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The discussion of field guides so far has seemed to center around the Audubon, NWF, and Sibley guides. What do you guys think of the other guides that are out there - Peterson/Petrides, Golden, National Geographic, etc.? Or are Audubon, NWF, and Sibley clearly better?

oh my, thanks luo for reminding me... ive looked at the amazon previews for the golden guides for forestry...seems fairly decent with pictures, i don't know about the info though...but since we are allowed 2 field guides, (right?) then ... i'll consider that choice.
and audubon's information is great...the 2 things that irk me is the 2 separate guides for eastern and western north america as well as the fact that the plates are on different pages as the info...but if it weren't for those annoying details, i would use audubon, undoubtably

Do all maples have keys? And more generally, do all trees have fruits or flowers?

What's the best way to memorize the trees in a short time? I'm trying a different method than I used for birds - taking handwritten notes on each tree and pasting photos into a notebook. I'll also make a Quizlet flashcard set, so I'll probably put the link up when I finish it.

What are you guys doing?

I've been using Quizlet, but it's barely enough. Birds were so much easier... ugh. Leaves and cones are really difficult for me, actually.

agreed...for some reason, i find that birds are easier...maybe it was the field marks.....all trees look pretty much the same! i can't say that for birds though...

Are you guys memorizing trees by crown and overall shape? I find it somewhat hard to do that.

Also, do all maples have keys? And more generally, do all trees have fruits or flowers?

Also, how are you guys distinguishing between the shagbark hickory and the pignut hickory leaves? The bark and nuts are easy to distinguish but what if they only give the leaves?

We will only have to identify based on leaves, right?
(that's the impression I got from reading the rules, but I just wanted to confirm)

Probably not...if that's the case then there's not much fun in the event. However someone with the rules should confirm this...o.o

Also, are you guys studying bark ID? I find it really, really hard...