New Titles

1) Aversa, Tom et al.. Birds of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Guide (second edition). 2020. University of Washington Press. Paperback: 462 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: In this updated edition of their best-selling field guide, renowned bird experts Tom Aversa, Richard Cannings, and Hal Opperman illuminate the key identification traits, vocalizations, seasonal statuses, habitat preferences, and feeding behaviors of bird species from British Columbia to southern Oregon.
      Compact full-page accounts feature maps and more than 900 color photographs by the region's top bird photographers.
      Comprehensive revisions to taxonomic structure and sequencing of avian families to align with the most current print and online resources.
Territorial range covers much of British Columbia; all of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho; and parts of western Montana and Wyoming.
      Spanning a vast, distinctive region rich in protected wildlands and iconic national parks, Birds of the Pacific Northwest is a superlative, complete resource for enjoying the many bird species found in the region. 
RECOMMENDATION: Best for beginning and intermediate birders.

2) Corkran, Charlotte and Chris Thoms. Amphibians of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia (3rd revised and updated Edition). 2020. Lone Pine. Paperback: 175 pages. Price: $19.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Frogs, toads and salamanders are important indicators of the quality of the environment, and they're cute little critters too. Newly revised and updated, this innovative field guide describes the life histories, habitat requirements and vulnerabilities of 38 species of amphibians in the Pacific Northwest. Color photographs and illustrated keys help identify all life stages of each species. As well, a multitude of fascinating details about amphibians are provided, including:· habitat preferences· tips for finding them· planning amphibian surveys· their activity through the seasons· guidelines for handling and measuring them· photography tips· a table that compares confusing species· current status. This handy, informative book is sure to be invaluable to biologists and field technician experts as well as to individuals on a family outing or school field trip.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for anyone with an interest in the amphibians of the region!

3) Slaght, Jonathan C.. Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl. 2020. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hardbound: 348 pages. Price: $28.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A field scientist and conservationist tracks the elusive Blakiston's Fish Owl in the forbidding reaches of eastern Russia.
     When he was just a fledgling birdwatcher, Jonathan C. Slaght had a chance encounter with one of the most mysterious birds on Earth. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. Soon he was on a five-year journey, searching for this enormous, enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of eastern Russia. That first sighting set his calling as a scientist. 
     Despite a wingspan of six feet and a height of over two feet, the Blakiston’s fish owl is highly elusive. They are easiest to find in winter, when their tracks mark the snowy banks of the rivers where they feed. They are also endangered. And so, as Slaght and his devoted team set out to locate the owls, they aim to craft a conservation plan that helps ensure the species’ survival. This quest sends them on all-night monitoring missions in freezing tents, mad dashes across thawing rivers, and free-climbs up rotting trees to check nests for precious eggs. They use cutting-edge tracking technology and improvise ingenious traps. And all along, they must keep watch against a run-in with a bear or an Amur tiger. At the heart of Slaght’s story are the fish owls themselves: cunning hunters, devoted parents, singers of eerie duets, and survivors in a harsh and shrinking habitat. 
     Through this rare glimpse into the everyday life of a field scientist and conservationist, Owls of the Eastern Ice testifies to the determination and creativity essential to scientific advancement and serves as a powerful reminder of the beauty, strength, and vulnerability of the natural world.
RECOMMENDATION: A must read for those with an interest in owls.

4) Macdonald, Helen. Vesper Flights. 2020. Grove Press. Hardbound: 261 pages. Price: $27.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: In Vesper Flights Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep.
Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, Helen invites us into her most intimate experiences: observing the massive migration of songbirds from the top of the Empire State Building, watching tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary, seeking the last golden orioles in Suffolk’s poplar forests. She writes with heart-tugging clarity about wild boar, swifts, mushroom hunting, migraines, the strangeness of birds’ nests, and the unexpected guidance and comfort we find when watching wildlife.
     By one of this century’s most important and insightful nature writers, Vesper Flights is a captivating and foundational book about observation, fascination, time, memory, love and loss and how we make sense of the world around us.
RECOMMENDATION: If you enjoyed the authors' H Is for Hawk, you should enjoy this book!

5) Cummings, BJ. The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish. 2020. University of Washington Press. Hardbound: 222 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: With bountiful salmon and fertile plains, the Duwamish River has drawn people to its shores over the centuries for trading, transport, and sustenance. Chief Se'alth and his allies fished and lived in villages here and white settlers established their first settlements nearby. Industrialists later straightened the river's natural turns and built factories on its banks, floating in raw materials and shipping out airplane parts, cement, and steel. Unfortunately, the very utility of the river has been its undoing, as decades of dumping led to the river being declared a Superfund cleanup site.
     Using previously unpublished accounts by Indigenous people and settlers, BJ Cummings's compelling narrative restores the Duwamish River to its central place in Seattle and Pacific Northwest history. Writing from the perspective of environmental justice―and herself a key figure in river restoration efforts―Cummings vividly portrays the people and conflicts that shaped the region's culture and natural environment. She conducted research with members of the Duwamish Tribe, with whom she has long worked as an advocate. Cummings shares the river's story as a call for action in aligning decisions about the river and its future with values of collaboration, respect, and justice.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for those with an interest in Seattle's history.