More Australian Birding Tales

Author: R Bruce Richardson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781913679248
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Book Description
More Australian Birding Tales takes up where the author's very successful first book, An Australian Birding Year, ended. In this new book Bruce Richardson describes his further birding adventures, which take his total 'life list' from 672 to 759, well exceeding his initial target of 700 species. He delights in finding new 'lifer' species, whether they are common but not yet seen by him or mega rarities, but he also glories in the fact that his birding trips take him to stunning parts of Australia that he wouldn't normally have visited. He travels through the outback, takes the ferry over to Tasmania, makes several pelagic expeditions and goes on a memorable trip to Cocos/Keeling and Christmas Islands. He describes his travels with humour, and intersperses the ticks and the dips of birding with personal anecdotes of a life lived through good times and bad. Although reaching the 700 species target was a milestone, for Bruce birding is equally about the vibe, the good friends he makes along the way, and his exploration of the glorious Australian countryside. He certainly does see some cool birds though.

An Australian Birding Year

Author: R. Bruce Richardson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781912081387
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Book Description
A highly personal account of a phenomenal, once-in-a-lifetime adventure that saw Bruce and his wife, Lynn, embark on a year of travel and birding across the entire continent of Australia in a camper van. Their aim was to see as many birds as possible together in the year. It began with a fly-past of two Gang-gang Cockatoos and ended with a first-ever sighting of a Northern Shoveler with 637 other species in between. His humorous stories describe the ups and downs of the experience from overcrowded campsites and boggy tracks to great pub meals and surprise encounters with birding friends; from the missed birds to the triumph of spotting a 'lifer'. The book is more than a list of birds and how Bruce and Lynn got to see them, it also describes the evolution of their relationship and the wonder that they both had in discovering the stunning countryside of Australia.

Birding in an Age of Extinctions

Author: Martin Painter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781849954877
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description

The Big Twitch

Author: Sean Dooley
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1741159164
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 335

Book Description
One man's quest to realise a boyhood dream and break a national record. Sean Dooley seems like a well adjusted, functioning member of society but beneath the respectable veneer he harbours a dark secret. He is a hard-core birdwatcher (aka twitcher'). Sean takes a year off to try to break the Australian twitching record - he has to see more than 700 birds in twelve months. Travelling the length and breadth of Australia, he stops at nothing in search of this birdwatching Holy Grail, blowing his inheritance, his career prospects and any chance he has of finding a girlfriend. Part confessional, part travelogue, this is a true story about obsession. It's about seeking the meaning of life, trying to work out what normal' is, and searching for the elusive Grey Falcon (the bird, not the car). Sean's story of how he followed his childhood dream of becoming a national champion is both inspiring and ridiculous. Could this be the most pathetic great achievement in Australian history?

Flight Lines

Author: Andrew Darby
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643135775
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
A trans-world journey with an extraorindary shorebird—from Australia's southern ocean to the Arctic and back—that explores the mysteries of the natural world and its power to heal. As the sun lowered and turned Gulf St Vincent fiery, they each called a high-pitched 'peeooowiii!', flashed their black wing-pits, spread their tail skirts and took flight... In a luminous new boook, Andrew Darby follows the odysseys of two seemingly-humble Grey Plovers, little-known migratory shorebirds, as they take previously uncharted ultramarathon flights from the southern coast of Australia to Arctic breeding grounds. On these death-defying flights they dodge predators, typhoons, exhaustion, and countless other dangers before they can breed...and then survive the jrouney all over again and return south to their feeding grounds. But the greatest threat to these, and other long-distance migrants on the flyway, is China's "dragon economy," which is engulfing their vital Yellow Sea staging spots. In Flight Lines, we meet the dedicated people of all nationalities and backgrounds working to save these intrepid birds, from Russia to Alaska, from the rim of the Arctic Sea to the coasts of the Southern Ocean. Out of their hard-won science Darby finds hope for the birds—an unexpected bright light for our times. But his journey to understand these marvellous birds almost ends when he is suddenly diagnosed with an incurable cancer. Then he finds science coming to his rescue too, as his own story and the journey of these little birds intersect in an unexpected and beautiful way.

Lapwings, Loons and Lousy Jacks

Author: Ray Reedman
Publisher: Pelagic Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1784270938
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 550

Book Description
The Lapwing once had many regional names; the Loon has a British-American identity crisis and the respectable-sounding Apostlebird is often called a Lousy Jack. Why do bird names, both common and scientific, change over time and why do they vary so much between different parts of the English-speaking world? Wandering through the scientific and cultural history of ornithology takes us to the heart of understanding the long relationship between birds and people. Lapwings, Loons and Lousy Jacks uncovers the stories behind the incredible diversity of bird names, explains what many scientific names actually mean and takes a look at the history of the system by which we name birds. Ray Reedman explores the natural history and folklore behind bird names, in doing so unlocking the mystery of the name Scoter, the last unexplained common name of a British bird species.

Birdscapes

Author: Jeremy Mynott
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691135397
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 398

Book Description
What draws us to the beauty of a peacock, the flight of an eagle, or the song of a nightingale? Why are birds so significant in our lives and our sense of the world? And what do our ways of thinking about and experiencing birds tell us about ourselves? Birdscapes is a unique meditation on the variety of human responses to birds, from antiquity to today, and from casual observers to the globe-trotting "twitchers" who sometimes risk life, limb, and marriages simply to add new species to their "life lists." Drawing extensively on literature, history, philosophy, and science, Jeremy Mynott puts his own experiences as a birdwatcher in a rich cultural context. His sources range from the familiar--Thoreau, Keats, Darwin, and Audubon--to the unexpected--Benjamin Franklin, Giacomo Puccini, Oscar Wilde, and Monty Python. Just as unusual are the extensive illustrations, which explore our perceptions and representations of birds through images such as national emblems, women's hats, professional sports logos, and a Christmas biscuit tin, as well as classics of bird art. Each chapter takes up a new theme--from rarity, beauty, and sound to conservation, naming, and symbolism--and is set in a new place, as Mynott travels from his "home patch" in Suffolk, England, to his "away patch" in New York City's Central Park, as well as to Russia, Australia, and Greece. Conversational, playful, and witty, Birdscapes gently leads us to reflect on large questions about our relation to birds and the natural world. It encourages birders to see their pursuits in a broader human context--and it shows nonbirders what they may be missing.

Crows and Jays

Author: Steve Madge
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408135272
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Book Description
Crows and Jays is a combination of scientifically accurate information and an identification guide, planned to give anyone, whether a birdwatcher or biologist, a greater understanding of the lives of these beautiful, yet very complex, group of birds. 120 species of crows, jays and their allies exist in the world today. Many are exceedingly beautiful in colour, grace and form, whereas others are black and somewhat sinister in appearance. In no other group of perching birds has evolution produced such a degree of variation, from the tiny Hume's Ground-Jay of the steppe-highlands of Tibet to the huge Thick-billed Raven of the mountains of Ethiopia. Some have had a long association with people and appear in tales of mythology and superstition, while others have been regarded as agricultural pests. The great majority, however, remain largely unknown, their only contact with humanity being the destruction of their specialised habitats. As a consequence, more than 20 species are now regarded as internationally endangered, some of which are very poorly known. The 30 superb colour plates by Hilary Burn in this book depict them all; each plate is accompanied by an informative caption page summarising the criteria required to identify the species, alongside colour world distribution maps. Some of these birds, bearing such evocative names as the Banggai Crow, Mesopotamian Crow and Flores Crow, have never been illustrated before. The authoritative text by Steve Madge treats each species in depth, summarising identification techniques and concisely reviewing all aspects of corvid behaviour, distribution, population and taxonomy. The author has had first-hand experience of most of the species during his travels throughout the world, travels in which he gradually became fascinated by this very special, but somewhat ignored, group of birds. This will surely be a standard work of reference for many years to come.

The Field Guide to Birds of Australia

Author: Graham Pizzey
Publisher: Gardners Books
ISBN: 9780207199356
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 580

Book Description
Pizzey's guide contains essential information on 778 species of birds, with 250 full-colour plates, including more than 2500 individual portraits, specially painted for this book, and 700 distribution maps.

Field Guide to the Birds of Australia

Author: Ken Simpson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Book Description
Fourth edition of a portable field guide which accompanies the fourth edition of TBirds of Australia'. Revised and expanded to include an illustrated rare bird bulletin, an Australian island territories checklist, 52 additional or replacement black-and-white drawings, and changes to 93 distribution maps. Also provides information on the taxonomy, habitat and biology of each bird family as well as covering such topics as prehistoric birds, and DNA-DNA hybridisation. Referenced and indexed.