Owls of the Eastern Ice, Jonathan C. Slaght
Owls of the Eastern Ice, Jonathan C. Slaght
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Owls of the Eastern Ice
A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl

Author: Jonathan C. Slaght

Narrator: Jonathan C. Slaght

Unabridged: 8 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/13/2020

Categories: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals


Synopsis

A field scientist and conservationist tracks the elusive Blakiston's Fish Owl in the forbidding reaches of eastern Russia

When he was just a fledgling birdwatcher, Jonathan C. Slaght had a chance encounter with one of the most mysterious birds on Earth. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. Soon he was on a five-year journey, searching for this enormous, enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of eastern Russia. That first sighting set his calling as a scientist.

Despite a wingspan of six feet and a height of over two feet, the Blakiston's fish owl is highly elusive. They are easiest to find in winter, when their tracks mark the snowy banks of the rivers where they feed. They are also endangered. And so, as Slaght and his devoted team set out to locate the owls, they aim to craft a conservation plan that helps ensure the species' survival. This quest sends them on all-night monitoring missions in freezing tents, mad dashes across thawing rivers, and free-climbs up rotting trees to check nests for precious eggs. At the heart of Slaght's story are the fish owls themselves: cunning hunters, devoted parents, singers of eerie duets, and survivors in a harsh and shrinking habitat.

About Jonathan C. Slaght

Jonathan C. Slaght is the Russia and Northeast Asia coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society, where he manages research projects on endangered species and coordinates avian conservation activities along the East Asia-Australasian Flyway from the Arctic to the tropics. His annotated translation of Across the Ussuri Kray, by Vladimir Arsenyev, was published in 2016, and his work has been featured by the New York Times, the Guardian, the BBC World Service, NPR, Smithsonian magazine, Scientific American, and Audubon magazine, among others. He lives in Minneapolis.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nigel on April 01, 2023

In brief - If remote places and rare wildlife interest you then it's worth a look at this well written book. 4.5/5 In full This fascinating book starts with an introduction to the author’s interest in the area and the owls. It includes his memories of his first sighting of a Blakiston’s fish owl even......more

Goodreads review by L.G. on October 01, 2020

Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan C. Slaght Having previously read The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant, with this book I've returned in my reading to Primorye, Russia. The fish owl is a symbol of Primorye’s wilderness almost as much as the Amur tiger, and as with the......more

Goodreads review by Dave on December 06, 2024

Imagine: 1) I am slow reading Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver; 2) I went on an (age-appropriate oldster, but with a "boy genius"--everyone seems to call him that--leader) owl walk with a birding group the other night (and we heard three screech owls; and were told that six different kinds of......more

Goodreads review by La Crosse County Library on September 13, 2022

Review originally published October 26, 2021 Having read Wesley the Owl (2008) not too long ago, I was craving another owl story. Instead of Barn Owls, Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl (2020) features a field scientist and conservationist chasing the rare......more