101 Ways to Help Birds (Paperback)

~ (Author), Roger Hall (Illustrator) "THE WAY TO A BIRD'S HEART MAY NOT BE THROUGH OUR STOMACHS, but our eating practices directly affect bird populations..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, House Sparrows, North America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This engaging book presents 101 things individuals can do to help both individual birds and bird populations as a whole. It also explains exactly how these actions can make a difference--what wrongs they help correct and what improvements they can bring about. Bird-friendly (and environment-friendly) practices are described in detail: things anyone can do around the home and garden, at work, at the store, in their community, in the outdoors, and on the road. Anyone who appreciates wild birds knows that the animals need our help. This timely guide shows bird-lovers what they can do.

About the Author

Laura Erickson is the writer/producer of the radio program "For the Birds," which airs throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. She is the author of Sharing the Wonder of Birds with Kids (0-8166-4211-7), a National Outdoor Book Award winner, and For the Birds (0-938586-91-2) and a frequent contributor to Audubon and Birder's World. She is a licensed bird rehabilitator and lives near Duluth.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (April 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811733025
• ISBN-13: 978-0811733021
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #515,574 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, Easy to Read, Great Gift, Makes a Difference, August 16, 2006

By	Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

I bought this as a gift for my wife, who just qualified our backyard as a National Wildlife Habitat. It is sensibly organized in five parts:

Part I: Helping Birds at Home

Part II: Enhancing the Natural Habitat of Your Backyard

Part III: Supplementing Backyard Habitat

Part IV: Helping Birds Away from Home

Part V: Helping Birds on a Larger Scale

As experienced bird lovers and supporters, I can readily say that there is a great deal in this book that I was unaware of. Parts III and IV were most interesting to me, and Part V I had never really thought about. If birds are the "canary in the coal mine" for the Earth, then this book, as other reviewers have suggested, of larger importance, but for me, it is quite simply a wonderful selection of 101 useful easy to read ideas that can make a difference.

Very nice.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 101 Ways to Help Birds, April 1, 2006

By	Val Cunningham (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews

This is the book you've been waiting for. Naturalist Laura Erickson sets out 100+ things we can do to ensure the survival of birds, from making our windows collision proof to choosing fuel-efficient cars to buying a duck stamp. Lively and well-researched, the book is a gold mine of information about the many hazards to birds and the things we can do about them.

Instead of just feeling guilty about the impact we're having on the natural world, 101 Ways to Help Birds shines like a beacon of hope. We learn why garden store chemicals are bad for birds, why water looms as a major issue and how to conserve it, how to help an injured or sick bird and why shade-grown coffee is a boon for birds.

Erickson cares so deeply about birds and their continued survival on this planet that she devoted three years of her life to researching and writing a book to help turn the tide. Readers may not wish to go quite as far as she does:, Erickson's been known to stop her car to toss a dead skunk off the road to save a hungry turkey vulture from feeding too close to traffic. But you'll find all sorts of suggestions, both big and small, for making the world a safer and better place for birds, written in Erickson's engaging style.

This book occupies a unique niche-I know of no other like it--and 101 Ways to Help Birds belongs on the shelves of anyone who feeds birds, watches birds and just generally cares about birds.
101 Ways to Help Birds, by Laura Erickson, Stackpole Books, 2006

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Birders: A More Bellicose Clan Have Never Been Bred, January 9, 2008

By	Stephen E. Adams "cloudislands.com" (Lopez Island, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First of all, I don't think I like birders. I recently attended a seminar on reintroducing the Western Bluebirds to the San Juan Islands (where I live) and wasn't there 15 minutes before I had exchanged words with 3 different people, 2 of whom I wanted to poke in the nose.

That said, Laura Erickson's "101 Ways to Help Birds" seems to me a dandy book for birders or non-birders alike. Her suggestions are all practical ones which cover everything from the role of conservation of our natural resources and its impact on bird populations to basic information everyone should know when feeding birds. Her language is clear and precise and she writes with wit as well as authority.

I still rarely meet a birder without wanting to thrust out my foot and watch him or her go tumbling, but I do appreciate a well-written book on ways we can increase bird populations. Nice work, Ms. Erickson!