Shadowbirds

I have read many hundreds of books on Natural History and would be hard pressed to pick out one and say that it was written with more passion than this book by William Burt.He has spent decades searching for and photographing rails and their nests;especially Black and Yellow Rails.Anyone interested in birding knows these to be the most elusive.While it is relatively easy to hear them calling,extremely hard to see them and a monumental task to find and photograph a nest;particularly that of a Yellow Rail. It takes a man of unbridled passion to even consider trying.Bill Burt is that man ,and combines a marvelous talent to write about it.Not only that;his photographic skills are stunning.In this book he gives us a picture of a Black Rail peering from its nest that is nothing short of spellbinding.Knowing what is involved in getting a photograph like this,makes one appreciate Bill's skills and passion. He writes from the soul;as you can tell from this short quote: "Winding away through the grass,a yellow rail is a fluent marvel to behold.With nodding little dovelike head he steadily seeks,nudges,pries,insinuates his way through, and the rest of him slenderly follows.Smoothly,flowingly he threads his way through tangles and snarls and clefts, along suggested and imagined pathways through new and green,through coarse,through fine;with unvarying agility he worms,mouses,snakes his way along." And how about this? "The black rail relies on clerity for escape-quick as a blink it can spring away,like a flea;but escape for a yellow rail is something smoother:it just melts away." He also describes his prep school teacher whose 'program of rote and inculcation was so oppressive, so dull,so lacking in life and oxygen that it ought to have extinguished permanently any young boy's flicker of love for nature.''Another thing about Mr.Wolf: he never took his class outdoors.Responsively,I flunked.' Bill writes from the heart about his passion for rails and is a real treat to read.You will never look at a marsh again,especially at night and think about rails, the same way again.

Shadowbirds is a story about Bill Burt's infectious passion for Rails - those secretive, "stealth" birds that inhabit some of the most challenging environs on earth - marshes. Through what can only really be called poetry he takes the reader with him as he tracks down and photographs some of the most difficult-to-find birds anywhere. His love of these birds and the way he allows us to see through his photographer's eyes made this a difficult book for me to put down. I just wanted more! It is not the story, though, that distinguishes this book as much as it is his style, which like his photographs, is intensely personal and passionate.If you love poetry, birds and a great detective story, give this one a read!