The Bookshop

The Complete Backyard Birdwatcher's Home Companion

Donald S. Heintzelman's The Complete Backyard Birdwatcher's Home Companion far exceeds expectations anyone might have in picking up a birding-in-the-backyard book. For example, did you know that barrels of some binocular models are filled with nitrogen gas to prevent fogging in very humid weather?

This single-source reference can take beginner bird enthusiasts and turn them into a diehard birder. Starting with the basic elements of birdwatching and continuing with a lesson in the natural history of birds, Heintzelman then gets into the nitty gritty of the birder's world: the ins and outs of birdwatching equipment, from binocular options to birdfeeder BirdCams, from a bird-sound recording workshop to bird calls, from use and care of binoculars to tips for people who wear eyeglasses. The Bird Identification and Field Guides chapter briefly profiles available field guides and describes characteristics to look for when trying to identify a bird.

The remainder of the book is dedicated to creating backyard habitat in the United States and Canada by region. In these pages, you'll find easily read spreadsheets of native plants cross-referenced with the birds they attract; complete construction plans for house wren, American kestrel, eastern, western, and mountain bluebirds, and wood duck nest boxes; feeder and commercial feed information; sample garden plans; secrets from the Best Birding Backyards; and more. Appendices offer general information about birding and habitat organizations, government programs, birding on the Internet, company addresses, nest box supplier addresses, and additional reading.

Your backyard is an integral part of the landscape that birds need to survive. This book can help you help them.

Soft cover, 7 3/8 x 9 1/4, 320 pages, color and black and white photographs, maps and illustrations, spreadsheets. Available in bookstores (ISBN 0-07-134520-5), or order directly by calling toll free (800) 262-4729 or through the Internet at www.raggedmoutainpress.com. US$21.95, plus shipping.

A Proposed Wetland Restoration Project - Lake St. Clair.

A proposal to restore 1,000 acres of wetlands in Southern Ontario is now the subject of a report titled, A Proposed Wetland Restoration Project - Lake St. Clair. Located at the intersection of the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways, with shores touching the State of Michigan and the Province of Ontario, Lake St. Clair lies between Lake Erie and Huron. Its remnant wetlands are of continent-wide significance to hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds.

The report highlights the benefits of rehabilitation through the eyes of economists, sociologists, engineers, municipal planners, and biologists. It offers a range of options for restoration from a basic plan to an option that not only restores the marsh, but also enhances several other habitat types. A project that focuses primarily on shallow marsh restoration while creating other small habitats, including mudflats, shrub and wooded swamp, tall grass prairie and upland woodland, could more than double the total number of species that use the project area, including almost 60 rare species such as king rail, spotted turtle, swamp rose-mallow, monarch butterfly, least bittern, and Carolina wren.

Using careful methodology the report demonstrates that the economic downside of the proposed project is negligible—remarkable, especially given land values in the area. There is even potential for modest economic gain. It predicts substantial environmental benefits including increased waterfowl habitat, enhanced biodiversity, and additional habitat for species at risk. It also highlights significant social benefits to humans, such as new hunting, nature viewing, tourism, and educational opportunities.

The report also provides an analytical framework to assist in assessing the social, economic, and environmental effects of other habitat restoration initiatives.

To view the report, visit mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/pubs/pubmenu.html, or for more information, contact Brigitte Collins, Black Duck Joint Venture Coordinator, Canadian Wildlife Service, 49 Camelot Drive, Nepean, Ontario K1A 0H3, (613) 952-2408, brigitte.collins@ec.gc.ca.

A Sand County Almanac with Essays on Conservation

Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac has enthralled generations of conservationists, and it is one of the most influential works ever written about humans and the environment.

This stunningly illustrated edition, with more than 80 color images by acclaimed photographer Michael Sewell, celebrates the Wisconsin farm where the seasons of Leopold's almanac unfold. Sewell, with a dog-eared paperback of Sand County in his camera bag, followed the author's footsteps across the landscape, capturing with his lens the same woodland, river, marsh, and wildlife that Leopold captured with his pen. Leopold takes us through the year from January to December, watching a woodcock dance in golden afternoon light, or listening to quail song at daybreak. Michael Sewell displays an almost uncanny gift for finding images that resonate side by side with Aldo's words, allowing readers to experience this classic work as never before.

This edition also includes a new introduction by Kenneth Brower discussing Leopold's work and legacy, and concludes with two of Leopold's most eloquent essays on conservation, "Marshland Elegy" and "The Land Ethic." With this volume, a new generation of readers can walk beside one of America's greatest conservationists through the Sand County landscape.

A Sand County Almanac with Essays on Conservation can be purchased by sending check or money order to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, P.O. Box 77, Baraboo, Wisconsin 53913, (608) 355-0279, www.aldoleopold.org. Cost is US$35.00 per book, plus US$5.00 shipping, plus US$2.50 for each additional book.

Building Homes for Bats

Buying a video is not like buying a book. There are no opportunities to scan through pages to determine if it will stand up to expectations. In the case of Bat Conservation International's (BCI) Building Homes for Bats video with Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, you have some help in determining its quality, sight unseen: The video received The Communicator's Awards of Distinction, Telly's Non-Broadcast Film/Video Productions Award, and the Videographer Award of Excellence.

The video offers interviews with some of America's most successful bat-house builders, who explain how they were able to attract thousands of bats to yards, parks, and farms. Through the builders' experiences, viewers learn tips for building bat houses, the benefits of attracting bats, and how to enhance wildlife habitat for bats. The video debunks superstitions and misperceptions about bats, and the spectacular footage of bats in the wild fosters an appreciation for these amazing animals. Homeowners, farmers and orchardists, pest-control operators, and federal and state park officials will find this video entertaining and educational, as well as a useful tool.

Order from BCI Web site www.batcon.org or call toll free (800) 538-BATS (2287). Product code: AV30-FWS. Running time: 33 minutes. Special price for Birdscapes readers: US$14.95 plus US$3.00 shipping. Additional shipping cost is required for orders from outside the United States.