Marybeth Lima – Adventures of a Louisiana Birder: One Year, Two Wings, Three Hundred Species
byWednesday, June 5, 2019
6:00pm to 7:30pm
Garden District Book Shop
This candid and humorous chronicle shows how one woman goes from casual observer to obsessive bird nerd as she traverses Louisiana’s avian paradise. In Adventures of a Louisiana Birder, readers follow Marybeth Lima across her adopted state in search of 300 species of birds. Bisected by the Mississippi flyway and home to 400 miles of coast, Louisiana has a variety of habitats, which serve as a beautiful backdrop to this remarkable journey.
In birding circles, some devotees attempt what is known as a “big year,” a bird-sighting challenge to identify as many bird species as possible in a particular geographical area over the course of one year. Lima’s initial effort amounted to 11,626 miles in sixty-one road trips to log an impressive 280 species. But on a subsequent quest to exceed her record, she endures elusive birds, embarrassing misidentifications, and hungry insects in an effort to reach her goal. In the midst of these obstacles, Lima celebrates the camaraderie and friendly competition among fellow birders, from novices to a world-renown ornithologist. Requiring both mental focus and physical agility, birdwatching becomes an active sport through Lima’s narration. She vividly conveys the elation over a rare species seen or heard and the disappointment when one is narrowly missed. An appendix provides the location and date of every species she identifies.
This book is available in hardcover ($39.95).
Marybeth Lima discusses and signs her book, Adventures of a Lousiaina Birder: One Year, Two Wings, Three Hundred Species. Marybeth will do a video presentation.
If you are unable to attend, you must call the book shop to order signed books.