Australian Bird Guide Give Away Today!

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.

Okay, I know, get on with it--about the book!

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!)

My passion is not just birds but the conservation of birds.  Operation Migration's Whooping Crane Activity Book has been my effort to reach children and entice them into the world of conservation by telling them the magical story of how people are helping endangered Whooping Cranes, leading them on their first migration south behind ultralight aircraft.  (If you don't know this story, you can read about it here and here.)

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!