Reddit mentions of National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont (National Audubon Society Field Guides)

I use the Audubon Society's Field Guide to New England. It doesn't technically cover the Adirondacks but Adirondack ecosystems and their flora and fauna are much more typical of New England than they are of the Middle Atlantic, which is the region that the Audubon Society groups New York in with for their field guides.

It's a durable and (relatively) small field guide, but still full of information. It's got a little of everything- all of the most common rocks, plants, animals, weather patterns, and even constellations, that you are likely to see in the outdoors. If you're looking for one single book to carry for plant and animal ID, then IMO this is the one.

Cheese, and the flora and fauna of New England. The former I am currently trying to explore more fully so I don't have many leads, but for the latter I have encountered no better book than this.

Oh, I also love looking up strange medical problems and rare diagnoses. I also tend to look up a lot of different medications and their side effects. Sometimes I'll even look to see what a normal problem like strep throat or the flu can develop into if not treated. I get sick a lot so I find it to be fascinating. This site is good for looking up information on medications.

>Like take a picture of it and try to figure out what type of species it is?

Yes, this would meet the requirement.

Ideally (IMO) you'd do it the other way around - the goal is to be able to identify it when you see it, not see it then figure out what it is and probably forget it later. Get a National Audubon Society field guide (like this one https://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-Field-England/dp/0679446761) or something similar.

Some animals you can identify:

• Eastern gray squirrel
  
• Red squirrel
  
• White-tailed deer
  
• Worm Snake
  
• Five-lined Skink
  
• Copperhead
  
• Black Racer
  
• Snapping turtle
  
• Several kinds of birds (see link below)
  
• Raccoon
  
• Skunk
  
• Possum
  
• Cottontail rabbit
  
• Eastern chipmunk
  
• Red fox
  
  Take a look at
  
  
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_New_England
  
• https://www.outdoors.org/articles/amc-outdoors/tips-for-identifying-new-englands-winter-birds
  
• https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/1322
  
  It will be up to your SM what level of specificity he requires on any identification, e.g. can you just say "Salamander" or do you need to know what kind of salamander.
  
  (FWIW, your question has inspired me. I'll get a new batch of Scouts in April. I'm going to find - or make - a bunch of flashcards of common plants and animals, and distribute them to the new Scouts. Then we'll go on various outings and see if they can identify the things on the flashcards.)