Owls of the Eastern Ice (Virtual Presentation)
Reads & Company, in conjunction with the Valley Forge Audubon Society, welcomes Jonathan Slaght, author of OWLS OF THE EASTERN ICE, for a virtual book event. Owls of the Eastern Ice is receiving rave reviews and is sure to be one of the most memorable nature books of 2020. Jonathan will be in conversation with Vince Smith, President of the Valley Forge Audubon Society. Preorder your copy, with a special signed bookplate from Reads & Company. You must register for this free event at:Â https://www.crowdcast.io/e/jonathan-slaght-author
About the book:
When he was just a fledgling birdwatcher, Jonathan C. Slaght had a chance encounter with one of the most mysterious birds on Earth. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers. Soon he was on a five-year journey, searching for this enormous, enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of eastern Russia. That first sighting set his calling as a scientist. As a University of Minnesota doctoral student, Slaght spent part of each year from 2006 until 2010 in the hardscrabble, sparsely inhabited region of Primorye doing research into the enormous yet elusive creatures.
As Slaght and his devoted team set out to locate the owls, they aim to craft a conservation plan that helps ensure the species’ survival. This quest sends them on all-night monitoring missions in freezing tents, mad dashes across thawing rivers, and free-climbs up rotting trees to check nests for precious eggs. They use cutting-edge tracking technology and improvise ingenious traps. And all along, they must keep watch against a run-in with a bear or an Amur tiger. At the heart of Slaght’s story are the fish owls themselves: cunning hunters, devoted parents, singers of eerie duets, and survivors in a harsh and shrinking habitat.
Through this rare glimpse into the everyday life of a field scientist and conservationist, Owls of the Eastern Ice testifies to the determination and creativity essential to scientific advancement and serves as a powerful reminder of the beauty, strength, and vulnerability of the natural world.
