This could have been my easiest, shortest review yet:

Arctic Autumn is the latest book from Pete Dunne. You should read it.

I wouldn’t even have to read the book! But, while true, I suppose that wouldn’t be a very satisfactory book review. And I did really want to read it. So here’s a bit more…

Arctic Autumn: A Journey to Season’s Edge is the latest book in Pete Dunne’s exploration of the seasons and place. It follows Prairie Spring and Bayshore Summer, but these books can be read in any order.

The story opens on Bylot Island in Nunavut, Canada, on the summer solstice. Yes, as Dunne points out, that is technically the first day of summer, not autumn. But when you’re that far north (see for yourself), “autumn comes early and surrenders quickly”. The journey ends in November finding Dunne and his wife on a Polar Bear photography tour in Churchill, Manitoba.

In between, we join Dunne as he rafts through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, attempts to meet up with migrating Caribou, birds St. Lawrence Island, and hunts Caribou. Through these travels, Dunne provides vivid glimpses of the Alaskan and Canadian arctic and its wildlife. This includes birds, of course, but also the mammals that, perhaps even more so, characterize this special place.

But Arctic Autumn is more than “just” about arctic wildlife. It also presents other, mainly human, sides of the arctic and introduces us to people who live there along with their historical and cultural background. It’s sad that a book like this wouldn’t be complete without also looking at the human impact on this not-as-remote-as-it-seems environment. Dunne doesn’t shy away from this, discussing the controversial subjects of oil exploration and climate change. He does this in a remarkably even-handed and practical manner.

Until the last chapter, the book had been good, but something was missing: Dunne had yet to have his “conversation”. If you’ve read the first entries in this series you most certainly know what I’m referring to. Arguably, it works much better in this book, where it frames the perfect conclusion to this chapter in the series. I’d go into more detail, but I think it best if you experience it for yourself. I’ll just include one particular quote that spoke to me. It’s one of the main issues that Dunne seems to be taking on in these books:

Most of the members of my species are too distracted and estranged to recognize, much less care about, the natural endowment that supports them, and the interconnectedness that binds them. Polar bears in the Arctic are far less pertinent than getting the car through inspection, making the monthly mortgage payment, or deciding what color to paint the kitchen.

So how do we break free of our distractions? Explore. As Dunne exhorts: “break with the routine of your life and set off to explore the world beyond your own…” This book, and the series as a whole, makes me want to do just that.

Recommendation

Arctic Autumn may not be the best in this series (for me, it’s still Prairie Spring), but it will inform, entertain, and – hopefully and most importantly – open your eyes a little to the natural world and your role in it.

In other words: Arctic Autumn. Pete Dunne. Read it.

I’m sad to say that this book marks the end of the series; the concluding volume on winter will not be published. (At least from this publisher, although I hope that Dunne can eventually get it published somewhere.) The series, although sadly incomplete, is still very much worth reading. Dunne seeks to instill a passion for nature and an appreciation that we are inextricably connected to it. This is a vital ambition, and I believe that he has successfully done that in this series.

When I first saw the description of The Birding Life: A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield, I was intrigued. The author describes it as “an effort to capture not just the experience of bird watching in all its insouciance, diversity, and surprise, but also to show how devotees of the species reveal the depths of their passion in their homes and haunts”. Wait…”in their homes and haunts”? Is this going to be a birder’s Better Homes and Gardens? Causing further concern is the fact that this is the latest in a series of similar books from this authorial team (the others are about dogs, hunting and fishing, angling, and gardening). They may be well practiced at this kind of book, but will (presumably) non-birders be able to capture the experience of birding?

The Birding Life starts strongly with a prologue that jumps right into the midst of the birding scene, recounting the author’s experiences on a field trip during the Potholes and Prairie Birding Festival in North Dakota (one I’ve got to get to someday!). I must admit that Sheehan (the writer of the book’s text), even though we come to confirm that he is not a birder, does a good job capturing the excitement and “looniness” (his term, obviously chosen for the play on words, honestly isn’t that far off) of birding.

Similarly, interspersed throughout the book are “field trips” to Central Park, High Island, and Magee Marsh. These are short tours through the location that describe what birds you may see and why they are so important to birds (and birders). This pains me to admit, but I’ve never been to any of these hotspots (I’ve driven through High Island in early April, before all the migrants arrived, but that doesn’t count). Even so, I didn’t learn much from these field trips, but, like the prologue, I still enjoyed reading them.

The majority of The Birding Life, however, does not deal directly with birds and birding. Rather, it focuses on people. Part one – “Birders in Birdland” – starts with an introduction to a few “iconic figures” of bird watching. Included, naturally, are Alexander Wilson, Audubon, and Roger Tory Peterson, along with two of the most well-known modern birders: Kenn Kaufman and David Allen Sibley. From there we go on to visit Maine’s Hog Island, along with the homes of birders you may know, like Bill Thompson III and Julie Zickefoose, and those you may not, such as a thirteen-year-old Manhattan birder who has quite an impressive bird-book-filled bookshelf. The chapters are on the brief side, offering just a quick introduction or tour.

How many teenagers have a field guide to Borneo?

I found this first section to be very interesting and the people featured easy to relate to, as they seemed to interact with birds in the same way that I do, namely by finding, identifying, and learning more about them.

The remaining two-thirds of the book brings us into the homes and workplaces of bird-lovers. I use that term deliberately as, contrary to the first part, most of the people profiled here do not seem to be birders (in the normal sense of the word). They are all interested in birds, some perhaps even passionately, others more influenced by birds, such as the artist who creates sculptures using real bird nests. Apparently, the main way they express that interest is by collecting, and decorating their homes with, avian-themed art and objects, from paintings to sculpture, pillows to wallpaper.

Clearly, the manner in which these people choose to express their interest in birds is no less valid than that of a hardcore birder. Still, this section was not nearly as interesting to me as the first. Some of the art on display, especially the more true-to-life representations and the waterfowl and shorebird decoys, were appealing to me. But most of it wasn’t. There were still some bright spots, though. The look inside Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History was enlightening. Charlie Harper, one of my favorite bird artists, was featured. And the chapter on the man who builds tree houses designed like bird nests was absolutely fascinating.

An example from the first part of the book. You can't see them well in this picture, but I love those carvings.

From the second part. Not my style.

You can tell when a non-birder writes about birds and birding. That is the case here, although it is not as egregious as many instances. I feel Sheehan does justice to birding, although he just scratches the surface of what birding can entail. His unfamiliarity with his target audience does reveal itself from time to time, especially when the topics of parrot ownership and nest collecting are broached without any mention of the moral, environmental, and legal implications. But overall, I found the writing to be pleasantly engaging; even the parts that did not interest me didn’t feel like a slog to get through.

One thing’s for sure – this large, coffee-table book looks great. It is attractively designed and brimming with photographs, many of which fill an entire page. There are some great shots of birds, but most pictures show birders birding, or the interior of homes.

Recommendation

The Birding Life: A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield explores some of the ways in which people appreciate and relate to birds. It is an attractive, well-written book, and what it does, it does very well. However, I don’t think it will appeal to everyone interested in birds. If, like me, the first part of this book sounds more relevant to you, I would recommend checking it out if you are also interested in bird-centric art and other objects. Instead, if the second part is more your cup of tea, or if you’re curious about the various ways people express their passion about birds, I would unreservedly recommend The Birding Life.

Accounts of “big years” (trying to find as many birds as possible within set geographic boundaries in a single calendar year) are prominent in birding literature. Wild America, written by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher in the ‘50s, changed how many looked at birding. Kenn Kaufman’s Kingbird Highway, though written much more recently, is no less of a classic. The Big Year, Mark Obmasick’s account of three birders’ big years, has been adapted as a Major Motion Picture. And now we have Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year.

In this book, Lynn Barber tells the story of her 2008 ABA big year (a big year confined by the boundaries and rules of the American Birding Association). Even though her results, as judged by number of bird species seen, can be found right on the book’s flap and even in the product description on book-selling websites, I’m not going to reveal them here. Suffice it to say that it was much more successful than Barber was expecting (and it’s hard to conceive that in five months she had seen more birds in the ABA area than I have in eight years of birding). From the Everglades of Florida to Gambell, Alaska, it was quite a journey, and one filled with great birds.

But it wasn’t easy. The birds didn’t always cooperate, of course, but the hardest thing seemed to be the grind of it all. An entire year of birding all over the continent sounds like a dream-come-true, but it is physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially draining. I applaud Barber for not glossing over this aspect of a big year. Toward the end she came close to sounding whiny, especially in the poems (poems? Yes, I’ll get into that in a minute), but she was honest. Her portrayal of a big year’s toll may be more helpful to prospective big year birders than anything else in the book. I was also pleased to find that she mentions, but does not dwell on or beat herself up over, the carbon footprint necessary in her undertaking.

The appeal of books such as this is being able to bird vicariously through the author, in most cases in a manner that the reader isn’t able to do in real life. Most birders will never have the time, money, and/or inclination to attempt an ABA big year, but we can still experience it through the accounts of those who have. Barber makes this especially easy as she presents her year in a day-by-day, diary-style manner. This structure differentiates Extreme Birder from similar books and makes Barber’s progress easier to track. This should also make it easier to use this book to prepare for your own big year.

However, this format is not without drawbacks. The day-by-day accounting makes it very hard for the author to avoid the trip-report feel of “I went here and saw such-and-such” repeated over and over again. As far as trip reports go, this is a well-written and interesting one, but it still hindered my engagement with the story. Instead of a single, unified narrative, at times it felt like reading a series of blog posts.

Contributing to the blog-like feel (in a good way) of Extreme Birder are the many extra touches that the author includes, such as photographs, a few paintings, and even poems – all by Barber. The photos depict some of the locations and birds the author saw during the year. Many of these pictures are nice, but not art-book worthy. Others are out of focus, partially obscured, or excessively grainy. However, I don’t see that as a shortcoming; I prefer these documentary shots, as these are the actual birds the author saw during her big year. The paintings are great; I only wish there were more of them! I even enjoyed the poems for a bit of levity and, especially, the insight they provide into the author’s frame of mind.

While most birders seem to enjoy the big-year subgenera, it’s not something that many non-birders can get into. The Big Year, along with select others, has risen above this, but I don’t think Extreme Birder has joined them. The main reason is that there is very little in the way of context. For instance, I turned a page to see one of the many photographs and thought, “Wow, Aztec Thrush!” In the text, Barber describes waking up and immediately hiking to the spot where it had been reported, where she finds a couple of other birders who have the bird. She reveals that it was a lifer for her, but otherwise does not explain what is so special about the bird (other than the fact that it’s one more for her year list, of course).

Recommendation

Anyone planning, or even (especially?) considering, an ABA big year should study Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year. Barber provides many tips and resources, in addition to what can be gleaned from the narrative, that should prove extremely helpful in planning a big year. But for those of us not undertaking such an endeavor I’m more cautious in my recommendation. Personally, I greatly enjoy birding vicariously through others’ big year tales. Extreme Birder is no exception, although I didn’t find it as entertaining or engrossing as the other books mentioned at the beginning of this review. Try one of them first if you don’t already know if you like such books. But if you tend to find birding travelogues to be insufferable, this one will likely prove no different.

Earlier this year, in my review of The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation – an excellent summary of conservation in the Americas – I wished that a similar resource were available for the rest of the world. Bird Watch: A Survey of Planet Earth’s Changing Ecosystems comes close.

Bird Watch covers the same topics as the ABC guide – threats to birds, habitats, profiles of threatened birds, and conservation efforts – but less comprehensively. This is partly due to the increased scope (the world vs. the United States), but the focus of the book is also different. Walters concentrates primarily on ecosystems, their threatened birds, and what the birds can tell us about the health of our planet.

Eight major habitats are covered, from wetlands to deserts, islands to mountains. Several examples of each are given, describing the location’s specific geographic characteristics, birds, and threats. Rare and endangered birds are given special consideration. Each habitat chapter has one or more extended sidebars that profile a specific location or bird. Aside from being informative and interesting, these profiles serve to provide some concrete examples in a book that is otherwise more general.

Following the ecosystem overviews is a catalog of the world’s endangered birds. All 1,227 species on the IUCN Red List (at the time of publication, unfortunately there are more now) are listed by family in taxonomic order. Each family is given a brief introduction, recounting its unique characteristics, range, the number of species it has, and how many are considered to be threatened. A table lists these threatened birds, and a few are individually profiled.

The tables display the family, red list status (endangered, vulnerable, etc), and common and scientific names. To me, that’s not enough information. They would be much more useful if range (just countries would be fine) and population estimates, for example, were added. The species profiles are much more informative, providing a painted illustration, range, population estimates, and much more information about the bird and its main threats. The illustrations are sufficient for their purpose – giving an idea of what the bird looks like – but I wasn’t impressed overall. Bali Starlings are beautiful birds, but the illustration here makes them look downright ugly. Still, these profiles are helpful in grasping what birds are endangered and why; I wish there were more of them.

Bird Watch is a visually stunning book! If the bird illustrations are less than impressive, the photographs of birds and habitats more than make up for it. Plus, the layout and design are superb.

Recommendation

Bird Watch is “an illustrated tour” of the world’s endangered ecosystems and birds, with the underlying message that they are worth conserving. It is more of a broad survey and sampler than a comprehensive guide, and is thus recommended to anyone looking for an introduction to these subjects.

I love birding – actively finding, identifying, and watching birds. But there is so much more to these amazing feathered creatures than what you can glean from even the most intensive birding. That is why I also love reading about birds. Through books like The Private Lives of Birds, by Bridget Stutchbury, you can discover how birds live. But there is another layer still. Sy Montgomery delves into this – the “avian essence” – in Birdology: Adventures with Hip Hop Parrots, Cantankerous Cassowaries, Crabby Crows, Peripatetic Pigeons, Hens, Hawks, and Hummingbirds.

Montgomery’s goal with Birdology is “to restore both our awe and our connection to these winged aliens who live among us”. To do this, she focuses on seven birds, using each of them to explore a different aspect of this avian essence. The birds, and their associated concept, are:

• Chickens – Birds are Individuals
• Cassowary – Birds are Dinosaurs
• Hummingbirds – Birds are Made of Air
• Hawks – Birds are Fierce
• Pigeons – Birds Find Their Way Home
• Parrots – Birds Can Talk
• Crows – Birds are Everywhere

In the first chapter, the author introduces the hens that she keeps and their startlingly distinct personalities. In the second, we accompany the author to Australia as she searches for a cassowary, a bird right out of the Cretaceous. Hummingbirds has the reader visiting a hummingbird rehabber. The next chapter deals with falconry, followed by homing pigeons. The penultimate chapter discusses parrots and their cognitive abilities. Finally, Montgomery uses a large, urban flock of crows to demonstrate that birds are everywhere, yet threatened.

If you read that list closely, you’ll notice that only two of these deal with birds in the wild: cassowary and crows. To be fair, though, these hummingbirds and hawks are truly wild birds that are only being kept for a time. As a birder, I’m much more interested in wild birds than those in captivity. So it was no surprise that the cassowary chapter was my favorite. It’s a taut tale of the author’s search for a bird. Any birder can relate to that. Yet it also possesses an added element of danger that, thankfully, most birders do not have to deal with – the bird Montgomery was looking for could kill her. It’s true; cassowaries can, and do, kill people. Montgomery writes, “Friends at home wondered why I wanted to venture into the dark rain forest hoping to encounter a big black creature who might eviscerate me”. It may not have been the “normal” or “sensible” thing to do, but it sure made for some good reading.

However, I found myself far less interested in most of the other narratives. They are most definitely informative, but not interesting unless you are curious about the topic being discussed. And if these stories were all there were to the book, it would be an unconnected hodgepodge of tales without much to recommend it. But the author uses the stories as a framework, adroitly weaving a deeper thread into the narrative. She uses the specific subjects to introduce general concepts, all with the goal of getting the reader to see birds in a new light. So while I didn’t, and still don’t, have any interest in pigeon racing, for example, I did learn a good deal about the practice and, moreover, gained a deeper appreciation for birds in general.

It also helps that Montgomery is a great writer. Her prose is an easy, fun read.

Recommendation

In Birdology, Sy Montgomery explores a number of facets of birds and instills an awe of these fascinating creatures. This book will be most impactful for, and thus more highly recommended to, those who are not already extremely familiar with birds. But it’s still worth a read for anyone.

Way back in elementary school, while classmates checked out adventure stories from the library, I chose bird books. (Yeah, big surprise!) For some reason, I had a particular interest in endangered species. Were it available then, I would have loved Atlas of Rare Birds.

That’s not to say that I don’t like it now (I do), or that it’s a children’s book (it’s not). Rather, I enjoyed it now, and would have then, because the book is incredibly interesting. Dominic Couzens tells the story of 50 endangered birds, including how they became rare and how they’re faring today.

Instead of selecting the fifty most endangered birds or his personal favorites, the author has chosen birds that exemplify ten different categories. This was a good approach, as it keeps the accounts from becoming repetitive and presents a more complete picture of the issues affecting bird populations. Four pages are devoted to each bird, including a range map and multiple photographs, and five birds represent each category. The categories are:

• Back from the Brink – birds whose populations have sunk precipitously low, but have since recovered a great deal
• The Perils of Island Living – species whose restricted ranges make them vulnerable
• Threats in Many Guises – a sample of the more unusual threats faced by birds
• Migrants in Danger – highlights the difficulties in protecting birds that don’t stay in one place
• Unexpected Calamities – once common, even abundant, birds that could now be in danger
• Lost Causes? – those whose futures seem to be more dire than most
• Controversies – where the interests of birds and people are in conflict
• Discoveries – recent, unexpected, and unusual discoveries
• Rediscoveries – birds found again after being missing, or presumed extinct
• The Pending Tray – the most famous and mysterious of the currently “missing” birds

Most readers will be familiar with some of these birds and their stories, such as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, California Condor, and Whooping Crane. Others you may have heard of, like Kakapo (thanks to David Attenborough’s The Life of Birds series) or Spoon-billed Sandpiper (justly receiving a great deal of conservation attention recently). But many will likely be completely exotic and unknown to you. The White-eyed River Martin, for instance, is “one of the greatest enigmas of Asian ornithology”. The first one ever recorded was a trapped bird at a Thailand lake in 1968. A few more were captured by ornithologists and there were some sight records until 1980, but nothing since. No one knows where it came from or where it went. Even more amazing is the Nechisar Nightjar, which has never definitely been seen alive. It’s only known from a single severed wing found on an Ethiopian road.

The river martin and nightjar are examples from the pending tray and discoveries chapters, respectively. These two sections, along with the rediscoveries, are the most intriguing to me. But the rest are just as good and arguably more significant, although the potential “lost causes” can be difficult to read about. There are some sad stories here, to be sure, but there is also hope. Many of the birds presented here have been brought “back from the brink”, as the author puts it. While not safe by any means, their circumstances are not nearly as dire as they once were. Their continued existence is nothing short of astounding, and signifies that there is still hope for the rest, too.

Entire books have been written about some of these birds, but Couzens does an excellent job of summarizing their plight in the relatively small amount of space allocated to each species. But even more importantly, his lively writing makes their stories even more interesting than they already are.

Not to be outshone by the text, the photographs and maps are also outstanding. A few of the pictures are sub-par, such as the Whooping Crane on page 98, but most are great – and big. The photos are especially impressive given the rarity of these birds. Further, I love, love, LOVE the maps. They are large, detailed, and extensively labeled. They even include an inset that shows the location(s) on a global scale. These maps set the standard for projects such as this.

Recommendation

The profiles of the 50 endangered birds in Atlas of Rare Birds are incredibly fascinating and well worth reading by anyone who appreciates birds, such as my aforementioned younger self. But as an adult, I find further reason to recommend this book. Couzens does not preach conservation in an overbearing manner, but instead lets the birds’ predicaments speak for themselves. I don’t see how anyone could read much of this book and not want to help.

Loon. The name alone is evocative. I’ll never forget the experience of being surrounded by hundreds of loons on the Atlantic in mid-winter. The air was filled with their haunting sounds. But the quintessential loon experience would have to be on a northern lake during their breeding season. I’ve never met them there, but feel like I have after reading Adventures With Grapenut.

In Adventures with Grapenut, John Rockwood monitors a pair of Common Loons on a New Hampshire lake as they raise a single chick (whom he christens Grapenut). Through photographs and diary-like text entries, the reader follows the life of the young loon from the time it’s a few days old until it leaves for the winter. Along the way, we see the parents’ fierce devotion in feeding and caring for their chick. We watch Grapenut play games with Rockwood, learn to fish, and eventually fly.

With all apologies to Grapenut, the photography is the real star of this book. Taken from a kayak, these pictures are simply amazing; they are about the most intimate shots of loons that you can imagine. With such pictures, one might worry that the author intruded upon the birds and unduly stressed them. But I was pleased to read that Rockwood took great pains not to do so. Further, the adults were used to him as he had been paddling among them for years (they were banded, so he could tell they were the same birds). This familiarity – on both sides – makes the photos and story stand out.

The fairly brief text narrates what is happening in the pictures and gives further context. Facts and general information about loons are also sprinkled into the narrative. Although not on par with the pictures (and aside from some issues with commas), the author does a good job utilizing the limited space to relate his summer with the loons.

Recommendation

As an adult birder, I appreciated the story contained in Adventures With Grapenut and was blown away by the photography. But, even though it doesn’t seem to be written specifically for them, I think children will get the most out of this book. Watching Grapenut grow up is not only fun, but educational as well. And it doesn’t hurt that he was a cute little thing. Open up the book, play some loon recordings, and you’ll think you’re right there on the lake with Grapenut and his family.

A portion of proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to the New Hampshire Audubon Society and the Loon Preservation Committee.

Penguins fascinate us. Even though there are no naturally occurring penguins within thousands of miles, they seem to pop up in our culture all the time. While I don’t mind seeing their images everywhere, I would love to see a penguin in the wild. And to actually live among them for a time would seem a dream-come-true. Noah Strycker had such an opportunity, and recounts that experience in Among Penguins: A Bird Man in Antarctica.

Strycker, fresh out of college, was accepted to participate in an ongoing research study of Adélie Penguins in Antarctica. For three months during the Antarctic summer he and two others were essentially marooned in one of the most remote places on Earth. They lived in a tiny shed, slept in tents on the frozen ground, and had nothing to eat but frozen food. There were no showers and they were forced to use an outhouse. At twenty below. Frequent wind storms would keep them imprisoned in the shed for days at a time, as venturing outside in the blinding snow and hurricane-force wind could be deadly. And when they could get out to work, they had long, back-breaking days.

In the middle of nowhere, with a mega-blizzard mere inches from my face, I felt like the luckiest person on Earth.

Strycker could say that because they also had penguins – hundreds of thousands of penguins. Even though Adélie Penguins are one of the least accessible breeding birds on the planet they are one of the best studied, thanks to the long-term research project Strycker was assisting in. Strycker and his teammates were responsible for monitoring the penguin population, banding chicks, reporting birds banded previously, and making other observations.

It turns out that these penguins are as fascinating as they are adorable. Through the course of Among Penguins, Strycker shares a good bit of their natural history as a species, as well as interesting stories about individuals. For all of us birders, he also describes the Christmas Bird Count (remember, Christmas is in the middle of the Antarctic summer) that the team performed – the first for Antarctica.

But as interesting as the birds are, they are supporting characters in this tale. We get to know the author very well, both through his activities in Antarctica and memoir-styled chapters that describe, among other things, how he became a birder and why he wanted to spend his summer on the ice.

Whether Strycker is writing about himself or his activities working with penguins, Among Penguins is entertaining and even humorous. I’ve long enjoyed the author’s writing in WildBird and Birding magazines and was pleased to find that it holds up in this, his first full-length book.

Recommendation

As much as I’d love to study penguins in Antarctica, I’m not sure I’d be able to handle it (especially the cold). It sure makes a great story, though! Among Penguins is a great read for bird lovers, especially anyone curious about field work. And I look forward to reading about Mr. Strycker’s further adventures.

You may have seen the news recently of an oil spill in Tristan da Cunha threatening the endangered Northern Rockhopper Penguin. And I’m sure you heard of a little spill in the Gulf of Mexico not too long ago. But are you aware of an oil spill in South Africa a decade ago that threatened to wipe out an entire penguin species? Not to worry if you aren’t, I wasn’t either until I read The Great Penguin Rescue.

On June 23, 2000, the iron-ore carrier MV Treasure sank off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Oil from the ship escaped and contaminated the water around the primary breeding ground of the endangered African Penguin. It was, unfortunately, the breeding season for these birds. The penguins came into contact with the oil as they foraged for fish to feed their chicks. Even a small amount of oil on their feathers is essentially a death sentence, as it eliminates the waterproofing quality of the feathers, rendering the bird susceptible to the frigid waters. As wildlife rehabilitators watched the first oiled penguins walk out of the water onto their breeding islands, they had no idea that the largest wildlife rehabilitation project in history was about to be launched.

The author, who worked with penguins at the New England Aquarium at the time, was among a group of international penguin experts who rushed to South Africa to help. As deNapoli arrived at a warehouse hastily converted into a rehabilitation center, she was greeted by the unforgettable sight, and smell, of 16,000 oiled penguins.

In all, nearly 19,000 oiled penguins were rescued. Let that sink in for a moment. These birds ate five tons of fish a day. A rescue effort on this scale was unprecedented. Even after reading deNapoli’s evocative description of the scene, I still can’t fathom it. But unbelievably, 90% of these oiled birds would be successfully rehabilitated and returned to the wild.

In The Great Penguin Rescue, deNapoli ably describes the circumstances of the oil spill, the massive rescue effort, and the aftermath. In addition, she provides background on herself, penguins in general, and African Penguins specifically. The information on penguins, such as their physiology and unique adaptations, is especially welcome. It helps the reader understand the unique challenges involved in rescuing these birds, as well as provides a respite from the intensity of the rescue.

And it was intense. Indeed, “gut-wrenching” would not be overstating the effect of the narrative on me. But ultimately, this is an uplifting story. An incredible percentage of the penguins were saved, a number equal to half of the species’ entire population today. A further ray of hope came from an unlikely source. After reading about the horrors perpetrated on these animals by people, you may understandably have a healthy dose of misanthropy. But it was also people who saved them. This rescue would not have been possible without “the human miracle” of 12,500 volunteers that stepped up to help out. Reading about these thousands of people from Cape Town and all over the world that “had come together, and were working beyond the point of exhaustion, in horrendous conditions, to save the oiled penguins” was inspiring.

The writing in The Great Penguin Rescue is lively, though it goes a bit overboard at times (“the dark entryway loomed like a huge yawning mouth waiting to swallow us whole”). And it can be a little repetitive. But overall, the author does the story justice and keeps the reader’s interest throughout.

Recommendation

One volunteer from this rehabilitation effort, on seeing some of the rescued birds years later, said: “How often in your life do you get the chance to say you did something right – that you did something that made a real difference? And this made a difference, because these penguins were here.” The Great Penguin Rescue is a powerful story, one that needs to be heard. Not just to find out what occurred in South Africa eleven years ago, but so that we know, even though tragedies like this will keep occurring, there is hope.

However, as deNapoli points out, penguins today are in trouble. You can find up-to-date information on how you can help on the author’s Facebook page. But honestly, one of the best ways to help penguins is to buy this book (the author is donating a significant portion of the proceeds to penguin conservation organizations, and you can find an extensive list of such groups and ways to help in the book). And then share its message with someone else.

It’s obvious that birds are in trouble. But this isn’t just a problem in far-off countries; there are many birds in jeopardy here in the United States. But amazingly, there’s never been a single, comprehensive resource on the subject. That is, until The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation. This guide, which focuses primarily on the U.S., presents accounts for the most threatened birds, habitats, and the threats both face. But, most importantly, it also tells what can be done to help.

Species Accounts

The guide’s first chapter consists of a short species account for each of the 212 birds on the WatchList. The WatchList, a joint project between the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the National Audubon Society, includes all of the birds that are officially listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but also those that, without conservation action, may be destined to be listed in the future. Thus, these are the priority species for conservation in the U.S.

Each of the half-page accounts contains a header, text, illustration, and range map. The header, or “fact bar”, includes:

• Species name
• Global population estimate
• Percentage of population found in the U.S.
• Population trend – i.e. increasing, stable, decreasing
• Status – classification within the WatchList and, when listed, ESA
• WatchList combined score – number indicating severity of threat

I’ve found the middle column – the population estimate and, especially, the percentage found in the U.S. – particularly enlightening. Even a brief look through the accounts leads to many interesting questions and observations. I know, for instance, that the Red Knot occurs throughout the world, but I was surprised to find that only 10% breed in or migrate through the U.S. Likewise, based on range maps, I would have thought that more than 35% of Varied Thrushes breed here.

The account text consists of:

• Distribution – habitat and range
• Threats
• Conservation – highlights the protected areas where it occurs, and any projects underway
• Actions – important actions that would benefit the species

Each account includes an illustration that, with a few exceptions, depicts a breeding-plumaged male (where there’s a choice). Most of these have been provided by the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW). For the most part, they are very attractive. However, when flipping through you may notice that the sparrows stand out. And not in a good way. That’s because they were taken from the National Geographic field guide instead; presumably because sparrows will be included in the last volume of HBW to be published next year and those illustrations weren’t ready yet. I’ve never been a fan of the sparrows in the National Geographic guide, and they really don’t fit in here, all the more since some of them include multiple birds and the accompanying annotations (gender symbols, etc).

The range maps, which show breeding, nonbreeding, and permanent ranges, are also from HBW. Unfortunately, they’re probably my least favorite thing about those otherwise fantastic books. They show the bird’s entire, worldwide range, which is important in a book such as this. But political boundaries are not shown, a big pet peeve of mine, which makes the maps harder to use. The scale can also be a little off, showing much more of the globe than needed. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker map, for instance, shows almost the entirety of the North American continent, with small patches of color clustered in the southeastern U.S. That’s not very helpful.

Habitats

Chapter two presents 12 habitat types, or “birdscapes”. Each of these is introduced by a large, impressive painting depicting its characteristic landscape, birds, other wildlife, vegetation, and threats. The accounts include a map and text that describe the area’s birds, threats, conservation, and actions needed.

For each habitat, 2-10 profiles of representative Important Bird Areas are presented (50 in all). These site accounts give the same sort of information as found in those for the birdscapes.

Threats

This chapter details general and specific issues affecting birds, including habitat loss, invasive species, collisions, pollution, and climate change. Like the other accounts in this guide, these explain the problems, solutions, and actions that need to be taken. Entire books could be written about these issues, so don’t expect more than summaries here. However, they are still excellent overviews of issues as obscure and “minor” as vulture control to major ones like development and window collisions.

International Bird Conservation

Though this guide concentrates on the United States, a chapter has been devoted to international conservation. Well, “international” may be a bit of a stretch – it is still limited to the Americas. But that’s the area in which ABC works, and anything more would have been too broad an area to cover effectively. This chapter’s inclusion makes perfect sense; after all, most of “our” birds also spend time outside the U.S. and threats there are just as relevant.

This chapter is like a miniature version of the rest of the book and follows the same pattern of describing birds, habitats, threats, and actions. It doesn’t include any individual species accounts, but does have seven additional birdscapes with a single IBA highlighted for each.

Strategies and Actions

Before the reader gets to this point they’ve encountered over 200 birds that are in trouble, habitats in danger, and a litany of threats facing birds today. But this final, and most important, chapter brings hope, saving the book from a feeling of doom and gloom. Each preceding chapter includes actions that need to be taken. This one tells how they can be implemented.

In addition to relating many concrete, practical actions that can be taken, the authors present a way forward for bird conservation. This framework lays out a scheme for conservation prioritization that will allow bird conservation to be carried out in a strategic way. A summary of conservation priorities for each state is also included, along with other useful information.

There is also a forward by acclaimed novelist Jonathan Franzen and an introduction that sets the table by presenting a brief history of conservation in the Americas.

When one thinks of books about conservation, illustrations aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. This would still be an incredibly important and useful book without a single one. But I’m happy to say that’s not the case. In addition to the aforementioned species illustrations and birdscape paintings, these pages are adorned with many excellent photographs. All of these illustrations, combined with a nice layout, make this an extremely attractive book.

Writing this book must have been a challenge. The authors had to keep it informative and applicable for professionals working in the field of conservation. On the other hand, it needed to be accessible and relevant to the rest of us, the laymen interested in birds’ welfare. On the whole, I think they struck a good balance. The writing, though a bit dry, is still understandable and should be interesting enough to hold anyone’s attention through the book’s bite-sized sections.

There are no citations or references of any kind in the various accounts. This makes it easier to read, but much less useful. It’s hard to please everyone in regard to this, but maybe a short list of references at the end of each section, or simply a list in the back broken down by section would have been a better choice. And that’s about the worst thing I can say about this book!

Recommendation

ABC seemed to have two goals for The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation. The first is for it to be an authoritative reference on bird conservation in the Americas. Mission accomplished. The second is to engage the birdwatching community in conservation. This is arguably the more important of the two. By producing such a beautiful, informative, and inspiring book, I think there’s a good chance of meeting this goal, too. Birder’s World said: “Hands down, this is the most important book of the year, one every birdwatcher should own.” I agree wholeheartedly.

More sample pages and a web presentation about this book are available at the American Bird Conservancy.