Getting started, need some advice.

[Post Tenebras Lux]

Hello ladies and gents,

Had a bit of a rough year last year and I'm still waiting to have some health complications resolved as well as other issues, but come spring and summer I am going to be spending as much time as possible in the woods just exploring and hopefully cataloguing everything I can find.

I've seen several books that look good on Amazon(the Collins books on trees, mushrooms and toadstools, insects etc) but I am trying to be realistic in that I am guessing I won't be lugging 8 books around with me. Does anyone have any advice on how to go about it? I figured maybe one day I could go specifically looking for fungi, but then if I saw a tree, insect, bird, wild flower etc that I wish I could identify while it's fresh in my mind or in front of me, I'd be a bit frustrated I didn't have the other books with me lol.

I have a little A5 notebook as well that I can make sketches of things, write notes etc.

Thanks and sorry for the terrible formatting!

 

[Janne]

Could you download several books about various organisms onto a tablet you could take with you?

 

[awarner]

Best advice which worked for me was to set yourself a one thing in particular such as trees and try to keep to one woodland. Take photos of different leaves, bark and seeds etc then you can refer them with your books back at home. I used the camera on my phone so less things to carry but you can still collect as much data as possible.
Trees are always a good start as it's less overwhelming when starting out.
Once you have mastered one subject and can easily identify what you see without referencing it back then move on to plants, this will take more time to do and the trick I used was again using photos but take the whole year as you will see different plants throughout the year and also in different stages of development, this way if walking the same spot every few days or in my case daily you then only need to identify one or two plants a day.
I have now moved on to fungi and that is far more difficult, but pace yourself and it is amazing how your knowledge will grow.

Another trick to help remembering what you find, look into what the plants etc can be used for, good and bad as it helps to remember a use rather than just a name.

Once you set the challenge it can be quite addictive to hunt for new things and if you get stuck there are plenty of folks here who can help with your identifications.

 

[awarner]

Forgot to add the Collins guides are quite good but always cross reference them with other books or websites as there can be some errors in the print or photos.
For fungi I use three books, for edibles our resident expert Geoff Dann has one of the best books available which was release late last year and for general fungi try Roger Phillips Mushrooms, A Comprehensive Guide along with the Collins guide by Paul Sterry and Barry Hughes, which apparently is better than the guide currently in print by different authors.
Both of the last books you can pick up very cheaply second hand from Amazon etc.
There are so many different fungi that no one book is complete and some can only be identified correctly with spore prints and even a microscope.

 

[Post Tenebras Lux]

Could you download several books about various organisms onto a tablet you could take with you?

That's a good idea but I don't like the idea of risking my tablet out in the field. I am typically very good with things like that, but it's not something I can afford to lose so I think it's best I don't chance it. Thank you though.

 

[Post Tenebras Lux]

Forgot to add the Collins guides are quite good but always cross reference them with other books or websites as there can be some errors in the print or photos.
For fungi I use three books, for edibles our resident expert Geoff Dann has one of the best books available which was release late last year and for general fungi try Roger Phillips Mushrooms, A Comprehensive Guide along with the Collins guide by Paul Sterry and Barry Hughes, which apparently is better than the guide currently in print by different authors.
Both of the last books you can pick up very cheaply second hand from Amazon etc.
There are so many different fungi that no one book is complete and some can only be identified correctly with spore prints and even a microscope.

Thank you for you for your posts. I think I'll take your advice and start with trees and then look around at other areas of interest within that woodland after I have a good grasp