This latest collaboration of Carolyn V. Platt and Gary Meszaros is a beautifully photographed book that explores Lake Erie and its effects on the birds that make this region their home.Birds of the Lake Erie Region observes a year of weather changes and avian migrations—from the wintertime convergence of ducks and other waterbirds on the lake’s last ice-free areas to the excitement of the raptor and shorebird migrations in the fall.Expert or novice, birders and nat...

Ohio was once covered by a thick forest and populated by a great variety of animals, but the first blows of settlers’ axes heralded cataclysmic changes. By 1900 only about 15 percent of the state remained tree-covered. The effects of settlement upon native animal species varied widely, and the fortunes of many have risen and fallen more than once.Large predators such as wolves, panthers, and bears disappeared early, as did big herbivores such as bison and elk. Hunters and trappers ...

Ohio’s original heavily forested landscape included glacial lakes, large rivers, and streams that teemed with an abundant variety of fish, most of which remain resident today. Native Fishes of Ohio documents the more than 130 species originally found in the state and describes how their aquatic habitats have evolved as a result of agriculture and industrial development.Naturalist Dan Rice and photographer Gary Meszaros draw upon more than 40 years of fieldwork and recent h...

A photographic documentation of the most outstanding natural habitats in Ohio“We hope this book never becomes an epitaph for what once was. Ohio is incredibly rich in biodiversity, possibly more so than any other midwestern state. . . . We encourage you to visit these places and view the greatest natural resources that Ohio has to offer.”—from the PrefaceWhile Ohio has lost much of its presettlement landscape, many nearly pristine habitats remain. These rel...

In this fascinating book, wildlife expert and enthusiast Warner Shedd refutes popular animal myths like squirrels remembering where they bury nuts, wolves howling at the moon, and oppossums "playing dead."Have you ever seen a flying squirrel flapping through the air, watched a beaver carrying a load of mud on its tail, or ducked when a porcupine started throwing its quills? Probably not, says Shedd, former regional executive for the National Wildlife Federation. Of...

Beginning in the late 1980s, a series of improbable bark beetle outbreaks unsettled iconic forests and communities across western North America. An insect the size of a rice kernel eventually killed more than 30 billion pine and spruce trees from Alaska to New Mexico. Often appearing in masses larger than schools of killer whales, the beetles engineered one of the world's greatest forest die-offs since the deforestation of Europe by peasants between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.

From flying squirrels to grizzly bears, and from torpid turtles to insects with antifreeze, the animal kingdom relies on some staggering evolutionary innovations to survive winter. Unlike their human counterparts, who must alter the environment to accommodate physical limitations, animals are adaptable to an amazing range of conditions.Examining everything from food sources in the extremely barren winter land-scape to the chemical composition that allows certain creatures to surviv...

Ina book destined to become a classic, biologist and acclaimed nature writer Bernd Heinrich takes readers on an eye-opening journey through the hidden life of a forest.

Easy-to-follow, step-by-step demonstrations in acrylic, watercolor and oilInside, you'll learn how to create realistic wildlife paintings, step by step, mastering dozens of specific wildlife textures, including:• Fur of a bobcat, American bison, snow leopard cub and wolf• Feathers of a wood duck, white-throated sparrow and northern shoveler• Scales of a trout and sunfish• Ears of a cottontail rabbit, white-tailed deer and red fox...

Thorough, detailed, and scientifically up-to-date, Prairies: A Natural History provides a comprehensive nontechnical guide to the biology and ecology of the prairies, or the Great Plains grasslands of North America, offering a view of the past, a vision for the future, and a clear focus on the present. With a total area of more than 3.5 million square kilometers (500,000 in Canada and the remainder in the United States), the prairies occupy the heartland of the co...

An enlightening look at animal behavior and the cycle of life and death, from "one of the finest naturalists of our time" (Edward O. Wilson).When a good friend with a severe illness wrote, asking if he might have his "green burial" at Bernd Heinrich's hunting camp in Maine, it inspired the acclaimed biologist to investigate a subject that had long fascinated him. How exactly does the animal world deal with the flip side of the life cycle? And what are the lessons, ...

Open The Urban Tree Book and discover the joys of forest trekking--right in your city or town. This first-of-a-kind field guide introduces readers to the trees on their block, in neighborhood parks, and throughout the urban landscape. Unlike traditional tree guides with dizzying numbers of woodland species, The Urban Tree Book explores nature in the city, describing some 200 tree types likely to be found on North America's streets and surrounding spaces, including suburban...