Looking for that perfect holiday gift for a birder? You MUST buy the just released “A Birder’s Guide to Minnesota” written by Kim Eckert. I own the first version of this book, and pre-ordered the book’s new release a month ago. While everyone likes to use eBird while planning birding excursions, you really need to learn habitat and use that knowledge to plan your outings. Kim’s book reviews  Minnesota habitat county by county and provides suggestions and maps on where you should focus your birding efforts. The book actually reviews over 1,400 Minnesota birding locations! (as a fyi I receive zero compensation or financial benefit for making this recommendation)

• Purchase “The Birder’s Guide to Minnesota”

You will be browsing to the web site of Sparky Stensaas. Sparky is the Director of the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog. While you could purchase this book via Amazon, your purchase via Sparky’s web site (The Photo Naturalist) insures more of your money goes to support both birds and the author.

Some notes about Kim Eckert: He turned to a career in birding after moving to Duluth, Minnesota in 1977, where he served as Naturalist at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (for a total of 20 years), taught bird identification classes for a decade, and started leading birding tours (including 30 years with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours). In 1986, Kim created the Minnesota Birding Weekends & Weeks program of tours throughout Minnesota and elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada, which is now in its 37th season. Visit Kim’s web site.