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| Bird-by-Bird Gardening: The Ultimate Guide to Bringing in Your Favorite Birds-Year after Year | 
| Author: Sally Roth
Publisher: Rodale Books
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $7.97
You Save: $21.98 (73%)
New (30) from $7.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 589804
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 1594863113
Dewey Decimal Number: 639.978
EAN: 9781594863110
ASIN: 1594863113
Publication Date: June 13, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Book and Cover in Excellent Condition
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Product Description
Bird lovers learn what specific bird families like best and how to entice their favorites to the backyard in this newest guide from the author of The Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible.
What should a birder do if he likes bluebirds and wrens but is not all that interested in woodpeckers and starlings? Bird-by-Bird Gardening takes the chance and happenstance out of backyard birding. Readers learn what design features and edible treats will tempt particular bird families so their birdbaths and feeders will be overflowing with visitors of their choice.
Bird-by-Bird Gardening
Shows readers how to lure their preferred species with bird-friendly features such as water, shrub cover, nesting plants, and feeders
Includes 19 garden designs for attracting specific bird families
Provides water projects and feeder recipes for each bird family
With this book to guide them, bird lovers will soon have their favorite birds lingering longer in the backyard—and revisiting year after year.
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| Customer Reviews:
 I like the concept of attracting bird families; execution is sketchy February 24, 2008
I really like the concept of this book. Very few of my gardening for birds books are set up by the "how to attract birds by bird family" groupings. I wish it had a little more substance though.
The first section contains three chapters with some general overview information on how the bird families are divided up, basics of bird needs, general thoughts on habitats, etc.
The second section features chapters on the general bird families which include: woodpeckers, flycatchers, vireos, crows/jays; swallows; chickadee/titmouse; nuthatch; wren; kinglet; thrush; mimic thrush; waxwing; warbler; tanager; large finch; small finch; blackbird/oriole; hummingbird; gallinaceous (quail, bobowhite, etc.).
Each family chapter includes an overview of the bird family, a brief summary of their range and habits, the plants they eat, a suggested mini garden bed plan designed to attract them, information on their eating habits, and a chart of the top few plants to attract them. It also includes brief paragraphs on their backyard fare, feeder foods, water preferences, and nesting needs.
The third section covers the seasonal aspects of bird watching - noting general migration habits, overwintering, etc.
The back has a chapter of resources for things like feeders, birdbaths, plants etc.
Overall I don't think it was anywhere near as bad a book as some of the other reviews imply, but I will say it didn't have as much meat as I had hoped it would have. I also agree with the comment that mapped bird ranges would have been more useful. Plant lists are somewhat skimpy (except hummingbirds - that one is pretty extensive).
I felt like I learned a good amount about each of the families and that was good (and educational). I didn't really feel like I learned a lot about how to attract them to my yard in particular. The book was well written and easy/interesting to read.
So, I would say it is an interesting book to add to your bird knowledge library, but it doesn't really meet its objective of showing you how to attract particular families of birds to your yard.
 Little to no use January 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I agree with the reviewer who said this book is of little use to anyone who knows much at all about birds. When I wasn't wanting to toss the book across the room because I was sick of the idiotic comparisons (sorting birds is like sorting socks, et al) I was saying to myself "no kidding."
Plant sunflowers for birds. Plant tubular flowers for hummingbirds. There, I just saved you about $25 and a couple hours. Thank me by not supporting this author by buying this garbage.
She also makes no mention of the fact that you can plant all the aforementioned goo you want but still some birds WON'T come to your yard. Why? They don't come to your part of the country. Other than hummingbirds, which the author list what hummers can be found where, the author makes little to no mention of the fact that some birds are rare to never seen in some parts of the country, plentiful in other parts. I really don't know how this author got this book sold because it lacks facts, research and anything else that makes it helpful for anyone other than readers who don't know that most all birds eat sunflower seeds. And if you don't know that, you probably can't read in the first place.
 Little use for the serious birder May 7, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I found this book to be of little use to anyone other than those just beginning to be interested in birding. Many of the chapters could be combined into simply a chapter entitled how to attract birds. Many are repeates. This book is also seriously lacking in usable pictures of many of the birds that it discusses.
 Bird-by-Bird Gardening December 7, 2006
5 out of 23 found this review helpful
I just started reading Sally's book, one of which I should have written myself, but am delighted in the way she has designed this topic. As a person with a forestry background, I have long advocated that the birds represent the plant community, however indirectly. That said, once one gets the needs of a particular species, which has been well brought about by the endangered species advocates, then a landowner can tailor approaches with managing property in order to attract those birds. Other wildlife is benefitted, too, but we do concentrate on birdlife. So, this a two pronged effort: pay attention to the plant associations, and then realize the wildlife management aspects resulting. Each of us can be an earth citizen, making a vital contribution on one's own land. I have a radio show and weekly newspaper column here in NH, "COUNTRY ECOLOGY" where I pursue these ecological profiles and whatever one can do to make things prosper. I formerly built over 11,000 bark-faced natural birdhouses during 14 years in that business, and was on the board of directors for NABS. I take care of two UNH natural areas on Squam Lake, where "On Golden Pond" was filmed years ago.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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