Reference Material and Sources
Birds:
I have identified, or misidentified, birds using reference books by Sibley
- The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2007, Alfred A. Knopf, NY,
by Kaufman
- Field Guide to Birds of North America, 2000, Houghton Mifflin, NY,
and I have been very pleased with
- Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America.
Online resources include:
- The Cornell Ornithology website All About Birds,
- Fontenelle Nature Association Nature Search,
Dr. J. Stolen was very helpful getting me started with bird identification. Dr. P. Dunman has helped me identify ducks and geese.
Flowers:
I have tried to identify some of the flowers because the files need names and the pictures need captions (I don't know much about flowers other than they are colorful and interesting). Many of the flowers have been identified by S. Travis, especially the ones that were in her garden. There are many botanical sites on the internet, but I have little or no experience with most of them. Sites that I found useful for identifying wildflowers included two that appear to have been abandoned or taken over, so I have removed the links.
coloradowildflower.com looks promising.
National Audobon Society has a helpful book: Field Guide to Wildflowers Western Region
For wildflowers around Omaha, NE, Fontenelle Nature Association Nature Search has been useful.Even after consulting the sources, I could be wrong. So many subtle details....
Bugs:
Insects and spiders have, for the most part, been identified using knowledge acquired with age (e.g. I know a mosquito when I see one, except maybe when it is really a crane fly; which species of mosquito, or crane fly, is for the experts) or online sources such as
- Fontenelle Nature Association Nature Search,
iNaturalist.org (more than just insects!),
National Audobon Society book: Field Guide to Butterflies
As with flowers, there are subtle differences among similar insects and spiders, and the identification I assigned might be incorrect.