Down and Dirty Birding
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 3/22/2017
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 3/22/2017 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I came across this good-condition softcover (subtitled "From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, Here's All the Outrageous but True Stuff You've Ever Wanted to Know About North American Birds") in the charity-sale shelves at Hannaford's, and nabbed it for another release copy.
The book is quite entertaining, and also contains some helpful information on birdwatching as a hobby - though here and there it's a challenge to separate the frivolous advice from the valid bits {wry grin}. There's a lot of emphasis on the "are you *crazy*?" aspects of the hobby, whether from the viewpoint of those who do not understand the fascination of spotting a tiny feathered creature in dense undergrowth to the concerns of family and friends when one spends a lot of time and money in order to put one's self into uncomfortable or downright hazardous situations just to spot new-to-one species of those tiny (or not-so-tiny) feathered creatures. But as the author's clearly a bit around the bend birdwise himself, it's all in good fun.
Tidbits include a general distaste for starlings (in their flocks-of-nuisance-birds-in-the-US form), while adding a footnote to describe the spectacular European and African species, including "starlings that will knock your eye out". (I still recall my awe at the Superb Starling (yep, that's the name) in Kenya, which is an electric blue with a red breast.)
There are helpful hints on choosing and using field guides, with quips here and there on the foibles of each - and with a footnote referring to RYFM, or "Read your effing manual". [In my experience it's actually "RTFM" for "read the manual" - the "F" is silent.] The advice on "birdiquette" is very good - don't litter, don't annoy the birds, etc.
And amid the many snarky remarks about the less-savory behavior of birds and birders, there are some truly lovely bits of admiring prose, such as this gem:
"...on a dreary day in the shank of the year, a chickadee can strike a spark in your hearth like nothing else on earth."
The book is quite entertaining, and also contains some helpful information on birdwatching as a hobby - though here and there it's a challenge to separate the frivolous advice from the valid bits {wry grin}. There's a lot of emphasis on the "are you *crazy*?" aspects of the hobby, whether from the viewpoint of those who do not understand the fascination of spotting a tiny feathered creature in dense undergrowth to the concerns of family and friends when one spends a lot of time and money in order to put one's self into uncomfortable or downright hazardous situations just to spot new-to-one species of those tiny (or not-so-tiny) feathered creatures. But as the author's clearly a bit around the bend birdwise himself, it's all in good fun.
Tidbits include a general distaste for starlings (in their flocks-of-nuisance-birds-in-the-US form), while adding a footnote to describe the spectacular European and African species, including "starlings that will knock your eye out". (I still recall my awe at the Superb Starling (yep, that's the name) in Kenya, which is an electric blue with a red breast.)
There are helpful hints on choosing and using field guides, with quips here and there on the foibles of each - and with a footnote referring to RYFM, or "Read your effing manual". [In my experience it's actually "RTFM" for "read the manual" - the "F" is silent.] The advice on "birdiquette" is very good - don't litter, don't annoy the birds, etc.
And amid the many snarky remarks about the less-savory behavior of birds and birders, there are some truly lovely bits of admiring prose, such as this gem:
"...on a dreary day in the shank of the year, a chickadee can strike a spark in your hearth like nothing else on earth."
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Oak Hill Rd. (see notes) in Concord, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, February 28, 2018
GoryDetails at Oak Hill Rd. (see notes) in Concord, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Released 6 yrs ago (2/28/2018 UTC) at Oak Hill Rd. (see notes) in Concord, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book, bagged against the elements, on the information board at the Oak Hill Road parking area of Turtle Pond; hope someone enjoys it![See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2018 Great Backyard Bird Count release challenge. See this year's GBBC here. ***
