Cloudy with a few showers. High 63F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30%..
Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low around 50F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
A common eider lands on the water.
A common eider lands on the water.
Editor’s note: The following column was originally published in the New Hampshire Union Leader on June 10, 1978.
FROM TIME TO TIME, I am requested to do a book review. This could be a risky plea, for I have gained a reputation over the years of saying what I think.
First of all, let’s get one thing clear. I am not “a book reviewer.” I have had no training in the art. My “review” consists of a careful reading of the tome and then putting words on paper that define my feelings toward the author’s efforts.
Now let’s get on with it.
“A Year With New England’s Birds — A Guide to Twenty-Five Field Trips” was written by Sandy Mallett and illustrated with drawings by Gail Reyna. With the exception of one photograph, each chapter (section) is headed by photos taken by the author.
Sandy Mallett states in her introduction that “the book is not meant to be a field guide and should be used in conjunction with one.” The book does describe 25 locations through New England where she has found bird watching both enjoyable and rewarding.
Those of us who have traveled to “perfect” places to observe certain birds know there is no guarantee that a particular bird will be there waiting.
On the other hand, we can be pleasantly surprised. To cover this point, Sandy writes, “However, since bird territories are not absolutely stable, it is possible to spot a bird that is not on the list.” The list she is referring to is a checklist of birds it is possible to find at one of the 25 places discussed.
She has selected each field trip with an eye to a particular month of the year. Her book begins in January and takes us on a visit to the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine. Mildred and I have traveled this way on several occasions and I can attest that Sandy has a true eye for what can be seen there.
Now, she also saw some things we didn’t see, and that’s the way it is even when two people take the same walk at the same place, at the same time. That’s where the excitement comes in.
And that’s one of the things I liked about Sandy’s book. It showed me things I hadn’t seen at Marginal Way. This was also true with the other trips she described of places where we had been.
But, lest you think her book is merely a listing of birds she saw on her selected field trips, I want to put you straight on that right now. She sees a lot of things and she feels them, too. It is the way she writes of them that holds my interest. Let me share with you an excerpt or two. Let’s stay on the Marginal Way. It’s January:
“We start up the paved walkway on the cove’s ocean side by a rocky beach. ... Pieces of lobster trap, weathered pearl grey by salt water and rubbed to interesting shapes by grinding stones, mark the high tide line. Large rafts of black and white old-squaw ducks checker the water to our left. Their needlelike tails puncture the sky as they crest a wave ...
“Floating so close to the wave-battered cliffs that we hold our breaths are a pair of common eiders. We know of these ducks because of their famous down, the soft underfeathers that are used to fill pillows and coverlets ...
“Around the corner a whitewashed lighthouse overlooks a shell beach in a cove. Limpet, moon snail, periwinkle, blue mussel, and clamshells have been hammered into multicolored sand. A gull wheels round and round overhead, lines up his target of hard-packed sand, and releases his missile — a clam. It hits dead center and cracks open. The gulls drops like a helicopter and gulps down the contents before others can grab his meal.”
It is now July. We are in a farm field and through Sandy’s eyes we see:
“A bobolink swings atop a slender weed. His bubbly song is as interesting as his coloring. A yellow cap with matching stripes down his back and a white cape draped over his black back decorate this field singer whose song cannot be imitated even by the talented mockingbird ...
“Hidden in the deep grasses the meadow lark sings. Often the only view we get is of one fluttering five feet above the grass tips as it grabs a flying beetle.”
As you can see from this sampling, Sandy tells us not only the birds we may see at a particular place, but she acquaints us with their habitats and some of their habits and idiosyncrasies.
Sandy Mallett draws on a lifetime of interest in birds for this, her first book. A resident of Rochester, she is an active member of the Audubon Society and the local bird club known as the Bluebirds.
The book is not a large one, a little over 100 pages, yet it stirred volumes of memories for me as I read it. I was impressed, and I am not impressed easily. I liked the book and I commend it to bird watchers and those would-be bird watchers who have not yet purchased their first field glass or bird guide. It may whet your appetite for the sport of bird watching, so beware.
“A Year With New England’s Birds” was published by the New Hampshire Publishing Company of Somersworth and is priced at $5.95 for the quality softback and $10 for the hardback.
Stacey Cole, Nature Talks columnist for more than 50 years, passed away in 2014. If readers have a favorite column written by Stacey that they would like to see reprinted, please drop a note to Jen Lord at jlord@unionleader.com.
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