The Gift of Birding
by Kevin R. Shackleton

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It is never too late to become a birder. The materials available for the beginning bird watcher/birder are designed to make taking up the pastime easy. Today’s binoculars and spotting scopes are much improved on those available thirty years ago. Websites like eBird can help keep track of bird sightings and let the novice know when and where to find more birds. Applications like Merlin help with visual and sound identification. Field guides are now fully illustrated with colour plates as opposed to a few pages in the oldest field guides. If you have ever thought you would like to know more about birding this could be the introduction you have been seeking.

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"The book’s charm lies in its being deeply personal, but no birder could fail to respond to this well-written, entertaining account and to recognize many situations they too have experienced. Though it covers Ontario thoroughly (especially during the author’s “Big Year”), the book also includes material from five continents with much useful information for anyone planning various trips. The author provides over one hundred photographs of the actual birds that he saw and this, plus the attractive artwork and layout, make it a very pleasant and accessible book. The author’s keenness makes the book an inspirational read, and by the end, it is clear that Shackleton, like myself, is truly for the birds. Dr. Richard Pope, author of The Reluctant Twitcher: A Quite Truthful Account of My Big Birding Year. Kevin Shackleton has made many significant contributions to bird watching over the years. This book, The Gift of Birding, is his latest. It comprises his accounts of explorations and sightings in all parts of Ontario and in many parts of the world. From Pelee Island to James Bay and from Antarctica to Botswana, Kevin provides many anecdotes of experiences with people and places and detailed accounts of hundreds of birds. This memoir will be a valuable addition to the literature of Ornithology in Ontario. " —Howard Davidson, bird watcher for 60 years.

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Kevin R. Shackleton is a retired financial services practitioner who lives with his wife in Newmarket, Ontario. A published author in military history and a contributor to a variety of publications since he began birding over thirty years ago, Kevin was selected by Zoomer Magazine as the Ultimate Zoomer for Birds Canada because of his dedication to conservation fund raising through The Great Canadian Birdathon and his participation in a variety of bird surveys such as the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. As a life member of the Ontario Field Ornithologists, Kevin leads two field trips a year for that organization.

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Contributors

Author

Kevin R. Shackleton

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