Spring Field Ornithology

Despite my birding pursuits, I actually have never taken an ornithology class. That will change this spring as I am excited to attend the Spring Field Ornithology course hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Wednesday evening lectures will be taught by Project Puffin's very own - Stephen Kress and various guest speakers.  Steve has taught this course for over 30 years.  Topics cover everything from birding the Cayuga Lake Basin to bird song identification to bird behavior.  There's still time to sign up if you live in the area and want to brush up on  your birding skills.

Book Review: Ten Thousand Birds

Ten Thousand Birds by Tim Birkhead, Jo Wimpenny, and Bob Montgomerie is a massive volume of information on ornithology.  I especially like how the emphasis of the book was on the actual stories of ornithologists and their discoveries.  As someone that is trained in the sciences, I often wonder why science is always striving to disconnect from the human-related experience.  This book is a marriage of two of my favorite things: birds and storytelling.  Not to say the book lacks in facts because it seriously does cover a plethora of scientific knowledge.  But where it really shines it in the personal and it's evident in the small bios that are seen throughout the text.

My partner's reaction to seeing the book: "I want more pictures."

My reaction: "Wow, this is a heavy book but look at all the information and stories!"

A beautiful book, but seriously you may need to do a few workouts to hold it.  Want a sneak peek at what's inside: http://press.princeton.edu/links/birkhead/ten_thousand_birds_sampler.pdf

This review copy was provided by Princeton University Press.