BOOK 



MARKET 



On the other hand, if you are one of the 

 hundreds of thousands of bird watchers in 

 America — or would like to be one — then 

 read on. 



Inspired by the folks at North Carolina 

 Audubon who are celebrating their century 

 milestone, we went looking for books that 

 could help our readers get involved in what 

 has become a favorite national pastime. 



The unique thing about bird watching is 

 that it can be a family affair or a solitary 

 activity. It also requires very little special 

 equipment. Inexpensive binoculars will 

 suffice for backyard viewing. And, oh yes, a 

 book that helps you identify some of your 

 backyard visitors can kick enjoyment up a 

 notch. 



As they say in football stadiums, you 

 can't tell the players without a program. (I 

 keep The Audubon Society Field Guide to 

 North American Birds on a shelf near my 

 kitchen window that looks out over the back 

 yard — and its five or six bird feeding 

 stations.) 



The National Audubon Society offers 

 opportunities to become "citizen scientists" 

 by participating in a number of bird count 

 events each year, such as the Christmas Bird 

 Count. ( See information box on Page 1 1 that 

 accompanies the story about Audubon.) 



There are plenty of books in the library 

 or your local book store to introduce you to 

 the world of bird watching. But be careful. It 

 could be habit forming. 



Say, is that a Rose-breasted Grosbeak 

 that just perched? Hand me my book. 



• THE AUDUBON BACKYARD 

 BIRDWATCHER: BIRDEEEDERS 

 AND BIRD GARDENS by Robert Burton 

 and Stephen W. Kress. 1999. A DK 

 Publishing Book. 5880 Oberlin Drive, 

 San Diego, CA 92121. 381 pages. Hardcover, 

 $19.98. ISBN 1-57145-186-2. 



The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher 

 truly is for beginners who don't know a robin 

 from a Blue Jay. 



From the start, author Stephen Kress lets 

 readers know that bird watching is fun, but 

 serious fun. Kress is manager of Audubon 



Society's Maine Coast Sanctuaries 

 and is director of its Seabird 

 Restoration program. He writes: 

 "The best place to start helping 

 wildlife is on our own property. . . . 

 Each of the 9,000 bird species 

 sharing the Earth with us is an 

 irreplaceable treasure whose songs, 

 colors, and vibrant energy enrich 

 the human experience. Only a 

 knowledgeable public can 

 guarantee a future for all the 

 species we know today." 



The book, richly illustrated 

 with more than 1 ,000 color photos, 

 shows how to identify and attract 

 birds. It provides profiles of the 

 most familiar garden birds, with 

 details of their nesting habits, songs 

 and feeding preferences. 



Loss of wild countryside to 

 development means that creating 

 miniature wildlife reserves is more 

 important than ever, the authors 

 point out. But if you want to attract 

 birds, go easy on the pesticides. 

 Poisoning worms and insects birds eat could 

 indirectly kill the birds. 



The section on landscaping for birds is a 

 book in itself, filled with information on 

 creating a year-round destination for birds by 

 manipulating vegetation succession and 

 building physical structures. Descriptive 

 passages accompany easy-to-understand 

 planning illustrations and regional (zone) 

 planting guides. 



And what of those backyard feeders, do 

 they really help birds? The authors say that 

 several species definitely benefit from extra 

 food sources, especially in severely cold 

 weather. Summer supplemental feeding also 

 is helpful, they say, since it takes extra energy 

 for parent birds to gather food for their 

 young. 



There are as many kinds and sizes of 

 feeders as there are kinds of birds, or so it 

 seems from the pages of suggested feeder 

 types. For the truly ambitious birder, the 

 authors provide how-to instructions for 

 building feeders and houses. 



Pete DUNNE 



ALES 

 OF A 



LOW- 

 RENT 



«^BIRDER 



Foreword by ROGER TORY PETERSON 



. pure pleasure 

 throughout. ' 

 -Bird Watcher's 

 Digest 



Perhaps the most fascinating chapter 

 deals with bird behavior. "The different ways 

 birds feed, fly, walk, communicate, nest and 

 migrate show how they have evolved to make 

 the most of their environment," writes the 

 author. Did you know Green Herons have 

 learned to use bait when fishing? 



In short, it's a virtual encyclopedia of 

 information for beginning or veteran birders. 



• TALES OF A LOW-RENT BIRDER, 



by Pete Dunne, with illustrations by David 

 Sibley. 1986. University of Texas Press, P.O. 

 Box 7819, Austin, Texas 78713. 157 pages. 

 $11.95. ISBN 0-292-71574-9. 



Tales of a Low-Rent Birder is a 

 humorous take by this serious birder. Dunne 

 is director of the New Jersey Audubon 

 Society's Cape May Bird Observatory, and a 

 consultant to the Peterson birding field guide 

 series. 



He is well known in ornithology circles 

 for his serious studies of hawks. He is better 

 known by his readers for his wit. Consider 



24 SPRING 2003 



