Spotted Owls: Shadows in an Old-Growth Forest

by Jared Hobbs and Mary Louise Kelly

Book Overview

As old-growth forest is increasingly lost to logging, the spotted owl population is declining precipitously in both Canada and the U.S. This beautiful book is a must for anyone who cares about the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155365241X
• ISBN13: 9781553652410
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Greystone Books
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.5" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

We bought this book ASAP after a chance meeting with Jared in the Olympic National Park.

Although I've lived in Western Washington since 1981, and I've enjoyed bird watching and hiking here, I've not followed the spotted owl crisis after they faded from media coverage a few years ago. This book was not on my radar until a chance meeting with the photographer, Jared Hobbs, at a trailhead in Olympic National Park last month. I was with two adult friends on a Girl Scout backpacking trip along the Elwha River. We had crossed paths the day before with a wildlife biologist from WWU who was participating in a bird survey prior to removal of the dams on the Elwha. We had talked birds, so were already aware that there were 6 pairs of spotted owls along the corridor we had just hiked and the danger posed by the intrusion of barred owls there. The professor did some bird calls for us, to distinguish between the two types of owls. I am pretty focused on birding when I hike, so talking with an expert really got me stoked. By the time we met Jared at the end of our hike, we had lots of owl questions, which he took the time to answer. We weren't lucky enough to actually see a spotted owl, but we were lucky to run into a photographer with an amazing book of photos that took ten years to create. When you see the photos, you'll understand. Imagine how many trips into the backcountry and how many hours of being in the right place at the right time it would take to capture these excellent shots of the birds at all their life stages. I agree, the text isn't as compelling as the photos, but the photos are so cool, who cares? I could get by on just captions. If you're into birds, photography, hiking, our just beautiful things, you'll like this book.

Stunning photographs celebrate the endangered Spotted Owl

This book was given to me as a gift and I am so glad! I didn't know anything about Spotted Owls before reading this book but I now I understand some of the pressures they are facing from people (logging) and invasive species (Barred Owls). The information is fairly basic so it's perfect if you want to learn a little more about one of the rarest owls in western North America. The best part about this book is its beautiful collection of photographs. Page after page is filled with full-colour professional photographs of Spotted Owls. Jared Hobbs, the photographer of this gorgeous book, is also a biologist who has worked on Spotted Owls for over 10 years! In other words, he knows just where to find them and it shows. The reader (or viewer) is invited into the secretive world of the Spotted Owl and is able to see them catching mice, tending their young, grooming, flying and lots more! If you care about human impacts on the environment, are a fan of wildlife photography, or just want a beautiful "coffee table" book this is the book for you!

The Spotted Owl

I live within the area of the Spotted Owls range and I remember when the contraversy over logging the old growth forests or saving the Spotted Owl was in the headlines. I found this book to be informative and the information was presented in a manner that was easy to understand. The information, however, is basic and geared towards those who really don't have a huge background on Spotted Owls, but if you're looking to start your research on the Spotted Owl or owls in general, this is a great book to start with. The book is full of pictures that add to the information provided, though the book does have a feel that it is more a showcase of the pictures rather than the text itself. It is a good, quick read and would make a good book to leave on your coffee table.