In this five-star journey into our birding history, present and future, the authors make clear that ultimately, it's up to us — you and me — to care and to act.
No jeremiad. The authors, retirees, tour the country in their refurbished Airstream and calmly and competently report their observations ... The book provides vivid portraits of people on the front lines ... A Wing and a Prayer does a fine job of laying out the basics of the story, but what is missing, at least for the first hundred pages or so, are actual birds ... Thankfully, as the book progresses, the authors take a break from their reporting to describe their own close encounters with their neighborhood barred owls and great blue herons — because it is this connection and intimacy that can lead to a strange but vital metamorphosis in which love is transformed into action. After all, if you don’t love a thing, you won’t fight for it.
Written partially as a travelogue as the authors journeyed thousands of miles by road around the continent, the combination of personal story and scientific reportage is compelling.
The text encompasses studies by biologists, ecologists, wildlife officials, and philanthropists whose combined efforts are focused on halting the decline of bird populations. Most encouraging are modern scientific initiatives to uncover the source of bird decimation ... Passionate reportage from the world of birds and a cautionary tale for the future of Earth.
Readers looking for signs of hope will find some in the eclectic measures described, which showcase the remarkable ingenuity of those working to save the birds ... Birders will be unsettled, and by the end, inspired.
