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Texas Waterfowl
by William P. Johnson and Mark W. Lockwood

From Texas A&M University Press:

In this beautifully illustrated guide, two practicing wildlife biologists describe the life histories of forty-five species of ducks, geese, and swans that occur in Texas. For common species and those that breed in the state, each account begins with an interesting fact (such as, “Red-breasted Mergansers have been clocked at over 80 mph, the fastest recorded flight speed for a duck…”) and provides information on Texas distribution and harvest, population status, diet, range and habitats, reproduction, and appearance.

Exquisite photographs, informative distribution maps, and a helpful source list accompany the species descriptions, and the book offers a glossary and full bibliography for those who want to explore the literature further.

With the degradation and disappearance of the inland and coastal habitats that these birds depend upon, the natural history of these waterfowl species provides a vital reminder of the interconnectedness and crucial importance of all wetlands.

Birders, biologists, landowners, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and all those interested in the health and preservation of our coastal and inland wetland resources will enjoy and learn from this book.

Although it has some nice photos, this book is more useful as a natural history guide than for identification. Any Texas birder (or hunter or any of those other groups listed above) who wants to know more about their waterfowl should check it out.

Texas Waterfowl
by William P. Johnson and Mark W. Lockwood
Flexicover; 187 pages
Texas A&M University Press; January 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1603448079
$25.00

Count Circle
$2.99

From Stevens Creek Software:

If you’re involved with Christmas or Breeding Bird Counts, the boundaries of your count circle are always of interest, and sometimes unclear. Count Circle includes the complete National Audubon database of CBCs, with a total of 2429 different count circles in 72 different states and territories including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, and Antarctica. Lookup and display any count circle on an interactive map, and find out exactly what is (and is not) included in the circle. The software also displays your current location, so you can determine precisely if you are inside or outside the count circle as you are doing your count.

You can also use Count Circle just to view the different circles, to help you decide which ones you might like to participate in.

If you have reason to believe the database is in error, Count Circle lets you set the center of the circle, then update the database, and even, if you choose to do so, report the revision directly to National Audubon.

You can also create and save your own circles, and even choose your own radius (in miles or kilometers)! Great for “patch challenges.”

Looks like a very useful app for bird counters.

I’ve never done a Book of the Year post. If I were to be honest, it’s usually been my fault for procrastinating. But instead, I choose to blame the Handbook of the Birds of the World. Until this past year a new volume in this landmark series has been published annually since I started this website. And it’s really hard to argue against any of them being the best bird book of their respective year. So what would be the point?

But I have no such excuse this year. The only question is: Did another book step up to fill the void in 2012? The answer, undoubtedly, is “yes”. Without further ado, my choice for the 2012 Bird Book of the Year is…

Save the Last Dance: A Story of North American Grassland Grouse

by Noppadol Paothong and Joel Vance

As I mentioned in my review, this book is filled with amazing photographs. It’s an enjoyable read as well, letting you really get to know these birds. But all of this, even combined with the fact that this is one of my favorite groups of birds and I was excited for them to get their due, may not have been enough for me to bestow the title of Best Bird Book of the Year on this book. What cinched it is not the book in and of itself, but rather its purpose. The author’s stated goal for this book is that it would let people get to know our grassland grouse, and that once they know these birds they would want to protect them. These grouse certainly need all the friends they can get. And I honestly think this book can accomplish that. What’s more, over $2,000 has been donated to grouse conservation organizations from the sale of this book.

Save the Last Dance is not only gorgeous and informative, but also a force for conservation of the birds that it so lovingly portrays. To me, that earns it the title of 2012 Bird Book of the Year.

Honorable Mention

• The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds
  by Julie Zickefoose

  I’ve heard this book described as “sumptuous”. That pretty much nails it. Zickefoose’s sketches and paintings – which adorn just about every page – are wonderful to look at, and her essays are even more wonderful to read. In fact, this may be the most enjoyable book I’ve read in a long time.
  My full review of The Bluebird Effect

• Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird
  by Katie Fallon

  In this book, the author chronicles her (just slightly obsessive) need to get to know the Cerulean Warbler. It’s entertaining, informative, beautifully written, and – like Save the Last Dance – seeks to draw attention to this endangered bird. Like its namesake bird, Cerulean Blues deserves greater attention.
  My full review of Cerulean Blues

• Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide
  by Steve N. G. Howell

  This is how all family identification guides should be done! It has tons of great photographs and just about all the information you could want on these seabirds.
  My full review of Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide

I have extensively revamped/updated my iPhone Bird App Comparison. It now has full coverage for the five main North American apps – Audubon, iBird, National Geographic, Peterson, and Sibley.

I know why you’re here, Neo. I know what you’ve been doing… why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You’re looking for bird book reviews.

(Or is that just me?)

Nine Feet from Tip to Tip: The California Condor Through History
by Sanford R. Wilbur

From the publisher:

In 1941, Harry Harris published “The Annals of Gymnogyps to 1900″ [Condor 43(1):3-55, January 1941], a bibliographic survey of what was then known of the early history of the California condor. Even after publication in 1953 of Carl Koford’s epic work on the biology of condors, Harris’ review remained by far the most complete and most authoritative document concerning the relationships between humans and one of the world’s rarest species. Now, seventy years later, an updated and expanded version of “the Annals” is available.

Beginning in 1970, while conducting field research on the last remaining wild California condors, Sanford “Sandy” Wilbur began compiling historical information on the species. In the next 40 years – combining his research skills and interests in history and biology – he located nearly 2,000 written references to condors. Included were books, journal and magazine articles, newspaper items, diaries, field notes, manuscripts, museum data, and historic correspondence. Supplementing these references, he reviewed nearly 1,000 additional items covering such topics as Pacific Coast history, biography, ethnology, paleontology, agriculture and livestock, chemical pesticides, and local faunas and floras. Following Harry Harris’ lead, he has woven all this material into a new “annals of Gymnogyps” – supplemented, corrected, and continued from 1900 to the mid-1980s, when the last of the wild condors were taken into captivity.

“Nine Feet” will certainly be of interest to condor enthusiasts, but it is much more than another “condor book.” Featuring a previously little-known cast of characters – adventurers, hunters, specimen salesmen, private collectors, and museum curators – it is also a narrative of people, places, and events in the growth and development of the western United States.

This is the story of the condor’s relationship with man from prehistory to the mid-1980’s. The publisher’s assertion that this book “will certainly be of interest to condor enthusiasts” is obvious. But will it hold the interest of other birders? I can’t answer that one yet. But after looking over the chapter summaries, I’m intrigued.

Nine Feet from Tip to Tip: The California Condor Through History
by Sanford R. Wilbur
Paperback; 363 pages
Symbios Books; 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9651263-4-2
$18.95

Owls
by Marianne Taylor

From Cornell University Press:

From tiny Elf and Pygmy Owls through the familiar Tawny and Barn Owls to the giant Eagle and Fish Owls, these fierce hunters of dawn, dusk and night have long held a fascination for people around the world. This informative book, covering all owl species found in the northern hemisphere, looks closely at how owls live their lives, and how best to recognize them.

The first part of the book looks in detail at owl biology: how they live, how they breed, and how they feed. The second part includes species accounts for all 47 species of owls that occur in the northern hemisphere, with emphasis on those of Europe and North America. The book is richly illustrated with sensational, full-color photographs of these compelling birds.

The owl family, already well represented by books, gets another entry. The main difference from previous books (such as Owls of North America) is that this one includes species accounts for all the owls of North America, Europe, and most of Asia (the Holarctic region). And it is liberally illustrated with some very nice photographs. Still, that’s not enough to recommend it to those who already have one or more similar owl books. But for those who don’t, this would be a good addition to your library.

Owls
by Marianne Taylor
Hardcover; 224 pages
Comstock Publishing Associates (Cornell University Press); November 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-0801451812
$35.00