FROM THE PUBLISHER

On the morning of January 1, 2000, Mark T. Adams started counting birds. His goal was to find the largest possible number of species in one year in Texas, an undertaking known in birding parlance as a Big Year. By the evening of December 31, he had tied the record of 489 species seen or heard within the state's borders in a single calendar year. Traveling thirty thousand miles across Texas by car and eighteen thousand miles by plane, Adams alone saw 92 percent of all bird species reported in the state in 2000.

In Chasing Birds across Texas, Adams invites birders and others with a broad interest in the outdoors to join him in exploring Texas' varied habitats on his quest for birds -- from the upper coast to the lower coast; into the Hill Country, the Panhandle, and the Chihuahuan Desert; and up the Davis, Chisos, and Guadalupe Mountains. As he happily celebrates the bounty of the Valley's spring migration or desperately searches for a Panhandle rarity, we watch him grow as a naturalist, exult in the Texas landscape, and benefit from the company of some of the world's best birders.

Informative, inspiring, and great fun, Chasing Birds across Texas conveys as perhaps no other bird book can the humor, obsession, dedication, and adventure that are all part of the sport of birding.

FROM THE CRITICS

Kaufman

"What could be bigger than a full year of tracking down every bird in the fabulous state of Texas? Join ace birder Mark Adams on this play-by-play of how he did it. A great ride and a great read."-

Texas Co-op Power

The book is an odd adventure story, one that those who love birds and Texas geography will savor. Adams continually used his scientific instincts and knowledge to report his observations.

. . . this year's best entry. Adams is not the first to attempt tofind the most birds ever in a year in Texas, nor will he be the last, but he surely has written a good account of the journey. From the pine siskins feeding in his own backyard in the Davis Mountains on New Year's Day to the long-eared owls missed on the 366th day in the Panhandle, this is a great read.

San Antonio Express-News

. . . this year's best entry. Adams is not the first to attempt tofind the most birds ever in a year in Texas, nor will he be the last, but he surely has written a good account of the journey. From the pine siskins feeding in his own backyard in the Davis Mountains on New Year's Day to the long-eared owls missed on the 366th day in the Panhandle, this is a great read.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Lonn Taylor