Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond

This was the first of David Gessner's books that I've read. I'm addicted. What a wonderful story teller. I was right there looking for, and hoping for Fidel to show up through the entire adventure and I loved every minute of it. Osprey are fascinating birds filled with character. The people you meet along the way are a kind, colorful, brilliant, nature loving bunch. It's a great read. I wish the adventure had kept going for another 200 pages! David Gessner's book, The Return of the Osprey, is also excellent if you're a fan of osprey and nature. And, of course, Cape Cod.

I got more than I expected when I read this book. The story of the different ospreys and how they migrate.. and to Venezuela! plus the author's adventures in following these birds made fascinating reading. For anyone who is intersted in birds or who likes adventure stories.

A wonderfully readable story of one person's obsession with osprey migration that led him to Cuba. I especially enjoyed learning about a webcam osprey nest site.

I wish the book had gone on longer. There just wasn't as much content as I like. The subject was great. We know so little about migration. I like his style but I just wanted more storyline. I like all animal books of any kind and especially birds. We just take them for granted and now they are disappearing. I would like another follow up book with Freddy coming to America to visit us again. He was such an interesting guy and you just wanted to climb that mountain with them. This osprey season has been as sad and interesting as any I have ever experienced and I hope David had better luck in North Carolina. Osprey nests all over seemed to fail this year. Please travel some more and continue to write and I will read. Loyal fan, B. Kelley

Gessner ratchets up the action with this true-life adventure. He demonstrates that a very skilled writer on a shoestring budget is able to blend ornithology, international adventure, beer, smokes and derring-do into a terrific book that teaches the reader to devour life while pursuing knowledge. The combination is odd, but I found this page-turner exciting and informative. Both people and ospreys come under Gessner's neb as he breaks a few U.S. State Department rules about travel to Cuba to see for himself where thousands of Ospreys (and other birds) migrate. His interest focuses on a particular bird he follows from Cape Cod to Cuba's La Gran Piedra. Achieving this, he risks life and limb to travel to Venezuela where kidnappings and murders are not quite as numerous as the ospreys he so adores, and borrows money to consummate his passionate quests. I reluctantly set this book aside to run an errand that took me across the Megler Bridge over the Columbia River through an estuary near Astoria, Oregon. As if on cue, an Osprey plunged into a mud flat and arose with a small flounder less than 50 yards from the highway. Had I not been reading this book, I would have missed the event, but Gessner's memorable descriptions of Osprey behavior are enriching my life. I now see ospreys all the time. Gessner's books have given me my wings, my vision is sharpened and I think I may be turning into an osprey magnet, I really think so.