Winged Sentinels

I have just finished reading Winged Sentinels: Birds and Climate Change by Janice Wormworth and Cagan H Sekercioglu and it was a cracking read. If you are interested to learn about birds and climate change, and anyone interested in birds and conservation should be, and what effect climate change will have on bird populations then you will enjoy this book. It is a worrying read at times, but then the whole issue of climate change is worrying.

The blurb on the back of the book states "from ice-dependent penguins of Antarctica to songbirds that migrate across the Sahara, birds' responses provide early warning signs of the impact of climate change. Winged Sentinels: Birds and climate change uses colourful examples to show how particular groups of birds face heightened threats from climate change, and to explore how we can help birds adapt in a warming world. Generously illustrated with colour photographs, the book is a fascinating insight into what climate change means for birds, and the potential consequences of ignoring these warning signs". I couldn't have put it better myself!

Chapter headings are:

1. Phenology: seasonal timing and mismatch
2. Migratory birds face turbulence
3. Range shifts and reshuffled communities
4. Seabirds herald ocean changes
5. Climate change, abundance and extinction
6. Tropical warming and habitat islands
7. Shifting ground on conservation

I found the first chapter particularly interesting on seasonal timing and mismatch as this is something I am noting with my nest boxes and in fact I have touched upon this on my blog these past few posts. So go on, teat yourself, you won't be disappointed.