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Title details for A Wing and a Prayer by Anders Gyllenhaal - Available

A Wing and a Prayer

The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds

by Anders Gyllenhaal
Beverly Gyllenhaal
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A captivating drama from the frontlines of the race to save birds set against the devastating loss of one third of the avian population.
Three years ago, headlines delivered shocking news: nearly three billion birds in North America have vanished over the past fifty years. No species has been spared, from the most delicate jeweled hummingbirds to scrappy black crows, from a rainbow of warblers to common birds such as owls and sparrows.

In a desperate race against time, scientists, conservationists, birders, wildlife officers, and philanthropists are scrambling to halt the collapse of species with bold, experimental, and sometimes risky rescue missions. High in the mountains of Hawaii, biologists are about to release clouds of laboratory-bred mosquitos in a last-ditch attempt to save Hawaii's remaining native forest birds. In Central Florida, researchers have found a way to hatch Florida Grasshopper Sparrows in captivity to rebuild a species down to its last two dozen birds. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a team is using artificial intelligence to save the California Spotted Owl. In North Carolina, a scientist is experimenting with genomics borrowed from human medicine to bring the long-extinct Passenger Pigeon back to life.

For the past year, veteran journalists Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal traveled more than 25,000 miles across the Americas, chronicling costly experiments, contentious politics, and new technologies to save our beloved birds from the brink of extinction. Through this compelling drama, A Wing and a Prayer offers hope and an urgent call to action: Birds are dying at an unprecedented pace. But there are encouraging breakthroughs across the hemisphere and still time to change course, if we act quickly.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 18, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797158631
      • File size: 260649 KB
      • Duration: 09:03:01

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 27, 2023
      In this eye-opening account, married duo Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal, retired journalists and avid birders, survey efforts to combat the decline in the North American bird population. In response to a 2019 study that found there are about three billion fewer birds today than 50 years ago because of climate change and habitat loss, the Gyllenhaals hit the road in an RV to visit “where the most severe problems are and witness the rescues, research, successes, and failures” of those trying to replenish the continent’s flocks. The colorful characters they met include the chief scientist at a nonprofit dedicated to bringing the passenger pigeon back from extinction, the masterminds behind Hawaii’s plan to sterilize malaria-carrying mosquitoes that kill the islands’ honeycreepers, and the biologists who track Florida scrub-jays by tagging them with transmitters “the size of a paper clip.” Readers looking for signs of hope will find some in the eclectic measures described, which showcase the remarkable ingenuity of those working to save the birds—one couple, for instance, developed a device that identifies the species of birds in the area by analyzing birdsongs and sends the data to Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology. Birders will be unsettled, and by the end, inspired.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A forthright performance by Cassandra Campbell and Stephen Graybill informs listeners of the current dangers birds face in today's world and explores what we can do to help. Journalists Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal travel the country to uncover the reasons alarming numbers of birds are disappearing and to persuade listeners of the need to save their populations. In alternating chapters Campbell performs the narrative of the Gyllenhaals' travels, and Graybill delivers factual case studies and statistics. Both offer coherent and precise narrations of engaging anecdotes that will motivate listeners to aid in the bird crisis. This audiobook provides the information listeners need to begin conservation on any level. G.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      Starred review from September 1, 2023

      In this riveting debut, journalists and bird conservationists Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal unpack their research, asking why there is such a high rate of bird loss each year and exploring what can be done to stop this alarming trend. This outstanding production is thoughtfully performed by skilled narrators Cassandra Campbell and Stephen Graybill. The sound of songbirds during the production's introduction sets the tone, as Campbell and Graybill present alternating chapters and give voice to Beverly and Anders. Well-matched, both narrators excel in vocally expressing compassion for their topic and sharing specific examples of birds currently threatened or headed for extinction because of agricultural expansion, habitat loss, encroachment of people into habitats, use of pesticides, and disease. While smoldering anger can be detected, glimmers of hope are present as well, as the duo present ideas being tested by scientists and offer practical suggestions for nature lovers and naturalists hoping to help save these threatened creatures. As an audio plus, Campbell admirably imitates bird calls within the text. VERDICT An upsetting but ultimately hopeful look at how citizen scientists can effect positive change in the natural world.--Stephanie Bange

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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