BIRD NEWS, by E. Vernon Laux

"… Vernon Laux's knowledge and love of the natural world, his gift for seeing so much that most of us rarely take time for, are truly exceptional and suffuse every page of this delightfully written book." — David McCullough

"… Vernon Laux's loving attention to the details of his subject illustrates why expert birders have traditionally provided both the most thorough database of biodiversity and the spiritual rational for saving the natural environment." — E.O. Wilson

Birds capture the imagination like no other creatures. E. Vernon Laux documents a year in the life of the Martha's Vineyard bird population and provides a bird's-eye view of the seasons on New England's most celebrated island. He reports on the characters that watch and the creatures that are watched in the skies and waters, beaches and mudflats, fields and forests of the Vineyard.

In the spring, the proverb holds true. Young birds' thoughts do turn to love. Spring dawns late on the Vineyard, but waterfowl abound and nesting birds begin to return to the beaches. There are huge concentrations of red-throated and common loons; three varieties of sea ducks; scoters; piping plovers; terns; and gulls.

Summer on the Vineyard sees an onslaught of celebrities, both human and avian. Breeding birds have to compete with beachcombers for territory. There is a tremendous diversity of bird life: the largest population of eastern towhees in the world; herring gulls; warblers; gray catbirds; and American oystercatchers. Starting around the Fourth of July, returning southbound migrants make a pit stop on the island. These shorebirds took advantage of the earlier spring on the Arctic tundra to nest and are already making the homeward trek to South America or Australia.

By September, October, and November, the bird population has grown to five times its size in the spring. Conditions for birding are impeccable. Laux details with admiration the staggering numbers of migrants and the stunning physical stamina of these long-distance marathoners. Multiple merlins, peregrine falcons, and hawks abound. Life and death drama unfolds as the birds' maneuvers play out the thrill of the chase, the excitement of the hunt, and the lethal victory of the more cunning and dexterous player.

The coldest months of the calendar may seem inhospitable. Not so, says Laux. Many species are more accessible in winter. The abundance of dead trees and broken limbs offer new habitats for numerous cavity nesting birds: bluebirds, nuthatches, woodpeckers, great crested flycatchers, and many different owls.

Laux describes his own discovery: the chickmouse, a hybrid of two common species. He spins a fairy tale of a stranded tufted titmouse. The male bird veered off course and alighted on the island, but was too intimidated to attempt the four miles of open sea in order to reach the mainland. (Titmice are notoriously leery of water voyages.) After a year or two, life as a bachelor was unbearable, so he courted a near relative — the black-capped chickadee. And they brought forth a chickmouse, with the body of his father and the distinctive dark topper of his mom.

As Darwin found on the Galápagos, an island provides the perfect laboratory to learn universal truths. In his corner of the world, Laux explores complex relationships through acute observation and devoted attentions. With warmth, humor, and clarity, he analyzes the winged inhabitants above his beloved Martha's Vineyard. As his column's sign-off regularly asserts: "Any bird news is good news. Keep your eyes to the sky."

Since childhood, E. Vernon Laux has been fascinated by birds and has traveled the continent to research them. A well-known personality among ornithologists, he now leads birding tours from Israel to the Arctic and lectures throughout the US. He writes "Bird News" and other columns for the Martha's Vineyard Gazette. Former manager of the Martha's Vineyard airport and an island resident for twenty years, Laux lives on Martha's Vineyard year-round.

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