I am a fan of oystercatchers-they move in packs across the beach and graze at the ocean's edge while calling their distinctive "beep beep" as they land. That's why I had to read a book that heralded their return.
According to the author, a noted ornithologist and author of several books on the natural world, Weidensaul's friend gave him a challenge. Since his last book described the vanishing of so many bird species, could he write another one describing the good news about their return. This book describes the hopes and efforts for making this a reality. Bird diversity is essential to our ecosystem, and therefore essential to us. Before the sixties, however, birds were considered a nuisance-if they weren't just wholesale slaughtered, their environment was stripped making their existence impossible. Things began slowly changing in the sixties, especially after the publication of Silent Spring by Carson. She recognized that eliminating birds of prey, including the American Bald Eagle, as a consequence of DDT use, would cause a catastrophe. It was one of the first wakeup calls on the way to the policy of conservation.
The author describes his travels all over the world to find the places that have become central to bringing their birds back. We follow him from Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania to England, Cape Cod, the coast of Maine, Rumania, the prairies of Wyoming and the boreal of Canada to see how different groups of concerned citizens work together to conquer impossible obstacles. When the priority is regrowing the bird population, it butts up against the wants and needs of ranchers, hunters, and people who don't want to be restricted when they are used to enjoying driving their dune buggies on the beach or walking unleashed dogs.
The author ends on a very hopeful note-an extremely large holding on Canadian land has been co-managed by the government and the indigenous people who have always lived there. It has now been handed over to the native people with the support and financial assistance of the Canadian government. This will be a great test of a good future for saving the world's bird populations.
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
April 21, 2026
Reserve a physical copy - Coming soon
No comments:
Post a Comment