By Sharon Wootton
Most of us can spot, and name, kelp, eelgrass and sea lettuce while we’re on the beach. Beyond that, we’re in over our heads in terms of naming about 200 seaweed species.
In that case, “Pacific Seaweeds: A Guide to Common Seaweeds of the West Coast” (Harbour) can be your guide. Louis Druehl and Bridgette Clarkston deliver the world of seaweeds on slick paper, perfect for taking along on your walks.
In addition to excellent color photographs and easy-to-understand text blocks, the authors discuss seaweeds in general, how to use the book for identification (includes a thumbnail guide), the many uses of seaweed plus recipes calling for seaweed. (Who can pass up bull kelp sprinkled on brownies, sesame kelp chips or sesame seaweed salad?)
Here are nature-related books for summer reading:
“A Naturalist’s Guide to the Hidden World of Pacific Northwest Dunes” (Oregon State University). George Poinar Jr. includes the edges of the tide, where kelp washes ashore and beach hoppers (sand fleas) with their voracious appetites recycle about 50 percent of the kelp. They also attract shorebirds feeding on the insects. Driftwood is included because of the community that co-exists in and around it. Dunes’ plants and insects form another community.
Characteristics, habitat and range, and comments are in short text blocks with each inhabitant.
The only downside to “Dunes” is that many of the photographs are not as well-done as the rest of the book.
“Better Birding: Tips, Tools & Concepts for the Field” (Princeton). “Birding” is packed with photographs and information but is not aimed at beginners. It’s a book that separates the birders from the birdwatchers, albeit that’s an arbitrary distinction.
Take the common loon. There are photographs of the juvenile, the first summer, the second-winter and the adult winter, and the breeding adult common loon to help the determined birder. The natural history text blocks are interesting, as are parts of the hints and consideration boxes.
“Lost Among the Birds” (Bloomsbury). It was April 25, 2013, when Neil Hayward suddenly decided he’d do the Big Year. After all, he had no job, depression created a fog and a mid-life crisis was percolating.
But he wasn’t deterred that other birders going for the Big Year payoff (the 700 Club) had a 114-day head start. He finished with 749 species in the U.S. and Canada, a record.
“Lost” is the best Big Year story I’ve read, a blend of a man trying to find birds and his emotional footing.
His record lasted until 2016 when Noah Strycker, armed with technology, a book advance and a deal with National Audubon Society for a daily blog, shattered the record on a global scale: 41 countries, seven continents, 6,042 species.
“Seabird in the Forest: The Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet” (Boyds Mills Press, ages 5-9). How do you explain the tremendous height of a redwood to a young reader, or the height of a marbled murrelet’s nest? You show them.
Author-illustrator Joan Dunning used the inside of the front cover and opposite page to paint a 365 foot redwood and a 6 foot person with a note about a murrelet nest at 320 feet. And she tells the story of a marbled murrelet pair and their chick, combining the story with science.
“Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature” (Houghton Mifflin, ages 4-8). Author Joyce Sidman and illustrator Beth Krommes take children through the world of swirls, a shape that runs through nature from a curled up chipmunk to a young fern to a curling elephant’s trunk, but one usually overlooked in nature-related books.
To help adults, there’s a section in the back that describes each spiral example in more detail, allowing the adult to share with the young reader more about each topic beyond the few words and excellent illustrations.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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