Field Guide To The Birds of Alberta book launch and signing, Saturday May 16th.

As I wrote in December, there is a new field guide to Alberta birds being published on May 12th. On Saturday May 16th there will be a special Book Launch and signing event held at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW (the Birds & Beers venue). The doors will open at 5 pm, and both co-authors, David R. Scott and Gavin McKinnon, will be on hand to sign your copy! (You can pre-order a copy here, but they willl have some available for sale at the venue.) The authors will speak on how this project came about, and what the process of writing it was like. The book is beautifully illustrated with photos by many local birders.

Everyone is welcome to attend! Minors are welcome if accompanied by an adult. There will be time if you arrive early for you to visit and have something to eat and drink before the book is launched at about 6:30 pm.

We have to pay a small fee for the room so we ask attendees for an optional donation of a dollar. Any money collected over and above the fee is donated to the Legion.

If it is more convenient for you, there will be another book launch event on Tuesday evening, May 19th, at the Alberta Wildnerness Association office.

The book is also available on Amazon. In the near future there will be another book signing at the Wild Bird Store in Calgary, and they will have the book in stock there as well. Watch their Calendar for details of this upcoming signing.

Here is the book description:

Situated at the convergence of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and North America’s vast boreal forest, Alberta boasts a great diversity of landscapes and habitats. From turquoise glacier lakes nestled between towering peaks, to spruce- and sphagnum-dominated muskeg, to labyrinthine badland canyons, to expansive grassland dotted with sagebrush, to islands of green space amidst sprawling cities, this province has much to offer outdoor enthusiasts, including birders! More than 300 species of birds occur every year in the province, and well over 400 have been observed at least once within its borders. This guide aims to assist those who wish to find, observe, identify, and better understand the birds around us—whether it be an American Robin nesting in a city park, a White-tailed Ptarmigan foraging in the alpine tundra, or a Turkey Vulture soaring over the badland hoodoos. With clear descriptions designed to be accessible for beginner and intermediate birders, this extensive guide is also useful for experts in the field. It comprises 305 full-page species accounts for regularly occurring species and 29 abbreviated accounts for more rarely occurring birds. With so many birds to see and hear in every region of the province, A Field Guide to the Birds of Alberta is the definitive guide for locals and visitors alike.

The authors are donating all royalties from sales of this book to Birds Canada to support their conservation efforts.

[A reminder that before this event, we have our monthly Birds & Beers event at the same venue on Thursday May 14th. More on that in the next post.]