Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | 598.0723 COL | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Honor Book for the 2018 Montana Book Awards
"In the grandest sense, the Big Year is more than just a game. Though few mortals will ever tackle the endeavor, most of us can appreciate the decision to follow a passion to its outer limits. Dedicating a whole year to birds is an exhausting, exhilarating, occasionally demoralizing, and addictive pursuit, and anyone crazy enough to go the distance is in for a wild ride."
-- Noah Strycker, Audubon
"What makes this big-year book different is the father-son bonding element . . . the picture of a teenager that emerges has the ring of truth. A proficient storyteller, Collard writes with style about their travels together . . ."-- Kirkus Reviews
From the killer bee-infested border region of southeast Arizona to the sultry islands of the Galapagos, Warblers & Woodpeckers recounts the quest of a father and his thirteen-year-old son to see as many birds as possible in a single year. With a measured blend of humor, natural history, and adventure, this tale takes readers to great birding hotspots of America and beyond, both to experience their incredible avian wealth and to experience the focused, often eccentric, world of ornithological travel. Along the way, readers share the ups and downs of the relationship between a father and his teenage son.
Writer Sneed Collard and his son Braden set out to establish their own personal Big Year bird species count record. In Warblers & Wood peckers, Sneed shares the excitement, challenges, perils, and insights that come with crisscrossing the country in search of some of Earth's most remarkable creatures. It's a father-and-son tale, in which the adventure is in the journey and the surprising discoveries and encounters with our wondrous feathered friends. Sneed brings a fast-paced yetgenerous voice to the attempt, and readers of all stripes will appreciate the way backyard birders can create their own Big Year.
Author Notes
Sneed B. Collard III is the author of more than 75 award-winning books for young people, along with countless magazine articles for both children and adults. A marine biologist and scientist by training, most of Collard's books focus on natural history, science, and the environment.
When he is not writing or publishing, Collard can often be found speaking to students, conducting teacher workshops, volunteering for his son's Boy Scout Troop, and walking his Frisbee-catching border collie, Mattie.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
A "big year" birding adventure with a personal twist.The attempt to identify as many species as possible in one calendar year has been the subject of numerous books since Roger Tory Peterson's Wild America. What makes this big-year book different is the father-son bonding element. Collard (Catching Air, 2017, etc.), a marine biologist by training who has written more than 75 books for young readers, and his teenage son, Braden, a budding birding enthusiast, share a strong common interest, which makes their relationship one that many parents of teenagers will envy. The author may have omitted or softened some of the inevitable tensions or disagreements, but the picture of a teenager that emerges has the ring of truth. A proficient storyteller, Collard writes with style about their travels together in 2016 around Montana, where the author lives (Missoula), and to Arizona, Texas, and California. There are the usual disappointments of bad weather, closed refuges, broken equipment, and missed sightings as well as encounters with enthusiastic fellow birders and time spent with knowledgeable nature lovers. The author also describes an unforgettable brush with a swarm of mad bees. Overall, though, the focus is on the excitement of spotting and identifying new species. The point of a big year is to keep a list, and the longer the list, the happier the birder. Aware that big-year birders can become hung upeven unhealthily obsessedwith competing and with compiling statistics, Collard tried hard to broaden his adventure into a learning experience; for the most part, he succeeded. He and his son's goals were modestthey weren't competing with the prosand the author shows the two of them willingly revising an identification when further examination reveals that their first one was wrong. For readers who are counting, end-of-chapter lists report their sightings, and an alphabetical big-year list appears at the end of the book.An easy-to-read, pleasurable account that will find its greatest appeal with fellow birders. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Montana native Collard is the author of several books for children and young adults, including Dog 4491. This most recent work is a charming, fun record of travels with his 13-year-old son on a quest to see as many birds as possible in a year. The duo aren't seeking to break any records; instead, they take time to appreciate the places they visit while enjoying the triumphs of discovering new species. Their enthusiasm for many of these ordinary birds is engaging. Collard recounts their adventures in California, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and elsewhere, with a diversion to the Galapagos Islands. Descriptions of the ensuing friendships, landscapes, memories, and father-son moments drive this informal, at times self-deprecating, narrative, which is characterized by short, soundbite-sized chapters. VERDICT For those interested in basic birdwatching, natural history, ecotourism, U.S. travel, and father-son relationships, this accessible personal account is full of warmth and wonder.-Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Chapter 1 April 1, 2016, southeastern arizona | p. 7 |
| Chapter 2 Blame owen wilson | p. 13 |
| Chapter 3 Arctic beginnings | p. 18 |
| Chapter 4 Planning over owls | p. 27 |
| Chapter 5 Midwinter blahs | p. 33 |
| Chapter 6 Arizona bound | p. 36 |
| Chapter 7 A split decision | p. 41 |
| Chapter 8 Legal immigration | p. 49 |
| Chapter 9 Homeland insecurity | p. 54 |
| Chapter 10 Cochise stronghold | p. 59 |
| Chapter 11 Gas station birding | p. 65 |
| Chapter 12 Houston or bust | p. 69 |
| Chapter 13 High adventure at high island | p. 77 |
| Chapter 14 Meta-birding | p. 86 |
| Chapter 15 Unprecedented historical weather event | p. 93 |
| Chapter 16 Terror at 31,000 feet | p. 100 |
| Chapter 17 Upping expectations | p. 104 |
| Chapter 18 The big weekend, day 1 | p. 110 |
| Chapter 19 The big weekend, day 2 | p. 115 |
| Chapter 20 The big weekend, bonus day | p. 123 |
| Chapter 21 The big lead-up | p. 129 |
| Chapter 22 Layover birding | p. 135 |
| Chapter 23 Birding across borders | p. 138 |
| Chapter 24 The bird feeders of evolution | p. 143 |
| Chapter 25 Bucking for birds | p. 152 |
| Chapter 28 Dog days | p. 158 |
| Chapter 29 California | p. 163 |
| Chapter 28 Pitching and tossing | p. 169 |
| Chapter 28 Peregrine shortcake | p. 174 |
| Chapter 30 Golden state dash | p. 179 |
| Chapter 31 Din tai dilemma | p. 188 |
| Chapter 32 Trumpeter tragedy | p. 197 |
| Chapter 33 Snipe hunting | p. 204 |
| Chapter 34 Shots in the dark | p. 211 |
| Chapter 35 A christmas basket of birds | p. 217 |
| Chapter 36 Frozen | p. 223 |
| Chapter 37 The final countdown | p. 227 |
| Epilogue | p. 233 |
| Sneed's big year list | p. 237 |
| Braden's big year list | p. 244 |
| Chirps and tweets | p. 251 |
