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alternatives to squirrels



At the risk of starting another lengthy thread--but in an attempt at 
directing our attention at something other than squirrel barbecues--let 
me suggest two good reads, adn one good viewing that people may not 
have discovered. 

1. IVORY BILLED: Since the weather is much too yucky for much hiking I 
consoled myself with hanging out at Barnes and Noble yesterday. While 
doing so I discovered  a very eloquent essay about the Ivory Billed 
Woodpecker by Erik Blom in the latest issue of Birdwatchers' Digest. 
Blom participated in last year's search at Pearl River, though he was 
sceptical of success. The essay is written with both verve and finessse.

2. ALPHA PREDATORS: This is neither bird related not NC centered, but 
does relate to nature and ecology. David Quammen's newest book "THe 
Monster of God: the Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and 
the Mind" has just arrived in the bookstores. It explores the place of 
four alpha-predators, Indian Lions [yes, we do have naturally-ocurring 
lions in India]), Rumanian Brown Bears, Siberian Tigers and the 
Australian Marsh Crocodile in human imagination as well as humanly 
altered ecosystems. Again this is an amazingly well-researched and 
sobering book. Sobering, not only because of the dire futures these 
beasts face, but also because it might provide us with contemplation of 
*being* a mouthful, rather than making a mouthful of squirrels.

3. The Carrboro Visart has a great video called "The Kestrel's Eye". 
This is a Swedish Documentary about a pair of European Kestrels nesting 
in the steeple of a church. The camera, installed in the nest hole, 
follows the pair through courtship, roosting, mating and raising four 
chicks. There is absolutely no narration at all, nor any music. Far 
less flashy and much less rehearsed than Winged Migration. Again, a 
good consolation if birding is so scarce that we must find other 
consolations. 

Shantanu Phukan