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

by Kenn Kaufman

Overview

A close look at one season in one key site that reveals the amazing science and magic of spring bird migration, and the perils of human encroachment.
 
Every spring, billions of birds sweep north, driven by ancient instincts to return to their breeding grounds. This vast parade often goes unnoticed, except in a few places where these small travelers concentrate in large numbers. One such place is along Lake Erie in northwestern Ohio. There, the peak of spring migration is so spectacular that it attracts bird watchers from around the globe, culminating in one of the world’s biggest birding festivals. 
  
Millions of winged migrants pass through the region, some traveling thousands of miles, performing epic feats of endurance and navigating with stunning accuracy. Now climate change threatens to disrupt patterns of migration and the delicate balance between birds, seasons, and habitats. But wind farms—popular as green energy sources—can be disastrous for birds if built in the wrong places. This is a fascinating and urgent study of the complex issues that affect bird migration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328566423
Publisher:	HMH Books
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	156,511
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

KENN KAUFMAN, originator of the Kaufman Field Guide series, is one of the world's foremost naturalists. He lives in Oak Harbor, Ohio.

 

Table of Contents

Prologue: Pilgrims at the Gates of Sunrise 1

1 The First Migration 13

2 Wilderness and Waterfowl 27

3 A Broken Season 42

4 An Ill Wind 53

5 Turning Point 72

6 Wild March 85

7 Creatures of Light 102

8 Sifting the Mysterious Sky 115

9 Threading the Needle 139

10 This Slice of Sky 155

11 Second Wind 165

12 Waiting for Warblers 180

13 Boardwalk People 193

14 The First Big Wave 206

15 The Biggest Week 221

16 The Impossible Peak 245

17 The Parade's Gone By 261

18 Pagans of the Sky 271

Acknowledgments 280

Editorial Reviews

01/28/2019

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.)

Publishers Weekly

Kenn Kaufman knows his birds and their miraculous journeys—and he feels them deeply, too. An enlightening, thought-provoking, and poignant read.” —Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Genius of Birds
 
“In A Season on the Wind, Kenn Kaufman soars above his Ohio home place and artfully shares the world of birds and the miraculous feats of migration that persist amidst constant conservation struggles and hard-won successes. It’s a wondrous compendium of stories about birds and humans that compels us to be more in nature and work ever harder to protect it. The message within to love and conserve is as clear as a Swainson’s thrush’s flight call in a spring night sky. What A Season on the Wind does is so much more than inform, it inspires.” —J. Drew Lanham, author of The Home Place 
 
“Some people love birds, but others have a passionate commitment to birding. Kenn Kaufman has that kind of dedication, which includes a fascination for bird watching, but also he’s a genuine part of the birding community dedicated to protecting these beautiful creatures.” —Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist
 
“Seamlessly weaving together natural history with personal narrative, Kaufman reveals how an appreciation of birds not only helps build community and conserve land, but also can make life a great deal richer for each of us. The more he uncovers the fascinating lives and migratory feats of birds, the more wonder and magic he lays bare; by the end, his sense of awe has become our own. A Season on the Wind will transform the way we see birds and the season of spring!” —Melissa Groo, wildlife photographer and conservationist

From the Publisher

2019-01-14

A naturalist and conservationist with a self-confessed obsession with bird migration shares his love and knowledge.

Kaufman (Flights Against the Sunset: Stories that Reunited a Mother and Son, 2008, etc.), the creator of the Kaufman Field Guide series, focuses on the spring migration through the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area on the southwestern shore of Lake Erie. As the author notes, the boardwalk there, one of the most popular among North American birders, is the center of a 10-day bird festival in May that attracts bird lovers from across the country. Throughout the book, Kaufman displays his deep knowledge of birds, and his descriptions of them, from crows and warblers to bald eagles and waterfowl, are spot-on. The author is deeply concerned about the complex and varied threats to birds, especially the proliferation of wind turbines. He devotes a substantial portion of the text to discussions of the fight to keep wind farms out of the heart of his beloved marsh, a major stopover habitat in North America. He also explores the technological advances in tracking both migrating flocks and individual birds. Though he only focuses on one site in northern Ohio, Kaufman also makes broader points about weather, climate change, patterns of migration, and the awesome endurance of migrating birds and the hazards they face. The narrative also contains elements of memoir, similar to his early book, Kingbird Highway (1997), which followed his adventures as a teenage birder hitchhiking across the country finding and tallying birds. This book makes it clear that the author has retained his youthful enthusiasm. He thrills to be outdoors in all weather, hearing and seeing birds, rejoicing in their presence, and he allows readers to share both his joy and his concerns.

Highly readable and thoroughly enjoyable for all lovers of nature books but will be of greatest interest to active birders.

Kirkus Reviews

03/01/2019

Naturalist Kaufman, originator of the "Kaufman Field Guide" series, is a lyrical and witty writer, and his latest is no exception. This fine title, unlike his others, focuses on a specific locality, northern Ohio, where concentrations of migrating birds in springtime comprise one of the greatest natural occurrences in the United States. Though it took a while for naturalists to realize this, now thousands of visitors come to the shores of Lake Erie to witness this event, especially in May. This season on the wind, relevant far beyond Ohio, is beautifully described—the personalities involved, its significant economic impact, and the conditions causing it to happen. Kaufman is still full of wonder, awe, and admiration for the birds, some flying thousands of miles across continents. He describes how they do this, and what lies ahead, many winging hundreds of miles more into Canadian wilderness, and does not shy away from controversy: habitat degradation, climate change, and the pros and cons of wind turbine farms. VERDICT With poetic chapter titles, and enhanced by 21 color photographs, especially of brilliant warblers, this highly recommended account makes for thoughtful reading for both experienced and novice birders.—Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia

Library Journal

Read More