United States
£ GBP
Wood warblers are among the most sought-after of the spring migrants. The small, colorful birds motivate thousands of birders throughout the world to travel to locations both popular and obscure. 52 Small Birds describes the eight-year quest of a bird artist to photograph and paint the 52 breeding warblers of the United States. Comfortably retired and enjoying his passion as an artist, the author was in his 60s when he discovered the joys and challenges of birding. His desire perhaps more rightly called a fixation to document warblers led to 11 trips to eight different states, which are described in narration, journal sketches, photographs, and paintings. This narrative relates how the process of searching for, photographing, and painting birds enhanced and deepened the author's connection to the natural world.
"[...] As an unabashed fan of warblers, I enjoyed 52 Small Birds. It does them justice, with photos and paintings that are nice to look at and, especially, with an entertaining narrative of the author’s experiences with them. If you haven’t seen many of these birds, this book would be a good introduction. If you have, it’s a nice way to be reacquainted with some birds and places that you may not have seen for a while. And, even more importantly, it serves as a reminder of the joy in experiencing “wild things in wild places.”"
- Grant McCreary (29-08-2014), read the full review at The Birder's Library
