If you are interested in nature and/or live along the Jersey Shore this book is wonderful to read. I've been to most of the places she describes and never saw all that was there. Joanna Burger brings to life the nature around us even in a crowded place like NJ.

Without a doubt the most fascinating book I have ever read on what happens out on those little sand islands in Jersey's bays. Why? Because Joanna Burger took a few supplies out in a little boat & lived on one. She followed the dream of so many young human "shorebirds" who longed to escape the crowded beaches & waterfront developments to see where the birds lived. This isn't polite ecology with fine line drawings & quotations from Thoreau, but hot piles of sands baking in the sun & wretched North Atlantic winter weather.

By going to the heart of our shore's natural beauty, Burger also finds the ongoing threats. True, the waterfowl population has increased over the past 40 years, several species at the expense of others. But road runoff is killing the bays & so-called "personal watercraft" (jet skis) are wrecking intertidal wetlands, creating incredible noise pollution & bringing hundreds of knuckleheads into first contact with the wildlife that has found relative safety from human interference in our back bays, estuaries & marshes.

I can't emphasize strongly enough the importance of Burger's writings. They should be taught in our schools & be required reading for everyone who ventures out on to the wonderlands that exist behind our stressed out barrier islands.

A beautiful & unique book. The birds love her & so do I. Give this scientist a laurel wreath, if you can find her.

Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM

The studies in this book offer excellent information to those interested in the essentials of shorebird ecology

"The Parrot Who Owns Me" is a delightful memoir that should appeal not only to bird lovers, but to the general public, as well. The author is a faculty member at Rutgers who has specialized in the study of gulls and parrots. As a scholar, she's written 14 books, but this one is different: It's a memoir, a story of the relationship between her and Tiko, who sounds like one great bird.

The memior follows her adoption of Tiko when he was in his 30s, after the two elderly ladies who owned him passed away. He became depressed and agressive, but slowly, Joanna and her husband brought him around. Ultimately, Tiko really bonded to her, quite literally falling in love with her and choosing her as his "partner."

The storytelling in this book is engaging. In between the long segments about Tiko's development, the author intersperses information about her worldwide scientific field research, some of which was inspired by Tiko, and this information sheds light on parrot behavior in general, as well as that of her beloved Tiko.

She also briefly discusses the parrots she'd owned prior to Tiko, and their stories are touching. I did, in fact, cry more than once as she reminisced about the birds who are no longer with her. That caught me off guard. It's a surprisingly touching story.

Note: I read the book in paperback form, but I imagine that it's just as enjoyable in downloaded form! My experiences with downloadable texts has been good thus far, and I likely would have downloaded this one had it been an option at the time.

In conclusion, then, I think this is an excellent book that has a strong appeal to it. I'm sure that's in part because I have two parrots, a cockatiel and a budgie, who own me -- but there's so much more to this story! I highly recommend it.

"The Parrot Who Owns Me" is a delightful memoir that should appeal not only to bird lovers, but to the general public, as well. The author is a faculty member at Rutgers who has specialized in the study of gulls and parrots. As a scholar, she's written 14 books, but this one is different: It's a memoir, a story of the relationship between her and Tiko, who sounds like one great bird.

The memior follows her adoption of Tiko when he was in his 30s, after the two elderly ladies who owned him passed away. He became depressed and agressive, but slowly, Joanna and her husband brought him around. Ultimately, Tiko really bonded to her, quite literally falling in love with her and choosing her as his "partner."

The storytelling in this book is engaging. In between the long segments about Tiko's development, the author intersperses information about her worldwide scientific field research, some of which was inspired by Tiko, and this information sheds light on parrot behavior in general, as well as that of her beloved Tiko.

She also briefly discusses the parrots she'd owned prior to Tiko, and their stories are touching. I did, in fact, cry more than once as she reminisced about the birds who are no longer with her. That caught me off guard. It's a surprisingly touching story.

In conclusion, I think this is an excellent book that has a strong appeal to it. I'm sure that's in part because I have two parrots, a cockatiel and a budgie, who own me -- but there's so much more to this story! I highly recommend it.

If you are a pet lover or a just a bird lover you will enjoy this book very much. Joanna takes her love of science and love of animals and ties them together in a story that gives you insight to what makes your avian companion tick. The book took me a while to finish because we lost one of our avian companions, the reason I purchased Joanna's book, in the middle of reading her story. So much of what she writes about Tiko's behavior carriers over to almost any avian pet, this is what made the book so interesting. Her book is so accurate that I could have changed Tiko's name to Beaker (the cockatiel we lost fall of 2001)and the book could have been about our little guy we loved so much. Reading her explanation of parrot behavior gave us insight to what is going on in the heads of our little companions. Not being a specialist in bird behavior we don't realize the amount of trust these little guys put in us when they give us their love, Joanna's book helps us to understand just how much. I highly recommend this book even if you only have a slight interest in birds but a great love of animals.

If you have ever loved a criter that wasn't human and received love back or worried about the irresponsible way humans treat the planet and its other inhabitants, you should read this book. Those of us who are sure we aren't the only sentient beings in the universe will find comfort in a scientist's description of her relationship with a truly magnificient animal, one who loves too much but is not afraid to love again. There are scientific data, facts galore, and deeply touching accounts that could be made into a wonderful Disney movie. But Joanna Burger is not a wildchild paranormal communicator who just wuvs her wittle birdy. She is a highly respected scientist who evolves into a highly skilled listener and hears the parrots' cries as they slip into extinction. As a lifelonog rescuer of various domestic species, I once thought I could give a home to a needy parrot. After reading this book I realize I am not in the least qualified to do this.

This book is actually a reprint of the original work from Columbia Univ. Press. I bought it thinking I would get a copy just like the original. However, the publisher is toExcel and they have deceptively reprinted the book by using xerox images of all photos. Since there are many photos that are important to the book, it really detracts from the work to have all of them poorly reproduced and grainy. I was very upset to learn that I had been duped by this publishing company and it's a practice I'd like to see stopped. Don't buy from this press is the best I can recommend to prevent further deceptions and loss of book quality.