National Audubon Society Regional Guide to the Pacific Northwest

Rating:
Summary: If you can carry only one field guide, this is the one.
Review: On a recent trip to Washington, I packed this book, my only field guide, in my carry on flight bag. It worked beautifully! As an easterner there are a lot of plants and animals in the Pacific Northwest that I am not familar with, but this book helped me on numerous occasions. I was never in an environment like the Columbia Plateau before and all around me were these two plants that dominated the landscape. Having no idea what species they where, I opened the book and immediately found Big Sagebush and Gray Rabbitbush, side by side, just as they were growing. I was able to determine that the Chickadee over my head at another time was not the Black-Capped I was fimilar with but rather the Chestnut-Backed, a new species for me. The part on Parks and Preserves was also very helpful, especially when used in connection with other tour books. With the increase restrictions on airline carry-ons this is the one book to take with you. It is all encompassing from Geology, Habitats, Weather (cloud watching from the plane window) through Flora and Faunna to Parks and Preserves. A very good idea presented in a very useable format.