In this collection of true stories, the author takes readers from a small Rocky Mountain town to the abandoned copper mines of the Wrangell Mountains, and all points in between, as she shares the reality of being an Alaskan bush pilot, flight instructor, and air traffic controller at a time and in a place where women were seen as less capable than their male counterparts.
This journey through the world of birdwatchers is “a wonderful book. . . . fascinating, often hilarious anecdotes and information” (Daily Mail, Critic’s Choice). Scholarly, authoritative, and above all supremely readable, Stephen Moss’s book is the first to trace the fascinating history of how and why people have watched birds for pleasure, from the beginnings with Gilbert White in the eighteenth century through World War II POWs watching birds from inside their prison camp and all the way to today’s “twitchers” with their bleeping pagers, driving hundreds of miles for a rare bird. “Proves that birdwatchers can be as instructive to watch as birds.” —Sunday Times “Thoroughly researched and well-written.” —The Guardian “Moss knows his subject intimately and writes about it with just the right mixture of affection and occasional quizzicality.” —Sunday Telegraph “It would be difficult to imagine anyone producing a more comprehensive, thoughtful, intelligent and entertaining examination of how people have watched birds at each point in history. In fact, it is one of the few books which might prove such compulsive reading that even a dedicated twitcher might forgo a day in the field to stay at home to finish it.” —Birding World
Revealing fascinating insights into the mysterious lives of birds native to the mother continent, this remarkable guide exhibits the many vibrantly colorful species found in the South African bush. Providing an in-depth discourse on all aspects of bird life--detailing their myriad forms, survival strategies in a harsh landscape, breeding and feeding behaviors, movements, migrations, preferred habitat, unique behavioral patterns, and vocalizations--this comprehensive manual also expertly advises on how to easily and accurately identify each individual species. Populated with more than 900 brilliantly vivid photographs and exhaustively researched to fill the gap in existing literature and field guides, this essential reference will delight nature lovers, tourists, birdwatchers, and bush lovers alike.
A book of Australian birds commonly found in the bush. Each page contains a riddle to engage the reader with the illustration and try and guess the name of the bird. This book aims to both familiarise readers with the twelve birds included within the pages but also teach them what to look for when trying to identify birds in real life.
"In this elegant narrative, celebrated naturalist Ted Floyd guides you through a year of becoming a better birder. Choosing 200 top avian species to teach key lessons, Floyd introduces a new, holistic approach to bird watching and shows how to use the tools of the 21st century to appreciate the natural world we inhabit together whether city, country or suburbs." -- From book jacket.
Filling the gap between basic mammal guides and extensive academic texts, this resource answers everyday questions about mammals in an understandable fashion that will appeal to tourists, bush enthusiasts, and field guides. Addressing everything from how an elephant's trunk works to why the blue whale is not a fish, this question-and-answer guide includes more than 700 color photographs and a detailed section on tracks and signs, making it a must-have for anyone wanting to know about the mammals of the bush region.
How does a bird experience a city? A backyard? A park? As the world has become more urban, noisier from increased traffic, and brighter from streetlights and office buildings, it has also become more dangerous for countless species of birds. Warblers become disoriented by nighttime lights and collide with buildings. Ground-feeding sparrows fall prey to feral cats. Hawks and other birds-of-prey are sickened by rat poison. These name just a few of the myriad hazards. How do our cities need to change in order to reduce the threats, often created unintentionally, that have resulted in nearly three billion birds lost in North America alone since the 1970s? In The Bird-Friendly City, Timothy Beatley, a longtime advocate for intertwining the built and natural environments, takes readers on a global tour of cities that are reinventing the status quo with birds in mind. Efforts span a fascinating breadth of approaches: public education, urban planning and design, habitat restoration, architecture, art, civil disobedience, and more. Beatley shares empowering examples, including: advocates for “catios,” enclosed outdoor spaces that allow cats to enjoy backyards without being able to catch birds; a public relations campaign for vultures; and innovations in building design that balance aesthetics with preventing bird strikes. Through these changes and the others Beatley describes, it is possible to make our urban environments more welcoming to many bird species. Readers will come away motivated to implement and advocate for bird-friendly changes, with inspiring examples to draw from. Whether birds are migrating and need a temporary shelter or are taking up permanent residence in a backyard, when the environment is safer for birds, humans are happier as well.
