The Birds of Pandemonium
2 journalers for this copy...
This is a hardcover book that I won through LibraryThing. I have become very interested in birds in the last few years so I am really looking forward to this.
The blurb on the front of this book is from Jeff Corwin, host of Animal Planet. He says “A remarkable book. It will make you laugh and cry; it will make you see more clearly the need to take care of our planet; and it will confirm that one person with a passion can make a difference.” When I read that I thought “I doubt it” but since I had gotten the book for free from the publisher through LibraryThing I knew I would read it. Having read it I now can say that Corwin’s praise was not exaggerated.
I’m one of that group of people, growing faster than any other avocation, who call themselves birders. It’s only recently that I started trying to identify wild birds and I am still a novice but I do enjoy watching them in their natural habitat. I have never seen the attraction of owning a bird though. I always thought that they were rather aloof and would never return affection like a dog or cat. If nothing else this book has disabused me of that notion. Raffin tells countless stories of birds that interact with her and other humans just as affectionately as any pet. I still don’t think I want a bird of my own but I understand why some people do.
Raffin got into exotic birds without really meaning to. One day her personal trainer was late for a session with her because he had seen an injured bird by the side of the highway. She and the trainer took the bird to a vet and Raffin agreed to pay for the costs even though the vet said there was not much chance of recovery. Indeed the bird, a white dove that had probably been released during a marriage ceremony, did not survive. However, Raffin was so touched by this bird that when she saw an ad for a white dove to be given away free she went to see about adopting it. She returned home with six white doves and that was the start of a lifelong passion. Pandemonium is now a not for profit breeder of avian species facing extinction. Pandemonium is also hoping to set up a series of shelters (Raffin calls them arks) that will buy flocks of rare birds when their breeders are too old to care for them. It is a lofty ambition but having read this book and learned what Raffin managed to do I think Pandemonium might succeed. Maybe someday the birds preserved in these arks will be able to return to their native habitat.
If you are a nature lover, even if you don’t like exotic birds, you will enjoy this book.
I’m one of that group of people, growing faster than any other avocation, who call themselves birders. It’s only recently that I started trying to identify wild birds and I am still a novice but I do enjoy watching them in their natural habitat. I have never seen the attraction of owning a bird though. I always thought that they were rather aloof and would never return affection like a dog or cat. If nothing else this book has disabused me of that notion. Raffin tells countless stories of birds that interact with her and other humans just as affectionately as any pet. I still don’t think I want a bird of my own but I understand why some people do.
Raffin got into exotic birds without really meaning to. One day her personal trainer was late for a session with her because he had seen an injured bird by the side of the highway. She and the trainer took the bird to a vet and Raffin agreed to pay for the costs even though the vet said there was not much chance of recovery. Indeed the bird, a white dove that had probably been released during a marriage ceremony, did not survive. However, Raffin was so touched by this bird that when she saw an ad for a white dove to be given away free she went to see about adopting it. She returned home with six white doves and that was the start of a lifelong passion. Pandemonium is now a not for profit breeder of avian species facing extinction. Pandemonium is also hoping to set up a series of shelters (Raffin calls them arks) that will buy flocks of rare birds when their breeders are too old to care for them. It is a lofty ambition but having read this book and learned what Raffin managed to do I think Pandemonium might succeed. Maybe someday the birds preserved in these arks will be able to return to their native habitat.
If you are a nature lover, even if you don’t like exotic birds, you will enjoy this book.
Journal Entry 3 by gypsysmom at outdoor bench at Tuzigoot National Monument in Clarkdale, Arizona USA on Saturday, March 28, 2015
Released 9 yrs ago (3/27/2015 UTC) at outdoor bench at Tuzigoot National Monument in Clarkdale, Arizona USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book on a bench near the ruins. I actually saw someone pick it up so I hope they will leave a Journal Entry. This release is for the 2015 52 Towns in 52 Weeks release challenge - Town #18
This book has been added to the Montezuma Castle/Tuzigoot library.
