Click on the title or image to view and/or download the book (11 MB): Some Birds of Hamden CT by Florence McBride
About the book:
Although this book’s title refers to just one town, most of the eighty species shown on its pages occur widely in our state. Primarily a picture book, it includes brief comments on the species pages, which taken together introduce a great many bird facts and topics. The Introduction on page 2 points readers to sources of more detailed information.
The book is informal in tone and is designed to be appealing and helpful to people (including educators and students) who aren’t already experts on birds and who want to learn more about them — and also to be pleasant for more experienced birders to look at, for example with others whose interest in birds is newer. In the species pages, the land birds (except for the birds of prey) come first, grouped by color; then the birds of prey, followed by the waterbirds.
The book is available free of charge, and is for non-commercial personal and educational use only. It may be shared free of charge (except for copying/printing costs, if any) only, as long as all copyright and attribution information is retained.
Anyone planning to print it will want to note that the pdf file is formatted for one-sided printing, with all the page numbers on the right. The two pages at the end of the file can be used for a back cover and a title page if the book is printed.
About the author:
Florence McBride has been a member of the Connecticut birding community for over 40 years, and has actively supported bird conservation. She was a block leader for two Connecticut Bird Atlas projects, an area captain for the New Haven Bird Club’s annual bird counts, and a field trip leader for the club. She continues to lead bird walks and present natural history films that she has made.
As an educator, Flo worked as a specialist with colleagues and students in the Hamden Public Schools to develop and implement an interdisciplinary outdoor-indoor science program focused on birds. Between 1990 and 2023, she created a large and varied collection of materials and presented workshops in Hamden and elsewhere, and she continues to share her Take Flight! materials with educators in Connecticut and beyond. For this work she has received recognition from local, state, and national organizations.
When the Covid-19 pandemic forced much education to move online, she began developing digital bird picture books that include comments with the pictures. This book’s predecessor has been made available in both English and Spanish editions by the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance through its web pages.
Flo also authored two books of photographs documenting the Yale Peabody Museum’s former Birds of Connecticut exhibition, excerpts from which can be found at https://celeryfarm.typepad.com/files/bsofct_bookselection_forj.wright_smfile.pdf .