Here's summer reading for the nature enthusiast

It's time for my summer reading list - not necessarily traditional beach books, but recent titles that have caught my attention and I find worth recommending.
Pete Dunne leads the way this summer - he's got two new books that every birder will find interesting. Dunne is director of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatories and one of the top birders in the country. "The Art of Pishing: How to Attract Birds by Mimicking Their Calls" by Pete Dunne (2006, Stackpole, $17.95) highlights Dunne's sense of humor, while teaching how to pish. Pishing, high-pitched notes made by pursing the lips and making hissing "p" sounds, arouses the natural curiosity of birds and often brings them into view as they search for the noisy intruder. It even includes an instructional CD.
Dunne's second title, "Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds" (2006, Houghton Mifflin, $29.95), is a long overdue effort that complements any field guide to birds. Each of 691 accounts offers detailed descriptions of the bird's status, distribution, habitat, migration, appearance, behavior, flight and voice. Field guides typically cover these subjects in just a few words or phrases; I get the feeling Dunne tells us everything he knows about each bird. Plus, he includes the category "cohabitants," which are other species found it similar habitats. Although too big to carry afield, "Dunne's Field Guide Companion" is an essential desk reference.
"The Shorebird Guide" by Michael O'Brien, Richard Crossley and Kevin Karlson (2006, Houghton Mifflin, $24.95) is for serious, experienced birders who struggle identifying the confusing species known as shorebirds. It is, in a word, excellent. Using 870 superb color photos to depict more than 90 species, "The Shorebird Guide" is more like taking a field trip than reading a book. Many of the photos illustrate multiple birds and multiple species, just like we see in nature. And the authors demystify bird identification by using a holistic approach -- note "general impression of size and shape" (jizz in military slang) before moving on to plumage details. Birders wanting to master shorebird ID need this book.
"Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds" by Miyoko Chu (2006, Walker & amp; Co., $23) is a fascinating introduction to bird migration. It carries a strong conservation message and includes extensive lists of sources of additional information. Many readers will find the chapter on finding and monitoring bird nests worth the price of the book.
Bruce Babbitt, former Arizona Governor (1978-87) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1993 to 2001) may lack the charisma necessary to win a national election, but his vision of national land use policy is how it should be done. "Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America" (2005, Island Press, $25.95) is must reading for land-use planners at every level of government.
There is no longer any doubt or debate that global warming is taking place. We've been warned about it for decades, and several new books take a look at the consequences. "The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth" by Tim Flannery (2005, Atlantic Monthly Press, $24) and "The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations" by Eugene Linden (2006, Simon & amp; Schuster, $26) offer a historical perspective, predictions for the future and solutions. Both are clearly written, easy to understand, and, quite frankly, frightening. Learn how planet Earth could be unrecognizable in as little as 50 years, unless we change our ways.
With its origins in a three-part series in The New Yorker, "Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change" by Elizabeth Kolbert (2006, Bloomsbury Publishing, $22.95) is a wake-up call for the world, not just the U.S. What happens on the poles, in Greenland and on glaciers and mountaintops around the globe will ultimately affect us all. With books like these last three, no one can ever say we haven't been warned.
Send questions and comments to Dr. Scott Shalaway, RD 5, Cameron, WV 26033 or via e-mail to sshalaway@aol.com