Bird conservation has been a focus of mine for many years. I remember as a teenage boy walking along the C and O Canal Towpath, near Washington D.C. and watching for migrating warblers in the spring. It was not unusual to see 19 species of warbler in a day during the peak of migration. Now on a good day, during the peak of spring migration, there are only 11 species of warbler. Also the peak off the spring migration season is earlier now.

Those earlier days might include at least one Cerulean Warbler and three or four different Kentucky Warblers. Now you are hard-pressed to see either warbler along the towpath and if you do you will call the "Voice of the Naturalist" and report the details of such a rare observation.

As a young man in Eastern Montana, Sage Grouse seemed to be common where there was good Sage Brush habitat.  Now you are hard pressed to see a Sage Grouse, even if you spend an entire day in good Sage Brush habitat. A Sage Grouse Dancing Lek in late spring or early summer is reported to birding guides, who take many clients to observe the dancing birds. The birds are also reported to local birding clubs scattered throughout the  towns nearby.

The trend in decreasing wild bird populations is real and concerns me greatly. That is part of the reason I brought Dr. Bridget Stuchbury's book on bird conservation, Silence of the Songbirds.

Dr. Stuchbury, of York University in Toronto, writes about subjects that are truly impacting birdlife. Since 1968, when I first picked up binoculars to bird, I havne't until now really learned about what is ailing bird populations around the world--from Africa, to Latin America, Asia and North America--and to start learning about bird conservation. I have seen every topic that Stuchbury writes about.

The book is illustrated artistically by Julie Zickfoose. Stuchbury starts the book on her family farm in Vermont and writes about how she learns about the conservation of songbirds in Latin America.

This book is not only written for birders but it is well written and just right for any person. In book lexicon this is a "must read".

Stuchbury writes fluently about hardcore birder topics like the Breeding Bird Survey, and how it has changed for the worse over the years. Stuchbury writes about the importance of shade grown coffee to birds. I am ready to drink coffee that helps birds after reading Stuchbury's chapter called Coffee with a Conscience. There are hazards that birds have to navigate as they migrate, and Stuchbury writes about this. Of course, Stuchbury also writes about global warming and bird conservation. Complex subjects, like deforestation of rainforests and temperate forests such as the boreal forest which dominates much of Canada, are tackled by Stuchbury.

In her Epilogue, Stuchbury writes about the loss of biodiversity. She writes: "If a species goes extinct, or its population drops to very low numbers, the ecological roles that it played in nature are lost. Some species are so specialized that their services cannot be replaced by other animals, so their loss creates a ripple effect."

If I have one complaint about Stuchbury's book it is the fact that little is written about the human impact on birds. Data on this topic is scarce, but let me tell you what I've seen. Two species of Flamingo occur in large numbers in the Ngorongoro Crater of Tanzania. You will not see these same Flamingos outside of a park or near what can only be observed as a burgeoning sea of humanity. As the human population increases dramatically in places like Latin America and Eastern Africa, I view this as a scourge for all birds.

Stuchbury avoids writing about this topic, but most birders avoid this topic, including me. Stuchbury focuses her book on North America and Latin America, in areas she is familiar with.

Silence of the Songbirds is "must read," not only for the conservationist or environmentalist, but for anyone interested in good writing and the plight of our feathered friends.