Wings For Wetlands Llc

A very thin accompaniment to the IMAX 3-D film released in selected theaters in January 2022. The film is narrated by actor Michael Keaton, who also provides an introduction to the book – a few paragraphs remembering his boyhood watching ducks and geese on migration, and his eagerness to participate in the film project because “after all, I know something about birds.” Presumably this is because he once starred in a film about an actor playing a superhero called Birdman, and because he is an avid hunter.

The book comprises a few chapters authored by representatives of the organizations that produced the film: Ducks Unlimited, the National Audubon Society, the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, and a former official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Each of these chapters reads like a PR piece for the organizations themselves, touting their accomplishments, and fund-raising for the protection of prairie wetlands from Canada to Mexico. There is a little bit of background information on the importance of these habitats (repeatedly referred to as “America’s Amazon”), particularly for waterfowl, and the drastic reduction in acreage due to agriculture and development – and these are large-scale, vitally important achievements and deserve full credit and thanks for them. Another chapter is devoted to the making of the film, which consists mostly of pictures of men in the water with a lot of camera equipment, showcasing the photographers and filmmakers who shot the lush and beautiful images of these places and the birds (and other creatures) who live there. Pains are taken to identify the birds both by common names and Latin taxonomic terms, though the common names are not capitalized per standard ornithological usage. Oddly, landscape photos are not identified as to locale, so a given image might be anywhere between Canada and Iowa. The film is said to focus on three prairie bird species: Sandhill Cranes, Yellow Warblers, and the nearly ubiquitous Mallard, but this book gives little to no substantive information on the birds or the prairie ecology they inhabit.

What is not explicit but fairly obvious is the strongly pro-hunting stance of the organizations supporting the film and this book. Theodore Roosevelt is lionized as a pioneer conservationist, and is also the man boasting a nearly 300-species kill list from a single African safari, including 11 bird species like cranes, storks, ostrich, and bustards. The McGraw Foundation has sponsored projects to recruit and encourage Hispanic hunters, and promote the benefits of trapping to government officials. Its chapter concludes with a bald, unexplicated statement that “To those who do not hunt, the idea that people can respect or love the animals they hunt is contradictory, perhaps even hypocritical.” That hint of hostility (ore defensiveness?) is revealing, and no effort is made to even address it.

Wings Over Water is probably a gorgeous, dramatic film. The book’s photos are lovely, and should surprise and delight readers and viewers with the splendors of these underappreciated and priceless regions. It may inspire readers to contribute to projects and groups that work to protect and expand them – an admirable goal. But the text is superficial and largely self-serving, adding little value or depth of information. As someone who lives at the end of the road from a prairie wetland of international importance and a birder of a couple of decades, I found this book a disapppointment.

**Based on ARC in exchange for an honest review.**… (más)