"Birds of the Middle San Pedro Valley of Southeast Arizona" offers a fresh and unique view of bird life that is both personal and engaging. Not long after retiring from his practice as a medical doctor, Michael Whitt desired to publish a book on the birds that he and his wife, Barbara, had photographed on their property along the San Pedro River in southeast Arizona. With a sharp eye, excellent observational skills, and a keen intellect characteristic of those in his profession, Whitt gives us an intimate portrait of avian life backed by more than eighty years of wisdom and decades of close, astute observations in the outdoors. The beautifully eloquent lines of poetry that complement the text reveal an author with the insights of a true naturalist and a genuine passion for the birds and the wild lands that they require to survive.

Birds of Southeast Arizona is a quick and easy to use, light-weight, durable, all-weather field guide to the incredibly varied birdlife inhabiting what is perhaps the best inland birding area in the United States: Southeastern Arizona (which includes its saguaro and ocotillo-clad Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, its rugged canyons and lofty pine and oak-studded "sky islands," riparian San Pedro River and grassy Sulphur Springs valleys)!Stunning digital photographs depicting 130 species of common and notable birds, will enable users to identify nearly every commonly-occurring and regional bird specialty they encounterday or nightin an area spanning parts of four Southern Arizona Countiesfrom Casa Grande and Sells in the west, eastward to the New Mexico State line, then south to the Mexican Border and all points between. Aimed at beginning and intermediate birders, the guide will easily fit into any daypack, pocket or glove compartment, facilitating easy field identificationwhether in a backyard, on a family vacation, or a serious birding trip visiting the best birding hot spots in Southeastern Arizona.

"The multiple, vivid colors of scarlet macaws and their ability to mimic human speech are key reasons they were and are significant to the Native peoples of the southwestern U.S. and northwest New Mexico. Although the birds' natural habitat is the tropical forests of Mexico and Central America, they were present at multiple archaeological sites in the region. Leading experts in southwestern archaeology explore the reasons why"--

Seventy-two great birding spots are described with directions, including the recently opened San Pedro Riparian and Empire/Cienega Conservation areas and two other localities of special interest, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Puerto Penasco in Mexico. The annotated checklist now lists 480 species with information on abundance and seasonal distribution. This is the premier birding guide to one of the nation's most popular birding hotspots.

The rare treasure of a desert river rises in Sonora, Mexico to flow into the state of Arizona. Known as the San Pedro, its story is phenomenal. The river and its watershed have become a Mecca for birdwatchers from all over the globe. The forests lining the river's banks and the mountains that flank its valleys are home to an astounding array of unique plants and animals. Within these pages, the land and its life are unveiled in a very uncommon way-through the eyes of an acclaimed naturalist whose knowledge has come directly from thousands of miles of walking in the American West and a lifelong study of the natural world. "The Life of the San Pedro" reveals an incredible landscape, a part of North America that is beyond comparison.