Owls of the Eastern Ice

A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl

De: Jonathan C. Slaght

Narrado por: Jonathan C. Slaght

Duración: 8 h y 43 m

Resumen del Editor

A field scientist and conservationist tracks the elusive Blakiston's fish owl in the forbidding reaches of Eastern Russia.

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. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. 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.

Despite a wingspan of six feet and a height of more than two feet, the Blakiston's fish owl is highly elusive. They are easiest to find in winter, when their tracks mark the snowy banks of the rivers where they feed. They are also endangered. And so, 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. 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.

©2020 Jonathan C. Slaght (P)2020 Tantor

Great writing and narration

Author is a gifted observer of both the natural and human world. This fascinating memoir has something for everyone: vodka, Russian steam baths, winter survival skills, backwoods characters, endangered species and other wildlife, and more vodka.

Interesting and enjoyable

I'm a semi-casual reader. Read this for a book club and really loved it. It was interesting to hear about research and working in the field, rural Russian life, and of course the owls! Easy read (and listen). The authors style and voice is perfect for narration. Hope he does more audiobooks!

Enlightening

This book gives a small glimpse into the effort that it takes to check the species that live on this planet and the continuing need to protect this place we go home.

Great story. Narrator was fine.

I’m not sure why there are bad reviews about the narrator, who in fact is the author himself. His reading of the story did not detract from it at all, in fact a book read by the author makes it better IMO. For anyone who has ever done similar work, like myself, or anyone who is interested in what it’s like to work in a conservation field this is an excellent story. The people the author meets along the way paired with the challenges he has to overcome by learning as he goes while remaining patient make this book an excellent read for anyone who likes motivational stories and quirky characters. Truly a wild part of the world where these owls reside. I’d love to see them someday after listening to this book.

a very enjoyable book

If you love nature writing, you will enjoy this book about the Russian Far East and fish-owls, as well as the interesting characters the author encounters during his work.

Enthralling Nature Writing

Jonathan Slaght is a an intrepid researcher, a vivid writer, and an excellent narrator: truly a triple threat.

His account of several winters researching the threatened Blakiston's fish owl in remote Eastern Russia is gripping. Who knew?

I listened to this book because it won the Minnesota Book Award for nonfiction. It far surpassed my expectations, and I heartily recommend it to anyone curious about the natural world and human interaction with it.

Absolutely Magical

I listen to many books about nature and this was by far the best I have listened to so far. The owls are fascinating and the author's story about finding them has all of the tension and conflict of a well-written novel. The science is interesting; the story and the lessons about conservation are compelling.

Fantastic and Different

This is a fantastic and different book. It reads like an adventure novel, but it is in fact a non-fiction nature book. I learned so much about a part of the world that I knew so little about. You will LOVE this book!

What a story - what an animal

This is a very well written and engrossing book. I really recommend it. Fish owls!

Fascinating study of an owl species

I was completely unfamiliar with fish owls, but now am utterly smitten. Jonathan is an interesting and engaging writer. His adventures and sometimes misadventures in far eastern Russia are not to be missed. The cast of characters, especially Sergei and Anatolia, are vivid and real. If I have one minor gripe, it’s that I wish the story had been professionally read. Jonathan’s punctuation, as orated, sometimes detracts from the story. I’ll probably buy the book to serve as a reference.