There is the record-holding husband and wife who cross continents to "twitch" (spot rare birds); the disgraced "stringer" who takes desperate measures to falsify a spotting of the coveted black lark, leading hundreds on a fruitless search; and a group of friends who go birding in America only to be plagued by car trouble, drunk drivers, robbery, and an encounter with the border police.Birders is also an inspiring and heartwarming account of the author's lifelong love for his hobby, and the way it transforms him -- from his fetishistic love affair with his notebook and "bins" (binoculars) to his deep mourning for a friend who went missing when he followed the call of an elusive pheasant in the Himalayan mountains. Informative, touching, and astoundingly funny, here is the layman's invitation to share in an unlikely obsession.

    Here they met and studied unique animals and were confronted with danger from drought, fire, storms, and the animals they loved. This best-selling book is for both travelers and animal lovers.

    In April 2003, wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer and filmmaker Leanne Allison embarked on a five-month research journey to follow the 2,000-mile migration of a herd of 120,000 Porcupine Caribou, from their winter range to their calving grounds in Alaska, and back again. From Old Crow, Yukon, the Heuers followed ancient paths and the primordial rhythms of the herd through Canada and over the border to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. The couple travelled on foot and by ski through unforgiving landscapes; fording swift, deadly cold rivers, as well as encountering ravenous grizzlies who tracked them as prey. Having began the expedition as seasoned outdoor adventurers, Karsten and Leanne soon learned they would only be able to find and discern the intent of the herd by adopting the ancient ways of the area's indigenous people. Advised by a Gwich'in native in Old Crow at the start of their trip to "listen to dreams", Karsten and Leanne find they must shed the many insulating layers of pragmatism that distance them from the natural world. They discover a transformational truth in listening to the music of the earth, paying attention to the urgings within dreams, and in truly, beyond their expectations, being caribou.

    Read James Greiner's Wager with the Wind to learn how a hero was born, and also how he made his courageous journey to the unknown skies of dealing with cancer.

    When Lily the alpaca falls pregnant, they are in for an anxious few months as they battle against the odds to keep themselves afloat. 'In Seriously Mum, How Many Cats?' there is concern that the cats are going to take over the farm. There are cats in the barn, cats in the garden and even a cat invasion in the bedroom one night. Exploding tyres, flamenco dancing, religious parades and, of course, all your favourite animals return once again to entertain you in the latest story about these much-loved expats.

    But he's still here with me and knowing that means that I am able to gain strength from him, and harness the same passion and drive that he and I had together. There are so many people who have been inspired and are still being inspired by Steve Irwin and that makes me feel really, really proud.' - Bob IrwinBob Irwin grew up in the Dandenong Ranges where his passion for wildlife was born. A near-death experience while working as a plumber made Bob realise he needed to follow his dreams, so he and his wife Lyn moved their young family to Queensland where they opened a wildlife park on the Sunshine Coast.The Irwin children grew up in and around the Beerwah Reptile & Wildlife Park, learned about the animals there from their dad and cared for orphaned wildlife at home with their mum. Passion for the environment and all animals became a way of life for them. This unique upbringing had a profound impact on Bob's son Steve, who followed in his father's footsteps and became famous around the world as the Crocodile Hunter, educator and wildlife warrior.Bob nearly didn't survive the sudden death of his adored wife Lyn, and it was Steve who helped him face life again. When the world tragically lost Steve to a freak diving accident, it wasn't just the animals that lost the best friend they ever had. Bob did too. Describing it as moving forward without a map, Bob spent many years burying himself in physical work, as a means to cope with the loss of his son. It was the natural world and the animals within it that helped Bob to keep going, and since then he has continued to fight for his beloved Steve's legacy of protecting the wildlife, environment and planet on which our own survival depends.Entertaining, moving, impassioned and inspiring, The Last Crocodile Hunter shows the heart and soul of a great Australian character, father and wildlife campaigner.

    Culled from the mud-spattered pages of her journal, this is her unvarnished account of her adventures and research.

    This shy, snuffling, enigmatic animal has captured the imagination of children and adults for centuries – from Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggywinkle to Sonic the Hedgehog.Full to the brim with fascinating insights and countryside lore, The Hedgehog Handbook explores different facets of this much-admired mammal – from its wildlife habits to its literary heritage, how different cultures have viewed the hedgehog and what we can do to help preserve this icon of rural life. Fun, sweet and warm hearted, The Hedgehog Handbook is a month by month celebration of one of the countryside’s best-loved creatures. Packed with inspirational quotes, entertaining facts, folklore and literary references, it’s the perfect gift for anyone with a penchant for prickles.

    She was unpaid, untrained, self-funded and arrived with the starry-eyed idealism of most foreigners during early encounters with Africa. For thirteen years - the worst in Zimbabwe's volatile history - this intrepid Australian woman lived in the Hwange bush fighting for the lives of these elephants, forming an extraordinary and life-changing bond with them.Now remote from Robert Mugabe's rule, Sharon writes without restraint sequentially through the years, taking us on a truly unforgettable ride of hope and heartbreak, profound love and loss, adversity and new beginnings. This is the haunting, all-encompassing story we've been waiting for.Powerfully moving, sometimes disturbing and often very funny, Elephant Dawn is a celebration of love, courage and honour amongst our greatest land mammals. With resilience beyond measure, Sharon earns the supreme right to call them family.[The book includes 32 pages of colour photographs.]

    Someone [the murderer?] had covered him with a small strip of carpet.Nearby, in a ditch,lay Mrs Chandler - her face and torso bafflingly blanketed in beer cartons.The discovery made international headlines. It swiftly emerged that Dr Bogle, a brilliant specialist in solid state physics, had recently accepted a research post in Washington – and had been preparing to fly there, with his wife and children. Mrs Chandler, who’d worked as a nurse before her marriage, had been at the same New Year’s party with Gilbert Bogle the evening before. They had left separately.Scientists found that the pair had died of acute heart failure – but they could suggest no cause. There were no signs of violence: no smothering or strangulation; no hypodermic marks; no evidence, in the body tissues, of poisons, or radioactive substances of any kind.From the morning the bodies were found, the Bogle-Chandler conundrum would perplex the law’s keenest forensic minds...

    "Should be the number one source volume for everyone who embraces the philosophy of conservation".--Roger Tory Peterson. Illustrations throughout.

    She chaperoned baby sea turtles on their journey to sea. She pursued bad guys on her galloping patrol horse. She jumped into rescue helicopters bound for the heart of the Grand Canyon. She won arguments with bears. She slept with a few too many rattlesnakes. Hell yeah, it was the best job in the world! Fortunately, Andrea survived it. In this graphic and yet surprisingly funny account of her and others’ extraordinary careers, Lankford unveils a world in which park rangers struggle to maintain their idealism in the face of death, disillusionment, and the loss of a comrade killed while holding that thin green line between protecting the park from the people, the people from the park, and the people from each other. Ranger Confidential is the story behind the scenery of the nation’s crown jewels—Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Great Smokies, Denali. In these iconic landscapes, where nature and humanity constantly collide, scenery can be as cruel as it is redemptive.

    Much more than a memoir, Spirited Waters is a remarkable blend of adventure travel, natural history, personal challenge, vivid animal encounters, Northwest mythology, and heartwarming coastal characters.

    But Eric’s ordeal on the mountain was only part of his struggle for survival—as he reveals, with startling candor, an even more harrowing and inspiring tale of fame and addiction, healing and triumph. On February 6, 2004, Eric, a former professional hockey player and expert snowboarder, set off for the top of 12,000-foot Mammoth Mountain in California’s vast Sierra Nevada mountain range. Wearing only a long-sleeve shirt, a thin wool hat, ski pants, and a lightweight jacket—and with only four pieces of gum for food—he soon found himself chest-high in snow, veering off the snowboard trail, and plunging into the wilderness. By nightfall he knew he was in a fight for his life…Surviving eight days in subfreezing temperatures, he would earn the name “The Miracle Man” by stunned National Guard Black Hawk Chopper rescuers.But Eric’s against-all-odds survival was no surprise to those who knew him. A gifted hockey player in his teens, he was later drafted by the Boston Bruins and a 1994 Olympian. But when his playing days were over, Eric felt adrift. Everything changed when he first tasted the rush of hard drugs—the highly addictive crystal meth—which filled a void left by hockey and fame. By the time Eric reached the peak of Mammoth Mountain in 2004, he was already dueling demons that had seized his soul.A riveting adventure, a brutal confessional, here Eric tells his remarkable story—his climb to success, his long and painful fall, and his ordeal in the wilderness. In the end, a man whose life had been based on athleticism would lose both his legs, relearn to walk—even snowboard—with prosthetics, and finally confront the ultimate test of survival: what it takes to find your way out of darkness, and—after so many lies—to tell truth… and begin to live again.

    There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in the Carolinas. This book features 140 species of Carolina birds, organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out. Fact-filled information, a compare feature, range maps and detailed photographs help to ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.