I have this vivid memory of a day when I was seven years old. I lived in Palmdale, California

back then, in the Mojave Desert. It was a warm, sunny day, and I was sitting in a chair in my

front yard. In my little hands was a book. It was the Audubon Society field guide to North

American reptiles and amphibians. It had a grass green

vinyl cover with a bumpy texture, not unlike the skin of the creatures depicted inside, like a tortoise

or a toad. That book enthralled me. I flipped slowly through the pages for what seemed like hours. I scrutinized

the hundreds of photos of frogs, salamanders, snakes, and lizards. Animals I really hoped to see

in the wild someday. The field guide also included some background info, some natural history

for each of the species. I really enjoyed reading that, too.

I ended up carrying that book around for years. In fact, I still have it. I pull it off my shelf and I've got it right here.

Part of the green vinyl spine is missing because maybe 35 years ago my little dog decided to gnaw on it like a bone.

Needless to say, the dog got quite a scolding that day.

This book, this field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians, is one of my most

precious possessions.

It means a lot to me.

It's been 40 plus years since that happy day in the sun

when I was seven. Since then, I've come to love books of all kinds. And once my obsession with

birds kicked into full swing, and especially after I started working as a professional

birding guide, I amassed quite a collection

of books about birds.

One important subset of my collection is field guides.

I have a bunch of old, outdated birding field guides.

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