It's August 1st, the beginning of a brand new month and time to give away a beautiful field guide to the Birds of Australia to one of my lucky blog readers.
As I thought about this yesterday, I realized I put a lot of pressure on myself to make the selection based solely on my reaction to the stories told. To everyone who reads my blog, I want to say a big THANK YOU. And to everyone who told their story, an extra special thank you for sharing your stories with us! They were all special, enriching and great reasons to win a field guide.
Above, I've posted images of a Laughing Kookaburra, one of the birds on the field guide page I featured in my review post. That was no accident. I had just met this enchanting kookaburra at the Brevard County Zoo in Florida, just days earlier. He made me laugh, mesmerized me with his hilarious song, and captured my heart with his beautiful plumage. He made me forget I was in a zoo and I felt the wonder of another country filled with interesting birds I've never seen before. (Of course there are plenty in my own USA I haven't seen!)
All of that is to say, children are the future of conserving wildlife. When Peter Gustas told me the story of his nine year old grandson's excitement over the continent of Australia and that he was introducing him to birding, it tugged my heart. I thought, what better way for a young person to get to know a country than through its birds!
So Peter, you and your grandson are the proud winners of a beautiful new Australian field guide! All you have to do now is send me your address so the publisher can get your book on its way (email Viclcsw (at) aol (dot) com). I suspect one day that field guide will be traveling to Australia clutched in your grandson's hand!
Links:
Penguin Australia
Operation Migration
Brevard County Zoo
Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #101, to promote the conservation of our world's birds!
I love the Kookaburra photos Vickie. Gorgeous bird. I remember the first time I heard of this bird I had to look it up so I could hear its call. It cracked me up!
ReplyDeleteSweet of you to give away the guide book too. Thank you for all you do for conservation and the kids!
I ♡ kookaburras. I visited Australia twice and they stole my heart forever. :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on winning the field guide, Peter!
Cool! I have never seen a kookaburra, even in a photo.
ReplyDeletePS: I put one of your killdeer chick photos up as my wallpaper on my work computer. People are always commenting on it when they stop by my cubicle. He is just so darn cute!
Thanks Larry and Gwendolen. I thought this Kookaburra was one of the coolest birds ever!
ReplyDeleteHalcyon, great to hear from you. I love that my little killdeer fluff-ball is on your wallpaper! So cool that he draws attention.
Congrats Peter!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bird, that I hope to see one day! Excellent captures Vickie!
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