This book has a wealth of information about a wide variety of bird topics. It has bird anatomy, songs, how to build a nest box, etc. The main chapter of this book, named 'The Habitat BirdFinder' is a field guide to about 100 of the most commonly seen birds in North America, and isn't in any specific order, but by which habitat it is most likely to be seen in. It is very useful, with a large photograph and colour drawings with text for each bird. The range maps are very clear and easy to use. In the back of the book there is a good selection of other books and resources, including local birding organizations.
If you are looking for a first birding book, to get you started and familiar with birds, then this is a great start.

This book has been an excellent addition to my library on birding. Splendid photography! Helpful tips!Interesting insights and all at a great price. The book is beautiful and is clearly of high quality. You won't be disappointed!

This is a wonderfully put together reference book for bird watchers. I also gave one to my father as a gift and he just can't put it down. The pictures are teriffic and there's a lot of information about each bird. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys birds.

This book is unbelievable. The paper is glossy and heavyweight. There are photographs throughout. The text is interspersed with sidebars, tidbits, and photographs.

Mikula dispels myths such as the one about butterflies will die if you touch their wings. Easy to understand information is given about the life cycle of the butterfly with photographs of every stage. How to raise butterflies in various ways, even how to catch butterflies in the wild and help them mate are given in such easy to follow methods that Mikula has me believing I can do this! Project instructions for making a homemade butterfly net and a hanging butterfly cage are included. We even learn how to properly hold a butterfly and how to hand feed them! I thought only butterfly specialist-scientists could do this stuff! You will be surprised to learn that not only does Mikula recommend raising butterflies to release into the wild, but also raising them indoors and letting them fly around your house (and never go outdoors)!

Information about the plants, shrubs and trees that the caterpillars and butterflies need is provided, which plant material for which species of butterfly is all outlined. Mikula explains that the use of herbicides and pesticides as being poisonous to butterflies and encourages organic gardening. Some garden designs for butterfly gardens are provided.

Mikula's passion for butterflies is apparent throughout the book as the text just cries out his enthusiasm. There are so many detailed hints and tips such as what color clothing to wear when approaching butterflies in the wild, to not use fabric softener when approaching butterflies, and that the wooden butterfly boxes don't work as their sellers would have you believe. And did you know that butterflies would benefit from a water source in your yard? Of course full instructions for the best water feature for butterflies is given.

Full color illustrations of different species of butterflies are provided with illustrations of not only the butterfly, but the caterpillar, larvae, eggs, and chrysalis. This is along with listing of the host plants, nectar plants, size and the regions they live in. This section comprises about 50 pages of the book and is very helpful.

This book is a great reference to learn about butterflies and a great source of butterfly projects.. Of course you can take the plunge and go full tilt and raise your own butterflies! If you choose to do so, all the information is right here.

If you have a child in your family that loves butterflies, this is a book you must own. Rick Mikula covers every aspect of butterflies in the colorful pages. You'll learn ways to raise butterflies at home with your family, best ways to watch them, plants they like and so much more!

I am a nature center director. We use this book all the time. We give copies to our volunteers, show it to families that come in to see our butterfly displays, recommend it to teachers, and use the ideas included on a regular basis.

If you ever have the opportunity to see Rick Mikula speak, don't miss it! Once you meet the "grandfather of butterflies," you'll be hooked on butterflies forever!

I didn't know there was a grandfather of butterfly farming, but I found this book and what a gem it is! This detailed book is a beautiful guide to learning about butterflies. The author provides information about butterflies and then shows how to attract and study them. The experience is quite extensive and provides projects to enhance creative study. Fantastic for home and classroom!

An excellent overview of wildlife of the Northern Minnesota area. There are interesting and informative descriptions of everything from birds to insects to fish. The scope of the book is so broad that only a few of each type of creature can be listed, but he has chosen the ones, such as loons, herons, and otters, that are so special to the North woods. Highly recommended.

'Nuff said. The rating-stars do not apply, as I have not seen the book, and am not likely to until I can find out more on its content. *-(

I just bought this book, and read it straight through. I have also taken it with me--to the river--to use as it was written. The book is well written, and contains most of the general information that flyfishermen need to really enhance their experience. The only thing I would recommend in any subsequent revisions, is the use of color photographs of the insects. Tight Lines!

This softcover book not only matches fly patterns to the hatch but also educates the reader to the lifecycles, anatomy, and seasonal hatches of the insects. The illustrations are excellent and even are appealing to those with a biology background. This book single handedly enlightened me (at an age of thirteen) to the art and science of fly fishing. Hence a much greater and in depth appreciation for the craft. The book has sat on my shelf now for many years as a competent reference. I have personally had the opportunity to work with Rick Hafele (author) for a day on a small stream in souther Oregon. I was even more impressed with his keen knowledge and passion for entomology and the art of fly fishing. I highly recommend this book to any one just starting or even better as a a gift to an inquisitive child who will learn much much more than just how to match the hatch. This book will please all audiences though.

I believe this is a cause for restoration. This book made me believe that the wolf should be released in to the Adriondack mountians. It also had me believing that the ecosystem needs the wolves to survive. I was especially fascinated by Kristen Deboer's idea of creating corridors between parks in Canada ans the northeast, to help creat migratrion routes for animals. I believet he book itself aswell was ans informative, great, intertaining read.

The Return of the Wolf is an eye-opener as it gives four very distinct and honest evaluations of the possibility of our northeastern forest communities welcoming the timber wolf back to it's native haunts. Let us not confuse the eastern coyote which has hybridized with the eastern wolf as the as the easts top canid predator.....The wolf, just as in Yellowstone and Minnesota is the true predator of the moose , Caribou Elk and Beaver. The coyote, even if hybridized with wolf genes is still not a large enough creature(maximum of 70 pounds whereas the true timber wolf can be 100-150 pounds)to bring down the northeasts growing moose population and hopefully one day a restored caribou herd. Let the voice of Rick Bass,Kristen DeBoer and Bill McKibben weigh heavy.......let us set aside the lands, educate the "Little Red Riding Hood" believers and politic effectively with the state house representatives who tend to buckle to the pressure of corporations who favor short term extraction versus long term sustainability. Give the wolves the chance to push the coyotes to their rightful "fringe" of the forest allowing the true timber wolf and restored(hopefully) Cougar to stand atop the food chain as top predators of the land. Our forests have returned after 400 years of being chopped and burned.Let us stop the shopping malls and second home developments from destroying our wonderful open lands.Let the land be restored to it's glory and allow the current residents of the backwoods to continue their sustainable forestry and wsoodcraft busines while reaping some benefits from a contrulled and managed Ecotourism. What a great thing for us to have the pomeans and will to return and restore our woodlands in the most populated part of the U.S. to their former majesty. We can be a model for the conservative western United States and the emerging 3rd world countries to emulate......The Return of the Wolf speaks of all of these things and more........Fantastic writing! Rivals Charles Little storytelling in the "Dying of the trees". Please pass on to a friend.......Let the restoration of the north woods begin!

One of my experiences as a biologist for the U.S. Forest Service was a brief stint in Libby, Montana where I was a weekend visitor to the remote Yaak Valley championed by resident conservationist Rick Bass. My first pass through the valley was a shock. The sea of clearcuts from past timber sales were clearly alarming, and I vowed to return for further investigation. In 1994 I studied fish populations in the Libby area now, and then, a superfund site at the plywood mill where we installed a fish weir in an attempt locate the last remaining Bull trout, now an endangered species in the Pacific Northwest. The previous year there were two. In 1994 none returned to the Libby trap. Similar conditions exist on the Yaak River, a major tributary to the Kootenai. Though superficially "wild" in outward apearance this is devastated landscape due to economic activity that has ruined the landscape and the citizenry from asbestosis at the other superfund site, a vermiculite mine once operated by W.R. Grace Corporation of "A Civil Action" fame. They are gone now, but so is everything else the area once offered. "We don't mind looking at the clearcuts," my boss a dour wildlife biologist told me. It is a legacy that Mr. Bass will be hard pressed to reverse with the current forest management leadership. But we must try. I stand with him in that battle. The chapter in my book "Against a Strong Current," is called "Three Bull Trout."

A valuable collection of diverse voices bearing witness to the last of the last: a small but ecologically rich valley in the far northwest corner of Montana. Those familiar with the prolific writings (and rantings) of Yaak resident Rick Bass know that he can come off as a monomaniac, but this anthology proves his passion is grounded and infectious. Great contributions from prominent writers, poets, conservationists, biologists, politicians, and local residents provide a mosaic of visions on the endangered magic that is the Yaak. The primary lesson: the Yaak is a biological, not a recreational wilderness. It is a place that must be saved, not for your next summer vacation, but for the itinerent wolves, the few remaining stands of ancient larch, the inland redband trout, the resident horse loggers, 15 modest-sized 'gardens' of unroaded national forest, and a tiny (perhaps single digit)population of super-survivor grizzly bears.
Once gone, they are gone forever.

Running a wildlife safari company in Yellowstone, the wolves that we view have become a major attraction. I have learnt so much from this book that it is now a requirement for all my guides to read it from front to back, so they are totally educated on wolves. Rick McIntyre's A Society of Wolves captures everything you want to learn about wolves, including their behavior, pack structure, and how similar they are to us. This book is a must if you are interested in wolves, wildlife and Yellowstone.

Rick McIntyre does us a great service with this book. It is an excellent compilation of written material and photographs that will prove transformational to anyone interested in wildlife. A moving account of day-to-day life in a wolf pack, it also provides an invaluable history of wolf persecution in this country. He also lists excellent resources to contact to learn more about the fate of the wolf and how to become active in their reintroduction. This book answers the questions "Where did all the wolves go?" and "Why do we need them back?" An important and compelling read.

As novice birdwatchers, this book was indispensable for planning our birdwatching trip to SE Arizona. It gave specific locations to visit for birds that you could expect to see there. Directions were clear and concise. With help from this book, we saw nearly every bird species we had hoped to see. This book is a must for this region!

This book was the book i needed to learn about chickens. It tells you so much Info its amazing. It's the best book i ever read on birds. Read this Book!

I thought that this book was written by one person. This book is a compilation of essays, quotes, and articles by various authorities in religion (Buddhist in particular), psychology, and other how to thrive in the modern world experts. I'm not dismissing the book. I think it's a good collection. I was expecting a sharper focus. This is a good primer for someone just beginning to live as a mindful person today.

Just under 290 pages this is a classic that has just as much meaning in 2001 as it did the first time I read it 20 years ago. A book I cannot help buying, over and over when copies get lent out and the message keeps getting passed on.

15 Chapters. Beginnings; Learning; Intimate Realtionships; Sex; family; Work; Money; Play; Tuning the Body; Healing; Technology; The Earth; Social Action; Inner Guidance; Perils of the Path. Etc.

The subtitle actually explains better than anything what the book is all about. "A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Everyday Life". The Chop Wood Carry Water comes from a thousand year old Chinese Zen Master who spoke of the spiritual aspect of everyday things.

This reminded me (I am not a Christian) of reading where the wife of Billy Graham, Ruth Graham has a small plaque in her kitchen that says "Godly service done here daily" or something to that effect. This is what this book is all about. Along with the sacredness of things like sex, gathering with community to make the earth healthier and fight injustice etc etc.

The Chop Wood Carry Water book has been helpful so often in reminding me that their is joy and honour in doing the laundry, cleaning, paying bills, bathing, cooking, and doing what many people sadly think is boring everyday needs.

In this day and age where people rush here and there and express a sense of loss, because they feel they need to always be doing something noticable, I think this book would be a great healing tool, in teaching people that doing the "chores" of life, can in fact be a relaxing and growth enhancing activity.

This book outlines so many aspects of our daily living and then injects spirituality in a way that synergizes the mundane and the sublime.

Such an incredible source of wisdom for living the practical/everyday in a full-hearted and spiritual manner.