Birds of the Chesapeake Bay: Paintings by John W. Taylor, with Natural Histories and Journal Notes by the Artist [Hardcover]

John W. Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1992

"Birds of the Chesapeake Bay" collects 40 of Taylor's recent paintings. Reproduced in full colour, they depict many of the Chesapeake's most important and best-loved birds. One of the world's largest and richest estuaries, the Chesapeake Bay attracts millions of birds to its marshes and waterways. For 30 years, the artist John Taylor has lived and worked along its shores - walking the woods and beaches, looking for birds, and recording the extraordinary life of the Chesapeake in his paintings, drawings, and journals. Some of his subjects - the Canada goose, laughing gull, and osprey - are familiar sights to those who live near the Bay. Others - the snowy egret, sora rail, and peregrine falcon - are more rarely seen. All are rendered with exceptional attention to physical detail and subtlety of form, whether treated in portraits or landscapes. This book looks at the Bay's wildlife and habitat through the eyes of a talented artist and experienced naturalist. Accompanying each painting is an account of the bird's natural history, including details of its life in the Chesapeake region and how that life has changed because of increasing development and more energetic conservation efforts. Excerpts from Taylor's field journals offer vivid accounts of the Bay's sights and sounds - describing the elaborate greeting ceremony of the tundra swan or the haunting voice of a courting oldsquaw.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Mr. Taylor clearly loves what he does... A striking book of illustrations and journal entries.

(Tim Warren Baltimore Sun Magazine )

Naturalists will appreciate Birds of the Chesapeake Bay. Excerpts from the field journal of local wildlife artist John Taylor accompany 40 of his most recent paintings. Taylor's personal accounts eloquently complement his beautiful paintings, putting the reader by his side as he wades through the rushes, listening for the cries of the birds overhead.

(Baltimore Magazine )

The 40 paintings, reproduced one to a page, capture the beauty and diversity of the Bay's wildfowl... The journal notes -- brief, descriptive narrative passages -- recount Taylor's encounters with each species and are pleasantly reminiscent of Thoreau's On Walden Pond.

(Maryland Magazine )

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; A Robert G. Merrick ed edition (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801843804
• ISBN-13: 978-0801843808
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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