central region of the United States, the valley is a biological crossroads for many species. Because of the mixed affinities of plant communities, the valley includes the northern and southern range limits for a number of species. Also, because the valley lies near the forest-prairie transition zone, many typical western breeding species (e.g. pintail, western meadowlark, yellow-headed blackbird) breed in proximity to typical eastern species such as tufted titmouse, eastern meadowlark, and cardinal. From 1966 to 1980, I conducted extensive surveys of avian distribution and abun- dance in the St. Croix River Valley. I have supplemented the results of these surveys with published and unpublished observations contributed by many ornithologists. These additional data include compilations from Christmas Bird Counts sponsored by the National Audubon Society and from the Breeding Bird Survey coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Three hundred fourteen species have been recorded in the study area; data are presented on the migration period, nesting season distri- bution, winter distribution, relative abundance, and habitat use of each species.
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Birds of Wisconsin

Owen J. Gromme

University of Wisconsin Press

1963

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The Comparative Biology of the Meadowlarks (Sturnella) in Wisconsin

Wesley E. Lanyon

Nuttall Ornithological Club publication 1

1957

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Last updated August 2017