This first-of-a-kind guide to birdwatching in the Midwest leads birdwatchers from the heart of urban Chicago in April to the edge of Lake Superior in the dead of winter; from the cemetery where James Thurber is buried to a remote wildlife refuge that owes its existence to the invention of linoleum. In addition to a sparkling narrativv that recounts the author's adventures the book includes the following information for each site: best locations to find bird within each site, best times to visit, highlights of what you can expect to see, a bird checklist, and concise travel directions. Coverage includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and southwest Ontario. In addition to the author's enjoyable narrative, there is concise where-to, when-to, and how-to birding info, including best times, hot spots, travel directions, and an updated bird checklist for each and every published site. Reading this birdwatching guide makes you want to pack up the family car and travel to the areas described. The author certainly makes birdwatching a fun sport. -- Jack Pine Warbler Sept/Oct 98 Perhaps it's only fair that the first book from a fledgling publisher is about birding, one of the fastest-growing pastimes in the United States. If Great Birding in the Great Lakes is any indication, Walloon will be soaring like an eagle in short order. He brings to the subject a passion developed as a backyard birder, keen curiosity, enthusiasm for the hunt, wisdom to seek advice from more experienced hands and the grit to travel thousands of miles to check out the best birding sites in the Great lakes Region. Making his book a completely enthralling experience is Power's sense of humor, which enlivens virtually every page. -- Flint Journal 2-22-98 This one-of-a-kind book is an indispensable resource for both seasoned bird-watchers and those just beginning to discover the great diversity of the world of birds. Written in a pleasing, accessible style, bird enthusiast Tom Powers offers a survey of 50 birding sites. Each entry includes the highlights of each location, seasonal advantages, hours open and directions for travel. The text exudes a contagious love of nature and life and the "checklists" of species that frequent each site give the book the feeling of a guidebook to a great adventure. -- The Cincinnati Enquirer 4-12-98 This turned out to be an enormously entertaining book to research and write. I hope readers enjoy the book half as much as I did in writing it and that it leads them to some memorable birding trips. Tom Powers' interest in birding began innocently enough with the feeding of birds in his backyard. As so many others have discovered, a backyard bird feeder is often the first perilous step down a long road leading to a lifetime addiction. After the birdfeeder came a trip to Point Pelee National Park in Canada, then a visit to Tawas Point State Park and so on an so on. Within two years the author found himself buying more and more bird identification books, starting a life list, craving a spotting scope, and scrutinizing L.L. Bean catalogs for birding apparel. Powerless in the face of an urge to drop everything and go birding, the author joined the Audubon Society under the mistaken notion the organization was a 12-step program that would help him break his birding addiction. Today, alas, he writes press releases for the local club's monthly meetings. Powers is the author of three previous books. The author also created the world's first and only Mime Radio Show and dismisses accusations that the show was instrumental in causing a radio station's demise. Nearly every experienced Chicago birder is familiar with Montrose Harbor, and it is probably the most extensively birded spot in the greater Chicago area. My preliminary research indicated Montrose Harbor was one of the most remarkably productive birding sites not only in Chicago but in the entire Midwest. A year's worth of checking the Chicago Rare Bird Alert, via the Internet, turned up an incredible number and variety of bird sightings at the harbor, and local birders have labeled one spot in the area "The Magic Hedge" because of its almost mystical ability to attract birds. I couldn't uncover an official bird checklist for the area, but a casual tally of the Rare Bird Alert posting for Montrose Harbor and my sightings in a two-hour visit totaled 114 species. Keep in mind that the above service does not usually list the everyday or common birds found in the area, only speciesof special interest. Tricolored heron, American Avocet, Whimbrel, Mew and Kumlein's gulls, Lapland Longspur, Osprey, Northern Shrike, Palm, Cerulean, and Pine warblers, Lincoln's and Sharp-tailed sparrows and a Magnificent Frigatebird will give you just a taste of the sightings at Montrose harbor. Start adding songbirds, sparrow, and other species common to Chicago, toss in the ubiquitous Herring and Ring-billed gulls and the usual waterfowl seen along the lakeshore, and the