It all started innocently enough with two little bird feeder kits my dad gave my stepdaughters.

Then came a nest of robins under the eaves of our garage.

Then, another bird feeder or two, a bluebird house, another wee birdhouse we just couldn’t resist.

Now, thanks to Smithsonian Handbooks: Birds of North America — Eastern Region, my husband and I spent yesterday afternoon calling out, “come quick, the American Goldfinch is back,” and “Where’s the camera?  I want to get the Carolina Chickadee.”

I think we are officially birders now.

If you’ve got a backyard bird feeder or always wanted to know the difference between a House Sparrow and an Eurasian Tree Sparrow, then you too might need to track down a copy of this handy book. I always love books by DK Publishing; they hooked me with their amazing travel guides.  Over the weekend, on a trip to Barnes and Noble, we scoured the shelves for a good bird book.

We like this one because the pictures are amazing, you get lots of interesting tidbits (who knew that the more dominant a red-wing blackbird is the redder his wings will get?), and there’s a cool insert that helps you distinguish between similar species.

While we cracked a few jokes about being old fogies obsessed with birds (as we made peanut butter pine cones in an effort to attract new birds to the yard), we’re OK with it.  Because it is awfully fun to shout out “yes, that certainly IS a Carolina Chickadee, not a Black-capped Chickadee.”

Just, maybe, warn me if I start talking about buying this:

Seriously, though, this comes from Sharon Stitler’s amazing blog, Birdchick.  I plan to check back regularly to see what’s at her feeders. How about you?  Any one have advice for beginning birders?