Pete Dunne

From our own back gardens to the rim of the Arctic ice, countless birds have adapted to meet the challenges of the winter season. This is their remarkable story, told by award-winning birder and acclaimed writer Pete Dunne, accompanied by illustrations from renowned artist and birder David Sibley. Despite the seasonal life-sapping cold, birds have evolved strategies that meet winter’s vicissitudes head on, driven by the imperative to make it to spring and pass down their genes to the next generation. The drama of winter and the resilience and adaptability of birds witnessed in the harsher months of the calendar is both fascinating and astonishing. In The Courage of Birds, Pete Dunne – winner of the American Birding Association’s Roger Tory Peterson Award for lifetime achievement in promoting the cause of birding – chronicles the behaviour of the birds of North America. He expertly explores widespread adaptations, such as feathers that protect against the cold, and unpacks the unique migration patterns and survival strategies of individual species. Dunne also addresses the impact of changing climatic conditions on avian longevity and recounts personal anecdotes that soar with a naturalist’s gimlet eye. Filled with unforgettable facts, wit and moving observations on the natural world, Dunne’s book is for everyone; from the serious birder who tracks migration patterns, to the casual birder who logs daily reports on eBird, to the observer who throws a handful of seed into the garden and wonders what birds will magically appear when temperatures begin to fall. Praise for Pete Dunne ‘Dunne’s prose is lyrical, sensitive, and full of feeling.’ Ted Floyd, editor, Birding ‘Pete is arguably North America’s best and best-known birder—and he’s also a terrific writer.’ Scott Shalaway, author and former syndicated nature columnist Praise for David Sibley ‘There are 47 million birdwatchers. But there is only one David Sibley. . . . He is a boon to both the birding world and the art world.’ The National Audubon Society ‘[His] exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life.’ Birdwatching

A lavishly illustrated, large-format reference book by two preeminent experts on North American shorebirdsMore than half a century has passed since the publication of The Shorebirds of North America, Peter Matthiessen’s masterful natural history of what is arguably the world’s most amazing and specialized bird group. In the intervening decades, our knowledge about these birds has grown significantly, as have the threats to their populations and habitats. Pete Dunne and Kevin Karlson celebrate Matthiessen’s classic book with this updated and expanded natural history of North American shorebirds. This elegantly written book begins by introducing readers to the unrivaled splendor of shorebirds and goes on to cover topics ranging from their biology and habitats to courtship and breeding, flight, the perils of migration, and conservation. Detailed accounts convey the richness and variety of the five family groups, with incisive, fact-filled descriptions of all 52 species of shorebirds known to breed in North America.Featuring hundreds of breathtaking images by Karlson and other photographers and drawing on the latest science, The Shorebirds of North America is a worthy tribute to Matthiessen’s enduring work and an indispensable reference for bird lovers everywhere.

‘This is a book for the aspiring field biologist in your life’ New Scientist The story of one woman’s remarkable work with a trio of charismatic, endangered bird species—and her discoveries about the devastating threats that imperil them. In Feather Trails, wildlife biologist and birder Sophie A. H. Osborn reveals how the harmful environmental choices we’ve made—including pesticide use, the introduction of invasive species, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction—have decimated Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors. In the Rocky Mountains, the cloud forests of Hawai’i, and the Grand Canyon, Sophie and her colleagues work day-to-day to try to reintroduce these birds to the wild, even when it seems that the odds are steeply stacked against their survival. With humor and suspense, Feather Trails introduces us to the fascinating behaviors and unique personalities of Sophie’s avian charges and shows that what endangers them ultimately threatens all life on our planet. More than a deeply researched environmental investigation, Feather Trails is also a personal journey and human story, in which Sophie overcomes her own obstacles—among them heat exhaustion, poachers, rattlesnakes, and chauvinism. Ultimately, Feather Trails is an inspiring, poignant narrative about endangered birds and how our choices can help to ensure a future not only for the rarest species, but for us too. 'A personal tale and a meticulously researched environmental history of modern America.’ Mark Cocker for The Spectator

Focusing on families and their shared traits makes bird identification easier than ever. This guide takes readers beyond merely identifying birds to understanding them. Many birders can tell the difference between a White-eyed and Bell's Vireo but cannot begin to describe a vireo and what distinguishes members of this family from warblers or flycatchers. The "species by species" approach makes it difficult to appreciate birds for what they are: members of well-organized groupings united by common traits. Putting the focus on families, and their shared characteristics, makes bird identification easier and more meaningful. More than 150 color photos illustrate the 81 bird families of the United States and Canada.

A simpler and more user-friendly visual approach to gull identificationThis unique photographic field guide to North America’s gulls provides a comparative approach to identification that concentrates on the size, structure, and basic plumage features of gulls—gone are the often-confusing array of plumage details found in traditional guides.Featuring hundreds of color photos throughout, Gulls Simplified illustrates the variations of gull plumages for a variety of ages, giving readers strong visual reference points for each species. Extensive captions accompany the photos, which include comparative photo arrays, digitized photo arrays for each age group, and numerous images of each species—a wealth of visual information at your fingertips. This one-of-a-kind guide includes detailed species accounts and a distribution map for each gull.An essential field companion for North American birders, Gulls Simplified reduces the confusion commonly associated with gull identification, offering a more user-friendly way of observing these marvelous birds.Provides a simpler approach to gull identificationFeatures a wealth of color photos for easy comparison among speciesIncludes detailed captions that explain identification criteria and aging, with direct visual reinforcement above the captionsCombines plumage details with a focus on size, body shape, and structural features for easy identification in the fieldHighlights important field marks and physical features for each gull

"An exquisitely beautiful book ...These stories about birds are ultimately reflections on the curious nature of humanity itself"? Helen Macdonald, author of H Is for HawkThere is no denying that many people are crazy for birds. Packed with intriguing facts and exquisite and rare artwork, Birdmania showcases an eclectic and fascinating selection of bird devotees who would do anything for their feathered friends.In addition to well-known enthusiasts such as Aristotle, Charles Darwin, and Helen Macdonald, Brunner introduces readers to Karl Russ, the pioneer of "bird rooms", who had difficulty renting lodgings when landlords realized who he was; George Lupton, a wealthy Yorkshire lawyer, who commissioned the theft of uniquely patterned eggs every year for twenty years from the same unfortunate female guillemot who never had a chance to raise a chick; George Archibald, who performed mating dances for an endangered whooping crane called Tex to encourage her to lay; and Mervyn Shorthouse, who posed as a wheelchair-bound invalid to steal an estimated ten thousand eggs from the Natural History Museum in Tring.As this book illustrates, people who love birds, whether they are amateurs or professionals, are as captivating and varied as the birds that give flight to their dreams.

A visually stunning, comprehensive resource on North America's birds of prey Always a popular group of birds, raptors symbolize freedom and fierceness, and in Pete Dunne's definitive guide, these traits are portrayed in hundreds of stunning color photographs showing raptors up close, in flight, and in action--fighting, hunting, and nesting. These gorgeous photographs enhance the comprehensive, authoritative text, which goes far beyond identification to cover raptor ecology, behavior, conservation, and much more. In returning to his forte and his first love, Pete Dunne has crafted a benchmark book on raptors: the first place to turn for any question about these highly popular birds, whether it's what they eat, where they live, or how they behave.

Pete Dunne, one of the foremost birding writers in the country, shares 33 funny, poignant, whimsical, and informative tales about birders and birding in his first collection of birding essays in more than ten years. Dunne is an expert birder, sought-after teacher, and popular author Includes wonderful illustrations by David Gothard"

Birding is one of the most popular and fastest-growing outdoor activities, but it can seem intimidating for beginners who don't know where, when, or how to search for birds. Fortunately, Pete Dunne, one of the most popular and respected writers in the field, has written a guide that will help even the most casual observers identify the skills and tools they need to develop their interest in birding. Popular how-to guide revised, updated, and now with color photos For beginners and birders who want to improve their skills Improve your odds of success with tips to get the most out of your equipment"

Among the world's most popular birds, hawks can be some of the most difficult birds to identify. They're most often seen flying high above and at a distance. In the first edition of Hawks in Flight, Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton presented a holistic method of hawk identification, using general body shape, the way they move, and the places they are most likely to be seen. The new edition of the book that Roger Tory Peterson called a "landmark" integrates an array of carefully selected photographs, David Sibley's superb illustrations, and a clear, information-packed text and takes raptor identification to a higher level. This edition covers all of the raptors that breed in North America, including those with limited ranges in Florida, the Southwest, and Texas. Picking up where its predecessor ended by including two decades of raptor identification refinement, Hawks in Flight summarizes and places in users' hands an identification skill set that used to take years to master. The unique alchemy of Dunne, Sibley, and Sutton--including their collective experience of more than one hundred years watching hawks--make this book a singular achievement and a must-have for anyone interested in hawks.

Filling a gap in the vast literature on birding, Pete Dunne explains in his distinctive style how to find birds--the often-ignored first step in identifying, observing, and listing bird species The best strategies for locating birds in any season and in every kind of weather Techniques and expert advice applicable to species in habitats and environments throughout North America For beginning bird-watchers or experienced birders who want to improve their chances for success"

The ultimate must-have guide for identifying migrant raptors, Hawks at a Distance is the first volume to focus on distant raptors as they are truly seen in the field. Jerry Liguori, a leading expert on North American raptors, factors in new information and approaches for identifying twenty-nine species of raptor in various lighting situations and settings. The field guide's nineteen full-color portraits, 558 color photos, and 896 black-and-white images portray shapes and plumages for each species from all angles. Useful flight identification criteria are provided and the accompanying text discusses all aspects of in-flight hawk identification, including flight style and behavior. Concentrating on features that are genuinely observable at a distance, this concise and practical field guide is ideal for any aspiring or experienced hawk enthusiast. * The first guide to focus on distant raptors as they are viewed in the field * New information and approaches for identifying distant raptors * Illustrates twenty-nine species in various lighting situations and settings *558 color photos and 896 black-and-white images depicting plumage and shape characteristics * All aspects of in-flight hawk identification, including flight style and behavior

"The natural world is a lot like a game of musical chairs," observes Pete Dunne. "Everywhere you turn, everywhere you go, there are places where living things sit down, niches that support their specific needs. But just as in musical chairs, there aren't enough places to go around. Our species keeps removing them-forcing other creatures to leave the game."In these twenty-nine essays, one of America's top nature writers trains his sights on the beauties and the vulnerabilities of the natural world. Writing to infuse others with a sense of the richness and diversity that nature holds, Pete Dunne ranges over topics from the wonder of the year's first snowfall to the lost art of stargazing to the mysterious forces that impel people to hunt-and not to hunt. Running like a thread through all the essays is Dunne's desire to preserve all that is "natural" in nature, to stop our unthinking destruction of wild places and wild creatures before we humans find ourselves with "the last chair, in an empty room" on an impoverished earth.

Even people with little interest in birds will stop in their tracks at the sight of a hawk soaring overhead or a falcon perched on a window ledge. Birds of prey have an aura that few other creatures have. In the acclaimed Hawks in Flight, Pete Dunne showed what birds of prey look like. In The Wind Masters, he shows what it is like to be a bird of prey. He takes us inside the lives and minds of all thirty-four species of diurnal raptors found in North America -- hawks, falcons, eagles, vultures, the osprey, and the harrier -- and shows us how each bird sees the world, hunts its prey, finds and courts its mate, rears its young, grows up, grows old, and dies. Vividly written, and beautifully illustrated by David Sibley, The Wind Masters is a brilliant work of narrative natural history in the tradition of Peter Matthiessen's The Wind Birds and Barry Lopez's Of Wolves and Men.

Dubbed the "Bard of America's Bird-Watchers" by the Wall Street Journal, Pete Dunne knows birders and birding-instinctively and completely. He understands the compulsion that drives other birders to go out at first light, whatever the weather, for a chance to maybe, just maybe, glimpse that rare migrant that someone might have spotted in a patch of woods the day before yesterday. And yet, he also knows how . . . well . . . strange the birding obsession becomes when viewed through the eyes of a nonbirder. His dual perspective-totally engrossed in birding, yet still aware of the "odd birdness" of some birders-makes reading his essays a pure pleasure whether you pursue "the feather quest" or not. This book collects forty-one of Dunne's recent essays, drawn from his columns in Living Bird, Wild Bird News, the New Jersey Sunday section of the New York Times, Birder's World, and other publications. Written with his signature wit and insight, they cover everything from a moment of awed communion with a Wandering Albatross ("the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen") to Dunne's imagined "perfect bird" ("The Perfect Bird is the size of a turkey, has the wingspan of an eagle, the legs of a crane, the feet of a moorhen, and the talons of a great horned owl. It eats kudzu, surplus zucchini, feral cats, and has been known to predate upon homeowners who fire up their lawn mowers before 7:00 A.M. on the weekend."). The title essay pays whimsical, yet heartfelt tribute to Dunne's mentor, the late birding legend Roger Tory Peterson.

Pete Dunne has been watching birds since he was seven years old. But not just watching-deeply absorbing every nuance of color, markings, shape, flight, and song; all the subtle clues that can identify a bird barely glimpsed among the highest branches in fading twilight. With the same skill, he has been observing and writing about birding and birders for over twenty years, using humor, sentiment, occasional sarcasm, and unashamed passion for his chosen profession to explore why birdwatching is so irresistibly compelling to so many people. This book brings together thirty-two vintage essays that Dunne originally wrote for publications such as American Birds, Bird Watcher's Digest, Birder's World, Birding, Living Bird, the New Jersey edition of the Sunday New York Times, WildBird, and Wild Bird News. Encounters with birds rare and common is their shared theme, through which Dunne weaves stories of his family and friends, reflections on the cycles of nature, and portraits of unforgettable birders whose paths have crossed his, ranging from Roger Tory Peterson to a life-battered friend who finds solace in birding. A cliff-hanger story of the bird that got away gives this book its title.

More Tales of a Low-Rent Birder brings together twenty-five essays that originally appeared in major birding publications. In these pieces, Pete Dunne ranges from wildly humorous to sadly elegiac, as he describes everything from the "field plumage" of the dedicated birder to the lingering death of an accidentally injured golden plover. Running like a thread through all the essays is Dunne's love and respect for the birds he watches, his concern over human threats to their survival, and his tolerance, even affection, for the human "odd birds" that birding attracts. Truly, these essays offer something for everyone interested in birds and the natural habitats our species share.

Tales of a Low-Rent Birder is a collection of nineteen essays and sketches written between 1977 and 1985. It was originally published in 1986.