A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration

Thanks to the author’s firsthand experiences and deep knowledge of his subject, readers will learn about winged migration and better understand the significant threats to bird environments covered in this thoughtful, informative book. When Kaufman, a naturalist, artist, and avid birder, moved to Ohio, “the epicenter of spring migration,” he found a new fascination with this aspect of birds’ lives. He writes of coming to welcome an unlikely species—crows, common year-round elsewhere but typically sparse where he lives—as the harbinger of spring, and, perhaps equally unexpectedly, appreciate duck hunters as a crucial ally in preserving marshland bird habitats. In the most fascinating passage, Kaufman describes the blackpoll warbler, which weighs less than half an ounce but can fly over six thousand miles, both a “miraculous and monstrous experience” of endurance, Kaufman adds. However, he notes that seasonal bird migrations can’t be discussed without also considering how wind turbines have been killing thousands of birds and bats yearly. To keep construction away from crucial stopover sites for migratory species, he argues, conservationists must show winged migration’s importance to local economies as a stimulus for birder tourism. Nature-loving readers will be moved by Kaufman’s detailed look at a fascinating yearly process. Agent: Wendy Strothman, Strothman Agency. (Apr.)