These are meditations and reminisces on the author's various encounters with birds through his life. They are well-written and informative. Mostly this will interest bird and nature lovers. ( )

This was a wonderful and lovely book, so accessible it felt like listening to a conversation with the author about his experiences with birds and nature.

Each chapter is about a different bird, some of their history and nature and his experiences in seeing them, often going back to when he was a child. Each chapter also only has one image of the bird in question, a simple black and white line drawing of each one and while as usual I would have loved color photos in this case the simple images really suited the book, photos would have been a detraction I feel.
I also appreciated his ecological message which brought the point of the need for better management of natural resources on our part without ever getting preachy.
Physically I also really liked the smaller than average book size, the quality of the paper (at least for this edition) and the simple but elegant cover and overall structure of the book. ( )

This is a delightful book of birding memoirs. For me made all the more enjoyable as many familiar birds are featured. A great introduction to Cannings and I shall be seeking out more of his work. ( )

Each chapter portrays a different bird species found in Canada, some common and some endangered, with interesting accounts about their behaviour and habitat, why some are endangered, why some have become less abundant or have changed locations over time, and why the author knows and likes these birds. An appealing read for amateur birdwatchers and students of nature and the environment. ( )