Wildlife biologist Jonathan Slaght to discuss new book Aug. 24
Those who give a hoot about birds, international adventure or wildlife conservation, should plan to joinauthor Jonathan C. Slaght for a virtual happy hour at 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 24.
During the Zoom-based interactive conversation sponsored by the Lewes Public Library and Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Slaght will discuss his latest book, “Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl.”
In the book, Slaght describes his five-year quest to track down the mysterious Blakiston’s Fish Owl in the forbidding reaches of eastern Russia. With his Russian collaborators, the author encountered frozen rivers, extreme weather, tigers, bears and other hazards on the mission to protect the owls from threats posed by logging companies and poachers.
Through this rare glimpse into the everyday life of a field scientist and conservationist, “Owls of the Eastern Ice” testifies to the determination and creativity essential to scientific advancement and serves as a powerful reminder of the beauty, strength and vulnerability of the natural world.
Slaght first encountered a fish owl - one of Earth’s most elusive and largest birds, with a wingspan of six feet and a height of more than two feet - as a fledgling birdwatcher. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. That first sighting set his calling as a scientist.
Slaght is the Russia and Northeast Asia coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society, where he manages research projects on endangered species and coordinates avian conservation activities along the East Asia–Australasian Flyway from the Arctic to the tropics.
His annotated translation of “Across the Ussuri Kray,” by Vladimir Arsenyev, was published in 2016. His work has been featured by the New York Times, the Guardian, the BBC World Service, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American and Audubon magazine, among others. He lives in Minneapolis.
Copies of Owls of the Eastern Ice may be purchased from local independent bookstores Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach and biblion in Lewes. Call-in orders are accepted at both stores. Each copy purchased comes with a signed archival bookplate. The book also is available to borrow through the Delaware public library system.
To register, go to lewes.lib.de.us or browseaboutbooks.com.
