George Miksch Sutton (1898–1982)

This autobiography is a very good book for those interested in the way of life of naturalists and of nature itself as it was in North America prior to World War 2.
Those of us at retirement age can remember what our region was like during the 1950s and 1960s but this book by Sutton takes us back an additional generation to the 1910 through 1940 era. We see a different world, we see the early recognition of the inter-dependency of species on other species and on the climate being realized. We see the notion that some species abundances and ranges are changing as our world changes. We see how techniques of study of the natural world were different then from today. Back then the author employed the gun , banding, and egg collection to document species breeding and ranges while today, photography, GPS tracking, and established regular census taking are used much more frequently

Reading about firsthand discovery of the lives of birds and animals, and of spending time in the wilds, are usually fascinating, and Sutton conveys this well.
Sutton describes his activities in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, California, Florida, the Midwest, New England, New Brunswick, Labrador, and the shores of Hudson Bay. For those of us who have been to any of those areas, we can connect further with this book.

Another aspect of the stories is Sutton's personal efforts and growth in techniques of watercolor renditions of what he has seen, both birds, animals plants and scenes incorporating each. There was a lot of effort of skinning specimens, now supplanted mostly with good photography.

Sutton expended a lot of effort in documenting species ranges and lifestyles, such as collecting difficult to reach bird nests. He describes climbing trees over a hundred feet tall and far up cliff edges in order to collect Raven, hawk, Goldeneye, and even eagle nests intact, to bring back to museums for dioramas. He fell off a cliff breaking ribs and cracking vertebrae, got stuck in a hollow log, was attacked by hawks and owls, and sprayed by skunks, all very good armchair reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.… (más)

Let me begin by saying I am an avid birder. I got this book as a pre-read for my trip to Iceland to see many things, but first and foremost- birds. This book was written in the 50's and I found the dated perspective interesting at first. I found the descriptions of Iceland fascinating. It was very educational.

I did grow weary about halfway through the boom however. The nearly endless forays into the wilds to find bird nests so that he can steal the chicks to paint them. When I realized that they all eventually died, the luster wore off. I realize it is a norm for that time - but reading about it over and over, along with regular killings of adult birds so that he could stuff their skins gre tiresome.… (más)