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Welcome To Subirdia
By John M. Marzluff
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The weekend of February 12th, will be the Great
Backyard Bird Count. Every year Participants
are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish)
on one or more days of the four-day event and report their sightings online
at birdcount.org. Anyone can take
part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from beginning bird watchers to experts,
and you can participate from your backyard, or anywhere in the world. This book is a wonderful complement to that
coming attraction. Its appeal spans bird
lovers, and naturalists who are looking for insights into the evolution
occurring all around us.
The author’s other name is James W. Ridgeway, Professor of
Wildlife Science at the University of Washington. The many stories, studies, and examples
specific to Seattle and many of its named suburbs, including the Edmonds Ferry
line are particularly fun for local readers.
Some of his bird studies spans across the United States as well and also
reach into many other nations around the world.
The book discusses the fascinating ways that many varieties of birds,
and some other background animals, are adapting to the conditions of the
increasingly developed world. We may
know that so many of our actions and decisions affect our feathered friends,
but this book explains that cause and effect, and also provides practical strategies
that can improve the environment for our nature’s neighbors too. As the author says, “we learn about each
bird’s place in the web of life and begin to see ourselves within that web as
well.”
The book includes many beautiful sketches depicting the
birds and stories discussed throughout the book. Jack DeLap is the artist. His illustrations have appeared in a variety
of other books and publications as well.
His appreciation for the lives and souls of these little creatures is
apparent in every picture.
What I mostly appreciate in this book that the author laces
science deftly between the everyday examples and explanations. I learned so much because he kept my interest
alive. Instead of lecturing at me, this
Professor conversed about a topic so obviously dear to his heart.
I’m a bird feeder, and I learned so many interesting things
about the birds that my feeder is attracting.
The author shows ways that these creatures are not only adapting, but
also evolving. As the author says,
“Evolution is not something that happens only in the abstract eons of
geological time. It is happening right
now, in your own backyards. You are a
force, as potent as the glaciers of the last ice age, shaping your feathered
neighbors.” This book gave me hope that
with understanding and education that people like the Professor is spreading,
nature will prevail.
For those of you looking for something with a little more of
the naturalist’s scientific information, yet still enjoyable reading, another
book by the same author is Gifts of the
Crow. If you’re especially a crow
fan, you’ll really enjoy this exposition into the smart behavior of these
birds, and the others in the “corvid” family.
Thereby hangs a tale . . . .
