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| "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein |
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Welcome to our “environmental entertainment”
column, A Bird's Eye View, where I will be sharing
some of my favorites books, movies and videos. |


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Wesley the Owl Birdwatcher, The Life of Roger
Tory PetersonAfter a whirlwind summer and
autumn filled with birding and hiking, I have
finally been able to crack the books and start
digging into some of the reading material that is
starting to pile up in my living room.
I
recently finished two very different books and
enjoyed them both. The first is Wesley the Owl by
Stacy O’Brien, a delightful and remarkable memoir
about a barn owl and the woman who was his caretaker
for almost 20 years. It is a fascinating look into
the mind of an owl and the relationship that can
form between two species. Stacy O’Brien, a
biologist, adopted Wesley as a non releasable four
day old owlet and lived with him for almost two
decades. During that time, they forged an incredible
bond, a bond that transcended their interspecies
differences. This wonderful memoir is filled with
humor, important life lessons, compassion and
interesting facts. Stacey was a research
student when she took Wesley home. He, of course,
became imprinted on her. Imprinting is when an
animal takes its identity from whatever it perceives
to be its parent. Many birds of prey in captivity
are imprints and as a result, they can never be
released into the wild. The danger to humans is too
great and the chances of survival without proper
training from a raptor parent is slim. Wesley
thought of Stacey as his mother, and then his mate.
His various sexual overtures towards her are a hoot
(sorry, I couldn’t resist) to read about and her
discomfort is priceless as she tries to explain
Wesley’s “affection” to her professor. This
book carries you through the 19 years that they
spent together. Some of it is very funny, and I
especially enjoyed reading about Stacey’s various
suitors and
their reactions to Wesley. Perhaps my
favorite anecdote is the one about the night Stacy
was feeding wild barn owls and was approached by
some rather sketchy characters. As she explained
what she was doing, the boys were transformed into
assistants as they became excited about her efforts
and eagerly helped her out. Proof that education and
awareness are key and I would bet that after that
experience, every one of those boys developed a
little bit of appreciation and compassion towards
owls. Just as this book leads us into the mind of
Wesley, and teaches us the “Way of the Owl”, these
boys’ lives were probably changed for the better
that night. Stacy’s life was absolutely changed for
the better through her relationship with Wesley. I think you will adore this book. Sweet, funny,
heartbreaking, engaging and informative, you will
not be able to put it down!
Switching gears,
I also recently finished Birdwatcher, The Life of
Roger Tory Peterson and enjoyed that a great deal
too. This book is written by Elizabeth Rosenthal and
is a terrific and thorough look into the life of
Roger Tory Peterson. To me, Peterson was always an
abstract and revered figure. Who hasn’t owned a
Peterson field guide? It was the first one I owned,
a gift from my mother for my 21st birthday, along
with my first pair of binoculars. It took me a very
long time to actually delve into birding, but I
always had my Peterson Field Guide handy if I did
need to ID something through the years! Roger
Tory Peterson was born in 1908 in Jamestown, NY.
From an early age he was enthralled by birds and
nature. In 1934 his Field Guide to the Birds
revolutionized the world of birding and he is
credited with bringing bird watching to the
forefront of American interests. Thanks to his field
guides, millions of people now had the tools to go
out into the field and definitively identify what
they were seeing. His influence and knowledge helped
spur a national past time that can now boast over 48
million participants, with one in five Americans
stating that they watch birds. This book is so much
more than just a narrative about Roger the “birding
legend”. What Rosenthal does is tear down the myth
and legend and offer us a wonderful glimpse into the
real person. His marriages, his relationships with
his children, and with others in the field: it is
all covered here. The love of nature that had begun
as a small child had morphed into a force to be
reckoned with. When he died in 1996, at the age of
87, as the father of modern birding, he left behind
a lifetime of achievement and had influenced and
helped to educate millions of people. This is
terrific book and I recommend it! |
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Now
that migration is over, field trip and fundraising
busy season are over and I can sit down and relax, I
have finally gotten to my next edition of A Birds
Eye View. This time around I am reviewing a book
that has already won many accolades and fans. This
was a fascinating look into one woman's life and
obsession. Please continue on for a peek into the
life of Phoebe Snetsinger!
Life List by Olivia Gentile
This is the story of a woman named Phoebe Snetsinger,
who, after a devastating cancer diagnosis, was
determined to see as many species of birds in the
world as she could. But this book is much more than
just a narrative of her life. It also asks the
questions: at what point does passion become
obsession? At what point do we stop enjoying the
experience in pursuit of the goal, and is it ever
worth it to allow relationships to suffer in our
quest to fulfill our dreams and passion? This book
also reminds the reader that life is short and
anyone of us, at any time, could suddenly be told we
have only limited time left.
Phoebe was a housewife, living a life in which she
felt seriously miscast. Stifled in the traditional
married lifestyle of the time, she found salvation
in birding. A friend brought to her attention a
blackburnian warbler and from that moment on, Phoebe
was hooked. This blackburnian warbler was Phoebe’s
trigger bird and her eyes were opened up to a whole
new world, a world to which she could escape the
banality of her everyday existence. She joined local
birding clubs and might have lived the rest of her
life out as “just” an avid birder. However fate had
a different plan for Phoebe. At the age of 49 she
was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just
about a year to live.
Therein began the obsession. Determined to see as
many species of birds as she could before she died,
Phoebe focused on her quest with steely
determination and grit. Traveling the world (she was
lucky enough to have a sizable inheritance from her
wealthy ad agency father), Phoebe defied the
doctor’s dire prediction and birded another 18
years. Each passing year, each subsequent battle
with the recurring cancer, fired her up with even
more determination. Missed family funerals and
weddings, along with the near destruction of her
marriage, did not slow her down. Even the brutal
gang rape she endured while on an expedition did not
cause her to skip a beat. With the characteristic
stoicism of some rape victims, she brushed the
incident under the proverbial rug and carried on.
Ms. Gentile brings a fresh perspective to the world
of birding, and it is amusing to read her
explanations of lingo that most birders consider
part of their everyday language. She neither judges
nor places Phoebe on a pedestal; instead she
narrates this fascinating woman’s life in a matter
of fact manner, leaving it up to the reader to
decide if it was all worth it.
For Phoebe, being the first person in the world to
see 8,000 birds was absolutely worth it. Worth the
heartache, the physical pain, the fractured family
relationships. Her quest defined her as a person,
and perhaps gave her the will to live on. Or, maybe
it was just sheer luck that she lived on for so many
more years. Without a doubt, it was the fire that
lit her from within and altered her life forever.
We are all living on borrowed time (Phoebe’s own
memoir is called “Birding on Borrowed Time”). After
reading this book I reflected on my own life, my own
dreams and goals. If I was given a death sentence
tomorrow, would I regret the things I haven’t done?
It helped me to recognize my own restless spirit and
I felt a kindred spirit in Phoebe. We all want a
life well lived. It is up to us to define what that
means to us as individuals. Abe Lincoln said it
best: “It is not the years in your life, but the
life in your years.”
I think Phoebe reached out, grabbed life by the
horns and took it home in a spectacular manner. In
the end, it wasn’t cancer that took Phoebe’s life.
It was a vehicular accident while she was on a
birding expedition. Phoebe died on her own terms,
doing what she loved. In the end, she died with her
boots on. Or, in this case, her binoculars.
I enjoyed this book immensely and highly recommend
it to non birders and birders alike. I also
recommend a visit to the book’s website
oliviagentile.com.
The introduction is filled with gorgeous bird
illustrations with such fun music that I find myself
viewing it over and over!!!
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As
someone who obtained her wildlife rehabilitation
license just last year, I was eager to read Suzie
Gilbert’s book,
Flyaway: How a Wildlife Rehabber Sought Adventure
and Found Her Wings. Of course, I
assumed it would be interesting and a good read.
What I was not prepared for was the range of
emotions, from heartbreak to hilarity, that I
experienced while reading it. Flyaway is thoroughly
entertaining and engrossing and I could not put it
down. Suzie speaks with the voice of countless
wildlife rehabilitators and does it eloquently,
articulately and with a razor sharp sense of humor.
Please click here for the full review. |
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