Memories of a Birdwatcher

Memories of a Birdwatcher
Author: Peter Steyn
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Total Pages: 767
Release: 2017-08-11
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1775846008

In this autobiographical account of a lifetime spent observing, researching and photographing birds, Peter Steyn shares experiences that span some 70 years. His story starts and ends in Cape Town, South Africa, but in between we read about the 17 years he spent in Zimbabwe – his most productive in terms of ornithological research. His worldwide travels in a quest to study birds, his regular spells as a lecturer on cruise-ship voyages, trips from the Arctic to the Antarctic, to remote Southern Ocean islands and to several Indian Ocean islands and St Helena, travels also to the USA, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Ethiopia – all in pursuit of birds. His detailed and fascinating memoir captures the author’s great enthusiasm for birds and their role in his shaping his life and experiences. The book is well illustrated and features more than 400 photographs taken during Peter’s lifelong journey with birds.

To See Every Bird on Earth

To See Every Bird on Earth
Author: Dan Koeppel
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2006-04-25
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1440627037

What drives a man to travel to sixty countries and spend a fortune to count birds? And what if that man is your father? Richard Koeppel’s obsession began at age twelve, in Queens, New York, when he first spotted a Brown Thrasher, and jotted the sighting in a notebook. Several decades, one failed marriage, and two sons later, he set out to see every bird on earth, becoming a member of a subculture of competitive bird watchers worldwide all pursuing the same goal. Over twenty-five years, he collected over seven thousand species, becoming one of about ten people ever to do so. To See Every Bird on Earth explores the thrill of this chase, a crusade at the expense of all else—for the sake of making a check in a notebook. A riveting glimpse into a fascinating subculture, the book traces the love, loss, and reconnection between a father and son, and explains why birds are so critical to the human search for our place in the world. “Marvelous. I loved just about everything about this book.”—Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman “A lovingly told story . . . helps you understand what moves humans to seek escape in seemingly strange other worlds.”—Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak “Everyone has his or her addiction, and birdwatching is the drug of choice for the father of author Dan Koeppel, who writes affectionately but honestly about his father’s obsession.”—Audubon Magazine (editor’s choice) “As a glimpse into human behavior and family relationships, To See Every Bird on Earth is a rarity: a book about birding that nonbirders will find just as rewarding.”—Chicago Tribune

Birds of Northern India

Birds of Northern India
Author: Richard Grimmett
Publisher:
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2003
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780691117386

From the wet evergreen forests and alpine peaks of the Himalayas, to the Thar Desert and the vast wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural habitats that stretch to New Delhi and beyond, northern India is a diverse and welcoming paradise for birders and ecotourists. This field guide provides a concise, fully illustrated introduction to the region's known species. Species that occur regularly are illustrated on 120 color plates by eminent bird illustrators from Europe and India. Just a few of the most spectacular or very big birds include the Himalayan Snowcock, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Great Hornbill, Crested Kingfisher, Blue-Bearded Bee-eater, and Chestnut-winged Cuckoo. The illustrations show distinctive sexual and racial variations whenever possible, as well as immature plumages. Succinct entries on the facing pages highlight plumage, body length and other visible identification traits, voice, altitudinal range and habitats, distribution, and status. Thirty-five of the region's species are threatened with global extinction, in particular the White-rumped Vulture, Siberian Crane, Forest Owlet, Pink-headed Duck, and Himalayan Quail. Introductory sections cover the region's geography and ecology, ten choice birdwatching areas among the many in northern India, plus conservation and general birding advice. Unusually detailed distribution maps are also included, and an appendix describes vagrants and rare species. Anyone contemplating a visit to this accessible, bird-rich region of the subcontinent will want this compact and user-friendly guide. Covers all species known in the region 120 color plates with concise text on facing pages for quick reference and easy identification Concise entries describe appearance, voice, altitudinal range and habitat, distribution, and status Introductory sections cover the region's geography and ecology, plus conversation and general birding advice

Birdwatcher

Birdwatcher
Author: Elizabeth Rosenthal
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 461
Release: 2010-03-23
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1599216442

[2015 Reprint] Roger Tory Peterson—the Renaissance man who taught Americans the joy of watching birds—also invented the modern field guide. His 1934 landmark Field Guide to the Birds was the first book designed to go outdoors and help people identify the elements of nature. This self-proclaimed “student of nature” combined spectacular writing with detailed illustrations to ultimately publish many other books, winning every possible award and medal for natural science, ornithology, and conservation. Birdwatcher is a comprehensive, illustrated biography of Roger Tory Peterson--a hero in the conservation world--including interviews with friends, family, and protégés.

Hi! My Name is Robin!: A Young Bird Watcher Book

Hi! My Name is Robin!: A Young Bird Watcher Book
Author:
Publisher: Young Bird Watchers
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2020-07-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780578722702

Pamela Slaughter loves the hats she wears. She works full-time as a Realtor in Portland, OR. Slaughter is also the Founder of People of Color Outdoors, which is a non-profit created to provide Black, Indigenous and other people of color in Oregon a safe way to enjoy nature. She is writing a series of books about some of her favorite birds and other wildlife, beginning the the American Robin. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book is contributed to People of Color Outdoors. Slaughter can be reached at [email protected].

The Birdwatcher

The Birdwatcher
Author: William Shaw
Publisher: Hachette+ORM
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2017-04-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0316316253

Police Sergeant William South has a good reason to shy away from murder investigations: he is a murderer himself. A methodical, diligent, and exceptionally bright detective, South is an avid birdwatcher and trusted figure in his small town on the rugged Kentish coast. He also lives with the deeply buried secret that, as a child in Northern Ireland, he may have killed a man. When a fellow birdwatcher is found murdered in his remote home, South's world flips. The culprit seems to be a drifter from South's childhood; the victim was the only person connecting South to his early crime; and a troubled, vivacious new female sergeant has been relocated from London and assigned to work with South. As our hero investigates, he must work ever-harder to keep his own connections to the victim, and his past, a secret. The Birdwatcher is British crime fiction at its finest; a stirring portrait of flawed, vulnerable investigators; a meticulously constructed mystery; and a primal story of fear, loyalty and vengeance. **Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

The Rarest Bird in the World

The Rarest Bird in the World
Author: Vernon R. L Head
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2016-03-15
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1681771063

Part detective story, part love affair, and pure adventure storytelling at its best, a celebration of the thrill of exploration and the lure of wild places during the search for the elusive Nechisar Nightjar. In 1990, a group of Cambridge scientists arrived at the Plains of Nechisar in Ethiopia. On that expedition, they collected more than two dozen specimens, saw more than three hundred species of birds, and a plethora of rare butterflies, dragonflies, reptiles, mammals, and plants. As they were gathering up their findings, a wing of an unidentified bird was packed into a brown paper bag. It was to become the most famous wing in the world. This wing would set the world of science aflutter. Experts were mystified. The wing was entirely unique. It was like nothing they had ever seem before. Could a new species be named based on just one wing? After much discussion, a new species was announced: Nechisar Nightjar, or Camprimulgus Solala, which means "only wing." And so birdwatchers like Vernon began to dream. Twenty-two years later, he joins an expedition of four to find this rarest bird in the world. In this gem of nature writing, Vernon captivates and enchants as he recounts the searches by spotlight through the Ethiopian plains, and allows the reader to mediate on nature, exploration, our need for wild places, and the human compulsion to name things. The Rarest Bird in the World is a celebration of a certain way of seeing the world, and will bring out the explorer in in everyone who reads it.

Bird Watching

Bird Watching
Author: Paula McCartney
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2010
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781568988559

"Paula McCartney's Bird watching series has been included in the Midwest Photographers Project at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College, Chicago since 2005."

Bird Therapy

Bird Therapy
Author: Joe Harkness
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2019-06-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1783527749

Longlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize 'I can't remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will' Chris Packham 'Fabulously direct and truthful, filled with energy but devoid of self-pity . . . I was impressed and enchanted. Highly recommended' Stephen Fry 'Succeeds – triumphantly – in articulating with great honesty what it is like to suffer with a mental illness, and in providing strategies for coping' Mail on Sunday When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds. How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is. The positive change in Joe's wellbeing was so profound that he started a blog to record his experience. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street. In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.