Thursday, September 1, 2011

Hot New Book Releases - Fall, 2011 - Birdwatching

Here is a list of eleven hot new book releases, either recently published or yet-to-be-published  for Fall, 2011 in the birdwatching genre...

This list contains book descriptions along with links to print, kindle, and audiobook editions, as available.

After the books, enjoy some beautiful, colorful art prints...


In the form of bird-themed art and décor, the beauty of winged creatures informs the “nests” and working spaces of the birders, artists, collectors, and conservationists featured in the more than twenty delightfully written stories in The Birding Life. Through evocative writing and two hundred gorgeous color photographs, the authors of The Sporting Life and Living with Dogs capture the beauty, intrigue, and fun of birding—at home, in the country, in the city, and out in the field—with a special focus on the nostalgic memorabilia that signals devotion to birds of all kinds.


In Part I: Birders in Birdland, you will meet Alexander Wilson, John James Audubon, and Roger Tory Peterson, the iconic figures responsible for first documenting America’s native birds for the public, and Kenn Kaufman and David Allen Sibley, authors of today’s most well-known American birding guides. You will visit Buck Hollow Ranch in Concan, Texas, where more than two hundred species of birds, including endangered species unique to the Hill Country, pass through in prime season. From there you will travel to New York City to meet thirteen-year-old Alexander Gottdiener, a licensed falconer who enjoys birdwatching in Central Park and in more exotic climes.

 Part II: Bird Houses welcomes you into the homes and studios of bird enthusiasts, artists, and collectors...

In Part III: At Home with Birds, you will meet homeowners who have decorated their personal nests to reflect their love of avian life...

Field trips throughout the book give readers a taste of the authentic experience of birders in bird-rich locations in Maine, Texas, North Dakota—and New York City’s greatest sanctuary, Central Park.






In this stunningly beautiful book, bird artist William T. Cooper explores and demonstrates all aspects of drawing and painting birds. Renowned for his gorgeous and accurate wildlife renderings, Cooper here explains in detail how to create a true impression of a bird's appearance. The author describes his own experiences among birds in the wild, discusses bird anatomy, and lays out the essential principles of realistic painting. He guides both seasoned artists and enthusiastic beginners through all the techniques and processes involved in depicting birds anywhere in the world...






"A wonderful collection of bird superlatives. . . . Fascinating facts and beautiful photographs make this one a winner." 
 -- Library Journal 

Extreme Birds is a photographic showcase of 150 birds at the extremes of nature. It reveals nature's ingenuity and sometimes its sense of humor. The species in this book were 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, they have the most peculiar mating rituals, they dive the deepest and they fly the highest. These are the overachievers of the avian world...





Meet the saw-whet, the tiniest of Minnesota’s owls...From this fetching little creature to the magnificent great gray, the owls of Minnesota have found the perfect spokeswoman in this book, which is as charming as it is informative. Written with wit and a remarkable command of bird lore by Laura Erickson, well known to public radio listeners and birdwatchers everywhere, Twelve Owls also features enchanting pictures, from the long view to up-close detail, by award-winning artist Betsy Bowen.





National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 6th Edition contains the most all-new material since the first edition was published more than 25 years ago. The latest edition will include 300 new art figures; unique subspecies maps never before seen in a field guide; extensive migration information overlaid on species maps; field-mark labels on all artwork; text updates to include new species; reorganization reflecting taxonomic changes in the bird community; organization, readability, and increased page count with a fresh new design.





From the moment Jeff Guidry saw the baby eagle with broken wings, his life was changed. For weeks he and the staff at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Puget Sound, Washington, tended to the injured bird. Miraculously, she recovered, and Jeff, a center volunteer, became her devoted caretaker. Though Freedom would never fly, she had Jeff as her wings. And after Jeff was diagnosed with stage three non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2000, Freedom returned his gift. Between sessions of debilitating chemotherapy, Jeff’s visits to Freedom and their special bond soothed his spirit and gave him the strength to fight. A tender tale of hope, love, trust, and life, this moving true story is an affirmation of the spiritual connection that humans and animals share.




Kindle Edition





Narrated by John Pruden


LENGTH
5 hrs and 11 mins







A comprehensive introduction to the elusive barn owl. 

 Given their largely nocturnal existence, few of us are lucky enough to glimpse a barn owl. But with the advent of minicams in backyard nesting boxes, birdwatchers can enjoy real-time online viewing of barn owls. Not surprisingly, interest in barn owls and wild birds in general is increasing. 

Barn Owl reveals these remarkable creatures in detail. Rarely seen images -- including stunning photographs of nesting owls and their owlet chicks -- accompany the authoritative text, which describes: 

--The survival of barn owls 
--Their biology and behavior 
--Courtship and reproduction 
--Life cycle 
--How and what they hunt 
--Social interaction 
--Conservation. 

 The ghostly barn owl is further brought to life through personal anecdotes from the author and photographer, which are woven into the text. A list of resources directs readers to additional information on the elusive barn owl. 

 The barn owl is a powerful predator with a critical role in rodent control, and it is in dire danger from rodent poisons, lack of nesting sites and human encroachment. Barn Owl renders an informative and timely portrait of this endangered bird.





Islands with large colonies of seabirds are found throughout the globe. Seabird islands provide nesting and roosting sites for birds that forage at sea, deposit marine nutrients on land, and physically alter these islands. Habitats for numerous endemic and endangered animal and plant species, seabird islands are therefore biodiversity hotspots with high priority for conservation.

This book, written collaboratively by and for ecologists and resource managers, provides the first large-scale cross-system compilation, comparison, and synthesis of the ecology of seabird island systems. Offering a new conceptual framework into which to fit the impacts of seabirds on island ecology, this is an essential resource for academics and resource managers alike.





America is a nation of ardent, knowledgeable birdwatchers. But how did it become so? And what role did the field guide play in our passion for spotting, watching, and describing birds? 

In the Field, Among the Feathered tells the history of field guides to birds in America from the Victorian era to the present, relating changes in the guides to shifts in science, the craft of field identification, and new technologies for the mass reproduction of images. Drawing on his experience as a passionate birder and on a wealth of archival research, Thomas Dunlap shows how the twin pursuits of recreation and conservation have inspired birders and how field guides have served as the preferred method of informal education about nature for well over a century.

Putting nature lovers and citizen-activists at the heart of his work, Thomas Dunlap offers an entertaining history of America's long-standing love affair with birds, and with the books that have guided and informed their enthusiasm.





A comprehensive and authoritative guide to the fascinating mysteries of bird migration.

The editor of this important and lavishly illustrated new book has selected a cross-section of both the most typical and the most interesting migrants. Colorful maps, photographs, calendars and fact files, with easy-to-read symbols and abbreviations, present an accurate and up-to-date profile of each species.

The results of new satellite tracking methods are covered, as are current environmental threats and conservation initiatives. The book closes with a comprehensive catalog of migrating species from all continents.





J. Stokley Ligon's work in bird conservation, habitat protection, and wildlife legislation during the mid-twentieth century is well-documented in his own writing and the writing of others. But hovering in the background of Ligon's life story has always been the rumor of a trip he made alone as a young man in 1913 in which he covered much of New Mexico alone on horseback. Details of the trip had faded into history, and Ligon--a self-effacing man--had never published the story. 


As it turns out, the trek was Ligon's first job with the US Biological Survey, and it did not go entirely undocumented. The breeding bird population report that eventually resulted from the journey, photographs from glass plate negatives, and, perhaps most enticingly, Ligon's own personal diary from these travels are presented here. Not just a compelling account of the expedition itself, the materials and insights found in this volume also reveal aspects of Ligon's family history, his early interest in wildlife, and the development of the wilderness skills needed to undertake such a survey.

Birding enthusiasts, historians, naturalists, and even armchair adventurers will all find something to love in this chronicle of a young man from a West Texas ranching family with a driving ambition to be a professional naturalist and writer.




************

Buy at Art.com
Tawney Owl
Giclee Print
Buy From Art.com



Mulberry Tree, c.1889








A Quiet Lake









Sunset, c.1972








Fate of the Animals, 1913














Bordighera, 1884






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