Owls of the Eastern Ice
A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl
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4.5 • 59 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Notable Book of 2020
Longlisted for the National Book Award
Winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and the Minnesota Book Award for General Nonfiction
A Finalist for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award
Winner of the Peace Corps Worldwide Special Book Award
A Best Book of the Year: NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Globe and Mail, The BirdBooker Report, Geographical, Open Letter Review
Best Nature Book of the Year: The Times (London)
"A terrifically exciting account of [Slaght's] time in the Russian Far East studying Blakiston’s fish owls, huge, shaggy-feathered, yellow-eyed, and elusive birds that hunt fish by wading in icy water . . . Even on the hottest summer days this book will transport you.”
—Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk, in Kirkus
I saw my first Blakiston’s fish owl in the Russian province of Primorye, a coastal talon of land hooking south into the belly of Northeast Asia . . . No scientist had seen a Blakiston’s fish owl so far south in a hundred years . . .
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 over 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. 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Biologist Slaght provides a detailed and thrilling account of efforts to conserve an endangered species, the Blakiston's fish owl, in the wilds of eastern Russia. 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. To develop a plan for protecting the species from the incursions of logging companies and poachers, Slaght and his Russian colleagues entered the winter forest, contending with frozen rivers and extreme weather (as well as tigers and bemused locals) while trying to collect data on fish owls. After some initial failures, they managed to catch several specimens and equipped them with radio transmitters before releasing them, a method then adopted by Japanese scientists to protect their own fish owl population. Conscientious about crediting his Russian collaborators, Slaght also evinces humor, tirelessness, and dedication in relating the hard and crucial work of conservation. Readers will be drawn to this exciting chronicle of science and adventure, "a demonstration that wilderness can still be found."
Customer Reviews
Wonderful writing, amazing true story
Thank you for the amazing work and sharing it in such colorful details. The fish owls have a great advocate
I wanted to be a biologist when I was a child. I am a family practice provider, but I read much of this with child like wonder
Fascinating read
As much about fish owl conservation as it is about the authors experiences in the Russian Far East