About
"This is a book about hope."
If you look out the window, chances are high you'll spot a bird soaring in the sky or perched on a tree. Nearly 100 million Americans spend time birdwatching every year. Birds provide beauty, pollination, pest control, waste management, a food source, recreation, cultural enrichment, and many other functions important to human life and environmental balance. . . .
. . . and now they're disappearing at ever greater rates, thanks to climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species, among other causes. Written by an acclaimed journalist associated with the Audubon Society, World Without Birds examines the many factors contributing to this devastating loss and what our planet would look like in birds' absence. Organized by ecosystem, each chapter offers an overview of the birds in that environment, then case studies of both one avian species that has gone extinct and one whose numbers have recovered, balancing honesty and optimism for readers of all ages. The final chapter suggests actions that bird lovers can take to help preserve avian lives and habitats. Filled with gorgeous, colorful pictures, including richly illustrated bird guides for each ecosystem, World Without Birds shares a hidden true story of danger, discovery, and hope. Nick Lund is a nature writer who works for Maine Audubon. His writing on birds and nature has appeared in Audubon magazine, National Parks magazine, Slate.com, the Washington Post, the Maine Sportsman, the Portland Phoenix, Down East magazine, and others, as well as the Birdist blog. He is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and worked in federal energy policy in Washington, DC, before returning to Maine with his wife and son. Follow him online at nicholaslund.com.
If you look out the window, chances are high you'll spot a bird soaring in the sky or perched on a tree. Nearly 100 million Americans spend time birdwatching every year. Birds provide beauty, pollination, pest control, waste management, a food source, recreation, cultural enrichment, and many other functions important to human life and environmental balance. . . .
. . . and now they're disappearing at ever greater rates, thanks to climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species, among other causes. Written by an acclaimed journalist associated with the Audubon Society, World Without Birds examines the many factors contributing to this devastating loss and what our planet would look like in birds' absence. Organized by ecosystem, each chapter offers an overview of the birds in that environment, then case studies of both one avian species that has gone extinct and one whose numbers have recovered, balancing honesty and optimism for readers of all ages. The final chapter suggests actions that bird lovers can take to help preserve avian lives and habitats. Filled with gorgeous, colorful pictures, including richly illustrated bird guides for each ecosystem, World Without Birds shares a hidden true story of danger, discovery, and hope. Nick Lund is a nature writer who works for Maine Audubon. His writing on birds and nature has appeared in Audubon magazine, National Parks magazine, Slate.com, the Washington Post, the Maine Sportsman, the Portland Phoenix, Down East magazine, and others, as well as the Birdist blog. He is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and worked in federal energy policy in Washington, DC, before returning to Maine with his wife and son. Follow him online at nicholaslund.com.
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Reviews
"Kirby Heyborne narrates this hopeful exploration of why birds are so important to the planet in a tone of gentle amazement. Chapters focus on different ecosystems around the world and the crucial roles birds play in them, along with warnings about what might happen to those ecosystems (and to us) if the birds disappear. Young listeners learn about bird species that have gone extinct, often because of human activity, and about the groundbreaking conservation work people are doing today. Heyborne expertly delivers the many facts and conveys the author's humor, but a periodic xylophone trill that indicates what might be a sidebar in the print book is intrusive.
An inspiring listen for budding environmentalists and for kids who love nature and science. (Nonfiction. 9-12)"
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