Books

Birding the Great Lakes Seaway Trail

Designed and Illustrated by Robert McNamara. Written by Gerry Smith with contributions by Willie D’Anna, Jerry McWilliams, and David Semple. Edited by Julie Covey

Birding the Great Lakes Seaway Trail is a soft cover, full color field guide to birding hot spots along the National Scenic Byway that follows the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the St. Lawrence Seaway from the Pennsylvania/Ohio border to the northern New York border near Massena, New York. The route passes through a broad diversity of habitats and sites of superlative birding spectacles. The field guide is designed to assist birders in finding these hot spots and the birds that inhabit them.

The book is divided into 17 chapters, each chapter covers a particular geographic area along the Seaway Trail, arranged from west to east, that features a cluster of birding sites. The opening narrative in each chapter describes the birding resources in that cluster of sites, arranged seasonally. Guide users are shown how to get to the sites, when to go, where the best viewing opportunities occur, and what they might see there. For each of the chapters a title page identifies the sites and presents a seasonal rating of potential viewing success. Each chapter also has a calendar page showing the best times of the year to spot certain notable species. Following the cluster narrative are sections describing the detailed resources of each specific subsite within the cluster. Each subsite section starts with a narrative providing general information, followed by a bulleted list of birding highlights, arranged seasonally. Maps and detailed directions are also included, along with GPS coordinates.

Each chapter features a major illustration of a keynote species for the area, as well as illustrations of some notable species. A graphic indexing system using color-coded edge bands and symbols facilitates searching. The book is a comprehensive and detailed guide to the year ’round opportunities for sighting rare birds, for witnessing dramatic seasonal birding events, and for viewing a great diversity of bird species along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail.

Tug Hill: A Four Season Guide to the Natural Side SECOND PRINTING

Illustrated and Edited by Robert McNamara

This natural history field guide is a full color, richly illustrated book, designed to be user friendly and non-technical. The book was co-published by North Country Books and the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust (www.tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org). Tug Hill plant communities form the structure of this sampler of the plants, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and even insects found in the region. The book is divided into four parts: an introduction containing general information about the region, uplands, lowlands, and an appendix. Each of the ten chapters covers a prevalent plant community and consists of a narrative, illustrations, and Facts, Tips, and Lore – a potpourri of interesting facts and information on species likely to be found in the plant community. There is a color-coded edge band and symbol key for quick guidance to the contents. The appendix includes a species list and bibliography.

The Best of Wildlife Art

Rachel Rubin Wolf, Published by North Light Books

Description from book jacket:

Creatures of the wild run, soar and swim across these pages–from the awesome polar bear to the majestic peregrine falcon to comical wolf pups…from the mysterious world of the rain forest to bright backyard gardens.

A collection of work from 96 international artists, The Best of Wildlife Art features more than 120 of today’s finest contemporary wildlife paintings in a thrilling diversity of styles, mediums and subjects. Large, full-color reproductions are accompanied by commentary from the artists.

Wildlife Art

Alan Singer, Published by Quarry Books

Description from book jacket:

Wildlife Art is a one-of-a-kind volume featuring an impressive international collection of contemporary paintings from many of the world’s finest artists.

  • Presents work in a variety of media – acrylic, oil, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, graphite pencil, batik, and silkscreen, and even wood-burning.
  • Showcases the best of 124 artists from around the globe.
  • Includes a wide range and variety of animals in their natural habitat – water, seashore, mountains, forest, plains, fields, and the rainforest.

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