RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT AND IDENTIFYING LIVING THINGS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND OREGON
INTRODUCTION
I prepared this page to help me keep track of the many resources I have come across over the years–and the more recent proliferation of works–and decided to share it with you. Most resources included here are focused on learning about and identifying living things in the Pacific Northwest or Oregon. For a few taxonomic groups, there currently are no references focused on the Pacific Northwest, or the local references are not comprehensive, so I list references for a broader area, such as North America. Note that this compilation is biased toward those groups I spend the most time with. If you would like to contribute to this compilation, contact me.
First I share some General Tips and General Resources, then I dive into specific taxonomic groups. You can just scroll down or use the menu bar above to go directly to a specific group you are looking for.
General Tips
Taxonomic classification and names of living things change over time. You’ll have to be patient and understand that sometimes different references can have different names for the same organism, or have some entities lumped or split compared to another reference.
Find out what references people use in the community you are involved in. Ask local biologists and practitioners what they use to get to know and to identify particular taxa in your area. Also be aware that new guides are published now and then, so keep your eye/ear out for new works. If you are a serious student of a particular taxonomic group, realize that new information is circulating among the local, regional, or global experts long before it is ever published, so seek out these individuals and join them on the crest of the wave. Submitting your observations to iNaturalist, BugGuide, eBird, OdonataCentral, and others can contribute to the growing body of knowledge of these organisms.
Living Things in General
iNaturalist.org (http://inaturalist.org)—This website is designed as a global database of photographic observations with an associated interactive community of naturalists of all skill levels. I highly recommend this as a place to contribute your photographic observations of wildlife, plants, and any organisms. You can submit observations at any level of detail you feel comfortable with (e.g., unknown >> arthropod >> insect >> beetle >> cerambycidae >> Prionus californicus). And for determining “what you’ve got,” you can explore the species present in your area (e.g. county, state, country) at whatever taxonomic level you are sure of (e.g. insect, beetle), and you can even set filters for the time of year to see photos of what others have reported in that area and time. Finally, when you submit an observation with a photo to iNaturalist, there is an artificial intelligence identifier “in trainging” that might help you narrow your search, and best of all, other members of the community usually help out by suggesting what species you photographed. Give it a try!
Oregon Wildlife Explorer Viewer (http://oe.oregonexplorer.info/wildlife/wildlifeviewer/). This site is fun to explore the ranges of different vertebrate wildlife species in Oregon and get some initial basic information on each species. You can also generate a list of expected vertebrate species in a county or watershed. It is somewhat coarse so don’t take every detail as perfectly accurate, but it is a great start to explore what vertebrate species are in different parts of the state.
Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest, David Moskowitz, 2010, Timber Press. This is a good general introduction to some of the more common and a few less common wildlife species in the PNW. It includes information on vertebrates as well as a few invertebrates. It discusses tracks and signs of most species in the book. It is not comprehensive, but a good introduction for the aspiring PNW naturalist.
Facebook Groups. The feedback you might get from a facebook group can range from idiotic to cute to expert, but there are typically a few experienced folks on most groups. There are regional and/or state groups for mushrooms, bugs, insects, dragonflies, plants, birds, etc. Simply search for what you are looking for and try out a group. Good Luck!
Tracking and Sign
Peterson Field Guide to Animal Tracks, Third Edition, Murie and Elbroch, 2005, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt–Good basic tracking field guide.
Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest, David Moskowitz, 2010, Timber Press (listed above under Living Things In General) includes tracking and sign for most species covered in the book.
Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking, Tom Brown, 1986, Berkley–Good info and perspective on seeing more in the woods.
Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, Young et al., 2nd edition, 2010, OwlLink Media–This contains abundant and amazing resources for teaching and mentoring awareness in nature.
What the Robin Knows, by Jon Young, 2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt–Awareness in natural settings, learning meanings of nature sounds.
Animal Tracks, by George F. Mason. 1988. Linnet Books–Basic but good little book.
Mammals
Land Mammals of Oregon, by Verts and Carraway, 1998, UC Press
Mammals of the Pacific Northwest, by Chris Maser, 1998, OSU Press
Mammals of the Pacific States, by Lloyd Ingles, 1990 (many reprints)
Mammals of Washington and Oregon, by Tamara Eder, 2002, Lone Pine
Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America, by Fiona Reid, 2006, Houghton Mifflin
Black-tailed and White-tailed Deer: https://myodfw.com/big-game-hunting/species/white-tailed-deer
Birds
The Sibley Guide to Birds of North America, by David Sibley, 2000, National Audubon Society
Sibley Birds West: Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, by David Sibley, 2016, NAS
Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America, by Kenn Kaufman, 2005, Houghton Mifflin
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, by Peterson and Peterson, Houghton Mifflin
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (many editions), Jon Dunn
Birds of Oregon: A General Reference, by Marshall et. al., 2003, OSU Press
American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of Oregon, by Dave Irons, 2018.
Umpqua Birds website (birds and birding in Douglas County, Oregon): www.umpquabirds.org
Slater Museum of Natural History Wing and Tail Image Collection: http://digitalcollections.pugetsound.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/slaterwing
USFWS Forensics Lab Feather Atlas: https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/
Bird Feathers: A Guide to North American Species, by Scott and McFarland, 2010, Stackpole Books
Dendroica (bird sounds): www.natureinstruct.org/dendroica/
Xeno-canto (bird sounds): www.xeno-canto.org
Earbirding: http://earbirding.com/blog/
Tips for Learning Bird Sounds (2pp by Matt Hunter)
Bird Sound Spectrograms: Understanding and Learning about Bird Sounds (1p by Matt Hunter)
[Note, there are hundreds of other books on identification of particular orders, families, and specific types of birds, not to mention books on their ecology, etc.]
Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest, by Nussbaum et al., 1983, Idaho Press.
Amphibians of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, by Corkran and Thoms, 1996/2006. Lone Pine.
Amphibians of Washington and Oregon, by Leonard et al. 1993, Seattle Audubon Society.
Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest, by Jones et al., 2005, Seattle Audubon Society.
Reptiles of the Northwest, by Alan St. John, 2002, Lone Pine
Reptiles of Washington and Oregon, by Storm and Leonard, 1995, Seattle Audubon Society
California Herps: http://californiaherps.com/
The Reptile Database: http://reptile-database.org/
Fish
A Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Oregon, by Doug Markle, 2016, OSU Press
Juv salmonid fishes: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pdfs/habitat/adfg_hr_id_cards_v1.1.pdf
Oregon Game Fish Species (ODFW): https://myodfw.com/fishing/species
Note, there may be more detailed local publications for aquatics; should ask locally.
There are also seminal works for North America that I haven’t listed here yet.
Invertebrates (except molluscs)
Bugguide: (ID and photo collection): http://www.bugguide.net
Bumblebees (ID and data collection): http://www.bumblebeewatch.org/
Pocket Field Guide: Native Bees of the Willamette Valley: http://entomology.oregonstate.edu/system/files/Field-guide-Willamette-Native-Bees_0.pdf
THE Western Bumblebee: http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/occidentalis_pocketid.pdf
Bumblebees of the Western United States: http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Western_BB_guide.pdf
Butterflies and Moths of North America (ID and data collection): http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
Pacific Northwest Moths (ID): http://pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu/
North American Moth Photographers Group (ID): http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/
Moths of Western North America, by Powell and Opler, 2009, UC Press.
Bees of Oregon (ID): http://www.whereartmeetstheheart.com/dghbee.shtml
PNW Ants: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/PNW624/PNW624.pdf
Odonata Central (Dragonflies) (ID): http://www.odonatacentral.org/
Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Northwest: http://odonata.bogfoot.net/
Dragonfleids and Damselflies of the West, by Dennis Paulson, 2009, Princeton Field Guides
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Oregon: A Field Guide, by Cary Kerst and Steve Gordon, 2011, OSU Press.
Dragonfly ID—app (see Dragonfly Society of the Americas website)
Macroinvertebrates of the Pacific Northwest (identification of aquatic macros to family, usually): http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/Macroinvertebrate-Field-Guide.pdf
Vascular Plants
Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, 1973, UW Press. A new Flora of the Pacific Northwest is near completion, see http://www.pnwherbaria.org/florapnw.php
Oregon Flora Project (resources for ID and ranges, etc.): http://www.oregonflora.org/
Flora of Oregon (in progress, BRIT Press), Vol 1 (published), Vol 2 (expected 2017), Vol 3 (expected 2019)
Plants of Western Oregon, Washington & British Columbia, Eugene Kozloff, 2005, Timber Press.
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska, Pojar & Mackinnon, 2004, Lone Pine Publishing
Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region’s Native Trees, Arno & Hammerly, 1977, The Mountaineers.
Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest, Turner & Kuhlmann, 2014, Timber Press
Trees to Know in Oregon, Jensen, (1999 and previous versions), OSU Extension Service.
Manual of Oregon Trees and Shrubs, Randall et al (many editions),
Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, Turner & Gustafson, 2006, Timber Press
Oregon Wildflowers app (OSU Herbarium): http://www.highcountryapps.com/OregonWildflowers.aspx
Oregon Wildflower Search app: search your app store
Wildflower Search: http://www.wildflowersearch.com/
PNW Herbaria: http://www.pnwherbaria.org/data/search.php
Burke Museum (Washinton) Herbarium Photos and Descriptions: http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php
Mark Turner’s PNW Flower Photos: http://www.pnwflowers.com/
Families of North American Flora: http://floranorthamerica.org/families
Knapweeds and Starthistles of PNW–http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/cahnrs-arch/id/374
Non-Vascular Plants: Mosses and Lichens
Mosses, Lichens, and Ferns of Northwest North America, by Vitt et al, 1988, Lone Pine
Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd edition, by Bruce McCune, 2009, OSU Press
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska, Pojar & Mackinnon, 2004, Lone Pine Publishing
Fungi
Mushrooms Demystified, by David Aurora, 1986.
Mushroom Expert: http://mushroomexpert.com/
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, by Trudell and Ammirati, 2009, Timber Press
Keys to Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest: http://www.svims.ca/council/
Paper on Helvella lacunosa complex: http://nature.berkeley.edu/brunslab/papers/nguyen2013b.pdf
Mushroom Observer: http://mushroomobserver.org/