Spotlight On – The Isabell McGregor Durrenberger Memorial Collection (Part 2)
The Copper Queen Library recently added several titles related to birds and birding to our collections through the generous donations of the family and friends of Isabell McGregor Durrenberger, a long-time local resident with an abiding interest in birds and nature, and the additional assistance of the Friends of the Copper Queen Library.
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A previous post highlighted the audiobook, DVD, and children's titles acquired as part of this collection. This post (featuring “Books for Adults, Part 1”) and one more future post (“Books for Adults, Part 2”) will showcase titles purchased for adult readers.
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BOOKS FOR ADULTS (Part 1)
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All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures (Roger Tory Peterson; edited by Bill Thompson III)
“Al
l Things Reconsidered” was the title of Peterson’s monthly column in Bird Watcher’s Digest, which he wrote from 1984 until his death in 1996. Thompson, editor of the Digest, has chosen 40-odd columns and illustrated them with Peterson’s own photographs (the great naturalist was nearly as passionate about photography as he was about painting). These are the best of Peterson’s chatty columns, in which he shared his birding adventures — from the hot plains of the Serengeti, where he stabilized his long lens on “a cloth bag filled with rice,” to freezing water off the coast of Maine, where his boat capsized as he — then in his 80s — was filming a documentary.
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The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Western North America [with audio] (Donald Kroodsma)
Get to know birds by ear with this engaging, one-of-a-kind book. Discover 75 unique species fr
om Western North America as you enjoy their sounds at the touch of a button - reproduced in high quality on the attached digital audio module - while reading vivid descriptions of their songs, calls, and related behaviors. Learn how to pick out the wavering songs of a young Bewick's Wren, or find out why many songbirds have dialects that vary from region to region. This book is complete with up-to-date range maps and more than 130 sounds provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's world-renowned Macaulay Library, as well as exquisite illustrations of each species.
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The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession (Mark Obmascik)
There is a well-known competition among birders called the Big Year, in w
hich one abandons one's regular life for one whole year in order to see more species of birds in a geographic area than one's competitors. Environmental journalist Obmascik follows the 1998 Big Year's three main competitors – a New Jersey roofing contractor, a corporate executive, and a software engineer – as they crisscross the country in search of birds. Whether looking for flamingos in the Everglades, great grey owls in the frozen bogs near Duluth, or Asian rarities on the Aleutian island of Attu, these obsessed birders not only faced seasickness, insects, altitude sickness, and going into debt, they also faced each other. Their drive to win propelled all three past the rarified count of 700 species seen, and the winner saw an extraordinary 745 species – a number that will probably never be equaled. With a blend of humor and awe, Obmascik takes the reader into the heart of competitive birding, and in the process turns everyone into birders.
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The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live (Colin Tudge)
Following on the heels of The Tree (2006) Colin Tudge here looks fondly at “a
superior class of creatures.” Dividing his book into four parts, he first examines the physical aspects of birds’ adaptations for flight and their evolution from dinosaurs. The second part explains scientific classification and provides a list of all the bird families of the world. Part three is the meat of the book, focusing on how birds conduct their lives: how they eat, migrate, court and raise their chicks, behave socially, and whether or not birds can be considered intelligent. Finally, the fourth part looks at birds and humans: specifically, at how we live with birds and impact their lives and their environment. Illustrated throughout with beautiful line drawings, this book is another fine example of Tudge’s ability to make even the most esoteric science approachable.
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Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song [with audio] (Les Beletsky)
Here are splendid color illustrations of 250 species of birds, some
showing only the male and others showing both the male and female. Drawing from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the book is divided into four parts: seabirds, shorebirds, and water birds; forest birds; woodland birds; and open-country birds. With each illustration is a description of the bird's range in the US and Canada and its ecology and behavior. The profiles emphasize the birds' vocalizations – both songs and calls – which can be heard on an audio component that comes with the book. By using this digital audio technology, readers will be able to relate the songs and calls to the birds' appearances.
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Birds (Robert Bateman)
World renowned wildlife painter Bateman (Thinking Like a Mountain) describes this book as n
either a field guide to birds nor a reference book. Rather it is aptly represented as an artist's “portfolio” and a “field diary.” Bateman not only depicts a worldwide range of avian species in startlingly lifelike paintings, he also captures a sense of place and motion (even when the subjects are still) within landscapes that could stand on their own. The artist's uncanny ability is no less displayed in the backgrounds and settings than in the portraits of the birds. Bateman paints a wading African blue crane with both bird and water in near photographic clarity. Likewise, he crafts a muted impressionistic Latin American rain forest, wherein brilliantly colored macaws perch, preen and dangle from the lush trees. A wonderful book for birders, wildlife enthusiasts and art lovers.
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Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience (Jeremy Mynott)
W
hy do we expend so much effort to observe, catalog, describe, listen to and study birds? Citing a broad range of sources (Romantic poets, Japanese haiku masters, the Song of Solomon, Monty Python, Thoreau), Mynott ponders our perceptions of worth, our emotional responses to landscapes, and the process of vision itself. . . . Though Mynott provides ample references for further reading, this leisurely, thoughtful, generous book provides ample information and amusement all by itself.
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All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures (Roger Tory Peterson; edited by Bill Thompson III)
“Al
l Things Reconsidered” was the title of Peterson’s monthly column in Bird Watcher’s Digest, which he wrote from 1984 until his death in 1996. Thompson, editor of the Digest, has chosen 40-odd columns and illustrated them with Peterson’s own photographs (the great naturalist was nearly as passionate about photography as he was about painting). These are the best of Peterson’s chatty columns, in which he shared his birding adventures — from the hot plains of the Serengeti, where he stabilized his long lens on “a cloth bag filled with rice,” to freezing water off the coast of Maine, where his boat capsized as he — then in his 80s — was filming a documentary..
The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Western North America [with audio] (Donald Kroodsma)
Get to know birds by ear with this engaging, one-of-a-kind book. Discover 75 unique species fr
om Western North America as you enjoy their sounds at the touch of a button - reproduced in high quality on the attached digital audio module - while reading vivid descriptions of their songs, calls, and related behaviors. Learn how to pick out the wavering songs of a young Bewick's Wren, or find out why many songbirds have dialects that vary from region to region. This book is complete with up-to-date range maps and more than 130 sounds provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's world-renowned Macaulay Library, as well as exquisite illustrations of each species..
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession (Mark Obmascik)
There is a well-known competition among birders called the Big Year, in w
hich one abandons one's regular life for one whole year in order to see more species of birds in a geographic area than one's competitors. Environmental journalist Obmascik follows the 1998 Big Year's three main competitors – a New Jersey roofing contractor, a corporate executive, and a software engineer – as they crisscross the country in search of birds. Whether looking for flamingos in the Everglades, great grey owls in the frozen bogs near Duluth, or Asian rarities on the Aleutian island of Attu, these obsessed birders not only faced seasickness, insects, altitude sickness, and going into debt, they also faced each other. Their drive to win propelled all three past the rarified count of 700 species seen, and the winner saw an extraordinary 745 species – a number that will probably never be equaled. With a blend of humor and awe, Obmascik takes the reader into the heart of competitive birding, and in the process turns everyone into birders..
The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live (Colin Tudge)
Following on the heels of The Tree (2006) Colin Tudge here looks fondly at “a
superior class of creatures.” Dividing his book into four parts, he first examines the physical aspects of birds’ adaptations for flight and their evolution from dinosaurs. The second part explains scientific classification and provides a list of all the bird families of the world. Part three is the meat of the book, focusing on how birds conduct their lives: how they eat, migrate, court and raise their chicks, behave socially, and whether or not birds can be considered intelligent. Finally, the fourth part looks at birds and humans: specifically, at how we live with birds and impact their lives and their environment. Illustrated throughout with beautiful line drawings, this book is another fine example of Tudge’s ability to make even the most esoteric science approachable..
Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song [with audio] (Les Beletsky)
Here are splendid color illustrations of 250 species of birds, some
showing only the male and others showing both the male and female. Drawing from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the book is divided into four parts: seabirds, shorebirds, and water birds; forest birds; woodland birds; and open-country birds. With each illustration is a description of the bird's range in the US and Canada and its ecology and behavior. The profiles emphasize the birds' vocalizations – both songs and calls – which can be heard on an audio component that comes with the book. By using this digital audio technology, readers will be able to relate the songs and calls to the birds' appearances..
Birds (Robert Bateman)
World renowned wildlife painter Bateman (Thinking Like a Mountain) describes this book as n
either a field guide to birds nor a reference book. Rather it is aptly represented as an artist's “portfolio” and a “field diary.” Bateman not only depicts a worldwide range of avian species in startlingly lifelike paintings, he also captures a sense of place and motion (even when the subjects are still) within landscapes that could stand on their own. The artist's uncanny ability is no less displayed in the backgrounds and settings than in the portraits of the birds. Bateman paints a wading African blue crane with both bird and water in near photographic clarity. Likewise, he crafts a muted impressionistic Latin American rain forest, wherein brilliantly colored macaws perch, preen and dangle from the lush trees. A wonderful book for birders, wildlife enthusiasts and art lovers..
Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience (Jeremy Mynott)
W
hy do we expend so much effort to observe, catalog, describe, listen to and study birds? Citing a broad range of sources (Romantic poets, Japanese haiku masters, the Song of Solomon, Monty Python, Thoreau), Mynott ponders our perceptions of worth, our emotional responses to landscapes, and the process of vision itself. . . . Though Mynott provides ample references for further reading, this leisurely, thoughtful, generous book provides ample information and amusement all by itself..
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Extreme Birds: The World's Most Extraordinary and Bizarre Birds (Dominic Couzens)
A photog
raphic showcase of 150 birds at the extremes of nature, Extreme Birds reveals nature's ingenuity and, sometimes, its sense of humor. The species showcased in this book are chosen for their extraordinary characteristics and for behaviors far beyond the typical. They are the biggest, the fastest, the meanest, the smartest. They build the most intricate nests, have the most peculiar mating rituals, and dive the deepest or fly the highest. These are the overachievers of the avian world.
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Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder (Kenn Kaufman)
As ornithologist Kenn Kaufman recounts in this lively memoir, he's managed to do w
hat other birders only dream of doing: take a year and chase winged creatures from one end of the country to another. The year in question was 1973, when Kaufman was 19 years old, and a few dollars and an outstretched thumb could go a long way. Armed with binoculars, notebook, and the blessing of birder patron saint Roger Tory Peterson, Kaufman set out to capture the record for most species spotted in a single year. He came close, closing with 666 species sighted from Alaska to Florida and back again. More important, he racked up a lifetime's worth of adventures on the road. These stories form the heart of his book, a narrative in which spotted redshanks, white-eared hummingbirds, marbled murrelets, and black-capped gnatcatchers are among the chief supporting players.
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Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds (Olivia Gentile)
After her four kids were nearly grown and she was about to turn 50, Phoebe Snetsinger was told
she had less than a year to live. A St. Louis housewife and avid backyard birder, she decided to spend that final year traveling the world in search of birds. As it turned out, her doctors were wrong. By the time she died 18 years later in a bus accident while birding in Madagascar at age 68, Phoebe was world renowned and had seen more species — 8,500 of the roughly 10,000 — than anyone in history. A fascinating portrait of a hobbyist whose obsession contributed to both her success and her demise, Life List brings Phoebe Snetsinger and the wild world of amateur ornithology to vivid life.
Extreme Birds: The World's Most Extraordinary and Bizarre Birds (Dominic Couzens)
A photog
raphic showcase of 150 birds at the extremes of nature, Extreme Birds reveals nature's ingenuity and, sometimes, its sense of humor. The species showcased in this book are chosen for their extraordinary characteristics and for behaviors far beyond the typical. They are the biggest, the fastest, the meanest, the smartest. They build the most intricate nests, have the most peculiar mating rituals, and dive the deepest or fly the highest. These are the overachievers of the avian world..
Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder (Kenn Kaufman)
As ornithologist Kenn Kaufman recounts in this lively memoir, he's managed to do w
hat other birders only dream of doing: take a year and chase winged creatures from one end of the country to another. The year in question was 1973, when Kaufman was 19 years old, and a few dollars and an outstretched thumb could go a long way. Armed with binoculars, notebook, and the blessing of birder patron saint Roger Tory Peterson, Kaufman set out to capture the record for most species spotted in a single year. He came close, closing with 666 species sighted from Alaska to Florida and back again. More important, he racked up a lifetime's worth of adventures on the road. These stories form the heart of his book, a narrative in which spotted redshanks, white-eared hummingbirds, marbled murrelets, and black-capped gnatcatchers are among the chief supporting players..
Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds (Olivia Gentile)
After her four kids were nearly grown and she was about to turn 50, Phoebe Snetsinger was told
she had less than a year to live. A St. Louis housewife and avid backyard birder, she decided to spend that final year traveling the world in search of birds. As it turned out, her doctors were wrong. By the time she died 18 years later in a bus accident while birding in Madagascar at age 68, Phoebe was world renowned and had seen more species — 8,500 of the roughly 10,000 — than anyone in history. A fascinating portrait of a hobbyist whose obsession contributed to both her success and her demise, Life List brings Phoebe Snetsinger and the wild world of amateur ornithology to vivid life.
posted by msbw @ 2:08 PM
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