One More Warbler: A Life with Birds

by Victor Emanuel, S Kirk Walsh

Overview

Victor Emanuel is widely considered one of America’s leading birders. He has observed more than six thousand species during travels that have taken him to every continent. He founded the largest company in the world specializing in birding tours and one of the most respected ones in ecotourism. Emanuel has received some of birding’s highest honors, including the Roger Tory Peterson Award from the American Birding Association and the Arthur A. Allen Award from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. He also started the first birding camps for young people, which he considers one of his greatest achievements.

In One More Warbler, Emanuel recalls a lifetime of birding adventures—from his childhood sighting of a male Cardinal that ignited his passion for birds to a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Asia to observe all eight species of cranes of that continent. He tells fascinating stories of meeting his mentors who taught him about birds, nature, and conservation, and later, his close circle of friends—Ted Parker, Peter Matthiessen, George Plimpton, Roger Tory Peterson, and others—who he frequently birded and traveled with around the world. Emanuel writes about the sighting of an Eskimo Curlew, thought to be extinct, on Galveston Island; setting an all-time national record during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count; attempting to see the Imperial Woodpecker in northwestern Mexico; and birding on the far-flung island of Attu on the Aleutian chain. Over the years, Emanuel became a dedicated mentor himself, teaching hundreds of young people the joys and enrichment of birding. “Birds changed my life,” says Emanuel, and his stories make clear how a deep connection to the natural world can change everyone’s life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477312384
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	05/09/2017
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	1,115,644
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Victor Emanuel is the founder of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT). His travels have taken him around the world, particularly the American Southwest, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. In 1957, he founded (and continues to compile) the record-breaking Freeport Christmas Bird Count, and he has also served as president of the Texas Ornithological Society.

S. Kirk Walsh is a writer, editor, and teacher, whose work has been published in the New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Boston Globe, among other print and online publications.

Table of Contents

• Prologue
• 1. Early Days
• 2. The Tropics
• 3. Freeport Christmas Count
• 4. The Bird of My Life
• 5. Beginnings
• 6. Meeting Curlew
• 7. The Triumph
• 8. Search for the Imperial Woodpecker
• 9. My Travels with King Penguin
• 10. The Mozart of Birding
• 11. New Territories
• 12. The Big Day
• 13. The Next Generation of Birders
• 14. End of the Earth
• 15. The Birds Of Heaven: Cranes, Asia, and Peter
• 16. Birding with the Bushes
• 17. Palace on Wheels
• 18. Birding on the Edge
• 19. Voyage on the Sea Cloud
• 20. My True Obsession
• 21. My World
• Epilogue
• Acknowledgments
• Suggested Readings
• Index

What People are Saying About This

Kenn Kaufman

Victor Emanuel is a remarkable man who found his mentors in birding and went on to become a leader in that community for the past fifty years. In One More Warbler, Victor shares his wide-ranging adventures across the globe, including the story of his enormously influential ecotourism company, and the reasons why he become a mentor himself to whole generations of young ornithologists. It’s a fascinating read.

John Fitzpatrick

Long before anyone used the word ‘ecotourism,’ Victor Emanuel had devoted his life to the mission of sharing with others his passion for birds and nature. His literary sophistication, boundless curiosity, commitment to mentoring, and raw, childlike exuberance have earned him friendships with writers, filmmakers, politicians, and educators the world over. This book is classic Victor: a tapestry of anecdotes, adventures, philosophical musings, and tributes to people, all woven together by glowing words of admiration for the rich diversity of birds that grace our lives, and define his.

Laura Bush

Birding with Victor Emanuel will change the way you see the natural world. It’s an experience everyone should have.

Editorial Reviews

Geopolitically sensitive and savvy, and already looking ahead to habitat preservation, Mr. Emanuel was holistic from the very beginning…Mr. Emanuel's passion for birds was always placed within a larger philosophical framework. Yet even as he quotes one of the maxims at Delphi—'nothing in excess'—he can't help pushing to see, on a spring evening before a dinner party, 'just one more warbler.' Such love of discovery is the hum under the magical stories Mr. Emanuel tells.

Wall Street Journal

"Geopolitically sensitive and savvy, and already looking ahead to habitat preservation, Mr. Emanuel was holistic from the very beginning…Mr. Emanuel's passion for birds was always placed within a larger philosophical framework. Yet even as he quotes one of the maxims at Delph&#8212'nothing in excess'&#8212he can't help pushing to see, on a spring evening before a dinner party, 'just one more warbler.' Such love of discovery is the hum under the magical stories Mr. Emanuel tells."

Wall Street Journal

2017-03-15
One of the world's foremost birders reflects on his life in nature, which has always "kept me young through a sense of wonder."Emanuel has spent his entire life observing birds, beginning with his childhood in Houston, when, "like some boys, I was interested in just about anything that was alive—birds, butterflies, crayfish, snakes, turtles, fish." Since then, the author has traveled to every continent and chronicled more than 6,000 species of birds, and his birding tour company, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, which he founded in 1976, is held in high regard within the ecotourism world. In his memoir, the author reminisces about his countless experiences with birds and the opportunities that have blossomed around that interest. Emanuel caught the nature bug early and particularly enjoyed the many wonderful winged creatures he encountered around his hometown. By the time he was 10, he had participated in his first Audubon Christmas Bird Count. His lifelong passion has led to deeply satisfying relationships with other birders including Roger Tory Peterson, George Plimpton, Peter Matthiessen, and Laura Bush. In 1985, after a few of his colleagues left VENT to start their own company, Emanuel came to a realization about what he wanted to do next. "I wanted to create an educational adventure for youngsters," writes the author, "so they could learn to identify birds, understand their life zones, and appreciate the environmental role that birds play in nature….I found solace in this new endeavor because it was focused on serving the next generation of birders." Whether he is recounting his experiences with raptors in Turkey, rose-ringed parakeets in India, or black-and-white owls in Panama, Emanuel's love of the natural world is always on display. A charming narrative for avid birders and armchair nature lovers, sure to inspire at least a few flights of fancy.

Kirkus Reviews