Naturalists' Field Trip Reports

March 18, 2004 2:53 PM

Country Life: Wildlife Reports From Around The World.Here's a generous helping of trip reports from a group of dedicated naturalists who manage to be thorough and entertaining at the same time. It's part of a travel agency's web site, but not so as you'd notice it. Reading through them, one feels quietly (perhaps dangerously?) optimistic at the astonishing variety of all things bright and beautiful in this grossly over-exploited world of ours. (Well, there may be too many birds in the fauna/flora mix, if you're not a certified ornithologist. Oh - and not enough detail on the local gastronomical delights!)
posted by MiguelCardoso (5 comments total)

dangerously...optimistic ....check these links out Miguel.
sixth big extinction
posted by JohnR at 3:19 PM on March 18, 2004

For those who want to visit natural areas and help out at the same time, take a volunteer vacation with the Sierra Club, the American Hiking Society, the Forest Service, and others.

You might have to cook your own food, but you will certainly find an astonishing variety of beauty, and most likely come back with more than just photographs and trip reports.
posted by F Mackenzie at 3:26 PM on March 18, 2004

If you enjoyed these, and haven't yet, I really recommend picking up Douglas Adams' Last Chance to See. I read it after hearing him speak about travelling to strange places to see endangered animals, and enjoyed it more than almost any of his other books. Is that blasphemous or what? And, since it's Adams, it's definitely entertaining.
posted by whatzit at 4:07 PM on March 18, 2004

Wow. I nominate this humble thread as the most fertile yet in terms of comments and links in the first three responses. Thanks, JohnR, F Mackenzie and whatzit! :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:14 PM on March 18, 2004

Agreed not sure where to start. Good birding resource, have the Adams book in my Wishlist now, found info on trail building (which Im currently doing) from Mackenzies link, have some new ammo in the war against global warming thanks to JohnR.
posted by stbalbach at 6:42 PM on March 18, 2004