Sunday, December 01, 2013

Gatherings of Angels

Gatherings of Angels
Migrating Birds and Their Ecology
edited by Kenneth P. Able

    The other day, in preparation for my upcoming trip to Ethiopia, I ordered a map of that country from an on line bookseller. In order to qualify for free shipping I had to boost the value of my order a little, and I selected the book shown below.


    I am not about to write a review, but simply to state that I find this a very fine work indeed. Migration has always fascinated me, and I suspect, many other nature lovers also. This book covers a sometimes complex, technical subject in a fashion accessible to the lay reader, free of scientific jargon, yet handles all aspects of migration in a comprehensive fashion.
    Some of the leading experts in avian migration have contributed to this work.
    It was published in 1999 so many of you may have acquired it, or at least read it, but if you have not I recommend it very highly.

Other works on migration from my book shelves:

The Mystery of Migration; Baker, Robin
Migrating Raptors of the World; Bildstein, Kenneth L.
The Migration of Birds; Hughes, Janice M.
Flight Strategies of Migrating Hawks; Kerlinger, Paul
Atlas of Bird Migration; Numerous contributors
Living on the Wind, Weidensaul, Scott

    Of the above, I would rank No. 2, 3, 4  and 6 above the other two.

David M. Gascoigne,
David M. Gascoigne,

I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.

2 comments:

  1. I agree fully, migration whether it is bird's or dragonfly's is absolutely fascinating.
    It seems that both are related in some cases since insect eaters such as falcons follow the dragonflies...
    I wrote about it here:
    http://odonatas69a.blogspot.fr/2013/10/dragonfly-migrations-case-of-green.html
    That book seems quite interesting indeed.
    Thanks for sharing David!
    Keep well



    ReplyDelete
  2. I have read this book. I agree. Great work.

    ReplyDelete

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the land on which we are situated are the lands traditionally used by the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral People. We also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, and philosophies of the Indigenous Peoples with whom we share this land today. We are all treaty people with a responsibility to honour all our relations.

Followers