A Birders Guide to Washington, Second Edition

Book excerpt: Few states show more dramatic contrasts in their environment than Washington. Elevations range from sea level to over 14,000 feet. Precipitation varies from over 200 inches annually on the Olympic Peninsula, nurturing a temperate rain forest and mountaintop glaciers, to a mere six inches in parts of the Columbia Basin, where near-desert conditions prevail. Between these extremes, an array of aquatic and terrestrial communities supports a remarkable diversity of bird species. This revised version of A Birder's Guide to Washington brings current the 2003 first edition, and, in the process, adds a number of new destinations, while eliminating a few that are no longer worthwhile. The guide details hundreds of birding routes and sites in the state, together with year-round access instructions and birding advice. Over 220 maps pinpoint the most productive destinations in the field and offer regional overviews to help with trip planning. An annotated checklist of 510 species recorded in the state through 2014 gives information about status and habitat associations, while the seasonal abundance and regional occurrence bar graphs will assist birders in locating regularly occurring species.