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| Reviews of birding and nature books written by the members who have read the book! |
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| Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park |
By Marie Winn
Reviewed by Lucy Quintilliano
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| This is a fun book for anyone with an interest in birding, from the novice to the professional ornithologist. It is generally light and upbeat, but, like the real world of nature, it has its heartbreaking moments. It is very easy reading. |
| Any birder will relate to the “Regulars”, who, like many of us, are out there every day monitoring the bird activity in their neighborhood. It’s just that their neighborhood includes Central Park, and the Regulars include some unusual characters, including Wall Street executives, book publishers, playwrites, and our very own Sharon Freedman, who relocated to Charlotte from NYC. |
| The author, who lives in Manhattan and is one of the Regulars, writes a nature and bird watching column for the Wall Street Journal and does a great job of incorporating enough technical information to maintain the interest of the experienced birder without overwhelming beginners. There is a wealth of information about birding hot spots in Central Park, including a map entitled The Birders View of THE RAMBLE. You’ll be tempted to take your binoculars with you on your next trip to NYC. |
| To quote the experts: |
| “A delightful read, blessed with a lovable cast of characters, feathered and otherwise.” USA TODAY |
| “An amazing drama, as good as any soap opera and all the more remarkable since it is a true wildlife story”. BIRDING |
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| Check it out. You won’t be disappointed! |
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| The Verb "To Bird" |
Peter Cashwell
Reviewed by Lucy Quintilliano
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| Peter Cashwell, an English teacher in Virginia who grew up living and birding in the Carolinas, has written a cleaver and funny exploration of his many obsessions, including birds, birders, language, literature, and pop culture. If you love birding like I do, you’ll laugh out loud as he pokes fun at us, at how others see us, how we are and what we do that defies the imagination of non-birders. I especially like his speculation that birding is a disease (BCD, or Birding Compulsive Disorder), which, if true, explains and justifies our bizarre behavior, and has the added benefit of evoking sympathy instead of the more typical reaction of frustration, impatience and irritation. |
| Those who love birding along the Carolina shores will especially enjoy the Stoneless Land, a chapter which explores not only birding at the coast, but many aspects of living with the ebbs and flows of that region. Who can argue with his description of Carolina’s Low Country as home to some of America’s most beautiful birds and most ravenous biting insects? And he describes quite accurately and in great detail the extreme bird identification challenges offered by the shorebirds in that area. |
| Although I found this book very enjoyable and recommend it to my fellow birders, on more than one occasion Cashwell came close to loosing me with his highly detailed analysis of certain topics. For example, The Cardinal Sin, a 22-page chapter exploring the origin of the Northern Cardinal’s name, was a bit much. Although I dislike European Starlings as much as anyone, in my opinion, his 15-page chapter railing about the introduction of this species to our continent was an overkill. |
| Another plus: even though this is a recent publication, it is available in paperback for close to $10 on the web. All in all, this book is very entertaining and a great gift for one of your birding friends, or for yourself. |
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| Christmas Picks |
| It’s that time of year that folks want to spread their joy of birds and birding. Being the good librarian that I am here are a few titles that might pique ones interest in birds: |
| Beyond Field Guides: |
| The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds, by Paul R. Erlich. Simon and Schuster, 1988. |
| The Complete Birder, by Jack Connor. Houghton Mifflin, 1988. |
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| For the Hard Core Birder: |
| A Guide to Bird Behavior (3 vols.), by Donald W. Stokes, Little, Brown, 1979. |
| Life Histories of North American Birds, by A. C. Bent, 20+ volumes first published in the 1920’s - 1950 or so, the whole set republished by Dover Publications, NY in early ‘60’s. |
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| For the Backyard Watcher: |
| The Bird Feeder Book, by Donald and Lillian Stokes, (1987) Little, Brown. |
| The Bird Garden, by Stephen W. Kress. Dorling Kindersley, 1995. |
| Creating Your Backyard Bird Garden, by David B. Donnelly. Bird Watcher’s Digest Press, 1998. |
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| For the Young: |
| Crinkleroot’s 25 Birds Every Child Should Know, by Jim Arnosky, (1993) Bradbury Press. |
| On the Wing: Bird Poems and Paintings, by Douglas Florian. Harcourt, Brace, 1996. |
| Feathers, by D.H. Patent. Cobblehill Books/Dutton, 1992. |
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| And just for fun!! |
| A field Guide to Little-known & Seldon-seen Birds of North America, by Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill. Peachtree Publishers. 1988. |
| Another Field Guide to Little-known & Seldom-seen Birds of North America, by Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill. Peachtree, 1990. |
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| To Nurture A Young Naturalist's Mind |
| Here are a few titles which will help young children appreciate birds and wildlife. |
| Bird Watching for Kids: A Family Bird Watching Guide by Steven A. & Elizabeth May Griffin. |
| Flute’s Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush by Lynn Cherry. |
| How Do Birds Find Their Way? by Roma Gans. |
| My First Bird Book by S. D. Schindler. |
| Roger Tory Peterson’s ABC of Birds: A Book for Little Birdwatchers by Linda Westervelt (Pictures by Roger Tory Peterson & Seymour Levin). |
| Secret Place by Eve Bunting. |
| Watching Water Birds by Jim Arnosky. |
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