THERE’S STACKS of bird books on the market these days. Some highly technical, some basically informative and some are just good old fashioned coffee table celebrations. Every now and again one shows up which combines all of these elements and when it is full of images taken by one of the world’s great avian photographers and penned by some of the best minds on the planet in this field, then I figure that it’s something we might get at least a little excited about. If that’s not enough for you, consider that the book is written in Korean, Chinese and English: making the goal of migratory shorebird conservation on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) its central theme and raison d’être. A copy of the book “Invisible Connections”, was recently given to me by Ken Gosbell, Chair of the Australasian Wader Study Group, so what follows is a brief review . . .

Invisible Connections is not only full of sublime images of these magnificent birds and the habitats which they visit but it is crafted to appeal to the sensibilities of people right across the region. It highlights the fact that Palearctic Shorebird conservation faces a great deal of logistical difficulties as the EAAF alone covers more than 20 countries – that’s 20 different cultural, social and political jurisdictions. The shorebirds themselves know none of this for they live without borders and in so doing remind us of the remorseless reality that we are all really citizens of Planet Earth, that our boundaries are artificial and mean as much in reality as they do to these wonderful birds which make their extraordinary trans-equatorial migrations each year with unflinching resolve and regularity.

THIS BOOK is an absolute gem. The pictures decorating its 176 pages are beautiful, but tear your eyes away from them for a moment and you’ll find that the text is also absorbing as it presents to you what are truly some of the most inspiring creatures which we are blessed to share this planet with. As I’ve often said, they’re not only marvelous in themselves but they remind us that all life is marvelous and that includes you and I. The topics covered explore every facet of the annual journeys of these extraordinary birds, without ignoring the human element. It’s important that we do so as these birds visit some of the most densely populated and human-pressured locations on the planet. How humanity adjacent to the Yellow Sea responds to the needs of these birds will determine their future (if the effects of climate change don’t get them first). So far the report card for China and both Koreas indicates that they are failing in their stewardship of the Yellow Sea. We can only hope that books like this may help to turn that around.

THE PROPORTIONS of the book are generous, permitting the images the proportions that do them justice. I’m sure that if you’re astute enough to get your hands on a copy that it wont spend very much time gathering dust on your bookshelf. From here on in I’ll let some images of the book tell the story and until next time . . . Happy birding!

van de Kam, J., P.F. Battley, B.J. McCaffery, D.I. Rogers, Jae-Sang Hong, N. Moores, Ju-Yong Ki, J. Lewis & T. Piersma (2008). Invisible connections. Why migrating shorebirds need the Yellow Sea. Wetlands International, Wageningen. ISBN/EAN: 978-905882-009-9

Filed under:
Conservation, Shorebirds by Ricki