Items related to Rare Birds
Synopsis
The inspiring story of David Wingate, a living legend among birders, who brought the Bermuda petrel back from presumed extinction
 
Rare Birds is a tale of obsession, of hope, of fighting for redemption against incredible odds. It is the story of how Bermuda&;s David Wingate changed the world&;or at least a little slice of it&;despite the many voices telling him he was crazy to try.
 
This tiny island in the middle of the North Atlantic was once the breeding ground for millions of Bermuda petrels. Also known as cahows, the graceful and acrobatic birds fly almost nonstop most of their lives, drinking seawater and sleeping on the wing. But shortly after humans arrived here, more than three centuries ago, the cahows had vanished, eaten into extinction by the country&;s first settlers.
 
Then, in the early 1900s, tantalizing hints of the cahows&; continued existence began to emerge. In 1951, an American ornithologist and a Bermudian naturalist mounted a last-ditch effort to find the birds that had come to seem little more than a legend, bringing a teenage Wingate&;already a noted birder&;along for the ride. When the stunned scientists pulled a blinking, docile cahow from deep within a rocky cliffside, it made headlines around the world&;and told Wingate what he was put on this earth to do.
 
Starting with just seven nesting pairs of the birds, Wingate would devote his life to giving the cahows the chance they needed in their centuries-long struggle for survival &; battling hurricanes, invasive species, DDT, the American military, and personal tragedy along the way.
 
It took six decades of obsessive dedication, but the cahow, still among the rarest of seabirds, has reached the hundred-pair mark and continues its nail-biting climb to repopulation. And Wingate has seen his dream fulfilled as the birds returned to Nonsuch, an island habitat he hand-restored for them plant-by-plant in anticipation of this day. His passion for resuscitating this &;Lazarus species&; has made him an icon among birders, and his story is an inspiring celebration of the resilience of nature, the power of persistence, and the value of going your own way.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Elizabeth Gehrman is a frequent contributor to the Boston Globe Magazine and has written for the New York Times, Archaeology, More, and This Old House. She lives in Boston and upstate New York.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Search results for Rare Birds
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Rare Birds : The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 949263-6
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Rare Birds : The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 6408027-6
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Rare Birds : The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 9630602-6
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Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: Bay State Book Company, North Smithfield, RI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: good. The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact, including the dust jacket if originally issued. The spine may show light wear. Pages may contain some notes or highlighting, and there might be a "From the library of" label. Boxed set packaging, shrink wrap, or included media like CDs may be missing. Seller Inventory # BSM.1FNW8
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Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: Greenworld Books, Arlington, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: very_good. Fast Free Shipping â" Very Good condition book with a firm cover and clean pages. Shows normal use and some light wear or limited notes markings. A solid, nice copy to enjoy. Seller Inventory # GWV.0807010766.VG
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Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Missing dust jacket; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0807010766I4N01
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Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: Books From California, Simi Valley, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Seller Inventory # mon0003533674
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Rare Birds
Seller: Library House Internet Sales, Grand Rapids, OH, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. "The inspiring story of David Wingate, a living legend among birders, who brought the Bermuda petrel back from presumed extinction David Wingate is known in Bermuda as the birdman and in the international conservation community as a living legend for single-handedly bringing back the cahow, or Bermuda petrel--a seabird that flies up to 82,000 miles a year, drinking seawater and sleeping on the wing. For millennia, the birds came ashore every November to breed on this tiny North Atlantic island. But less than a decade after Bermuda's 1612 settlement, the cahows had vanished. Or so it was thought until the early 1900s, when tantalizing hints of their continued existence began to emerge. In 1951, two scientists invited fifteen-year-old Wingate along on a bare-bones expedition to find the bird. The team stunned the world by locating seven nesting pairs, and Wingate knew his life had changed forever. He would spend the next fifty years battling natural and man-made disasters, bureaucracy, and personal tragedy with single-minded devotion and antiestablishment outspokenness. In April 2009, Wingate saw his dream fulfilled, as the birds returned to Nonsuch, an island habitat that he had hand-restored, plant-by-plant, giving the Bermuda petrels the chance they needed in their centuries-long fight for survival"-- "Rare Birds is the story of how one man's obsession saved a species. Bermudian David Wingate was born in 1935, the same year a bird found dead at the foot of a lighthouse was identified as a cahow, or Bermuda petrel, by stunned scientists. Cahows, perhaps the most graceful and acrobatic flyers of the avian world, had been thought extinct for more than three centuries -- since shortly after humans arrived on this remote 21-square-mile island and ate them into oblivion. Despite the startling discovery, the possibility of finding these elusive, nocturnal birds alive was considered only slightly greater than that of lunching with Bigfoot. It wasn't until 1951 that American ornithologist Robert Cushman Murphy and Bermudian naturalist Louis Mowbray took a chance and mounted a bare-bones expedition to Castle Harbour, where the birds had last been seen in the early 1600s. Wingate went along for the ride, and when at length a cahow was pulled from deep within a rocky cliffside, it changed his life forever. "I had a calling," he says. "Bringing back the cahow was what I was meant to do.""-- Solid binding. Moderate edgewear on the boards. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item. Book. Seller Inventory # 123672916
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Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Seller: Browse Awhile Books, Tipp City, OH, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust jacket has a closed 1 1/2" tear on top front edge and small tears of top of spine corners. Presentable within new Brodart sleeve. Seller Inventory # 1155109
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Rare Birds
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR014330113
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