John Kricher’s: The New Neotropical Companion Book; A Review

AmericanPressTravelNews-March 21st, A book review for The New Neotropical Companion, by Biologist, John Kricher “Bob & Barb Stopping to learn all about ecological issues.This book will help thousands understand the complex ecology and natural history of the most species-rich area on earth, the American tropics. This $35 dollar book has 432-pages with 18-color illustrations covering all of tropical America. It describes the species and habitats most likely to be observed by visitors. It includes every major Eco-system, from low land rain forests to the high Andes. The book features a wealth of color photos of habitats, plants and animals. Check out press.princeton.edu The book is 7.5 X 9.5 inches and the ISBN: 978-0-691-11525-2. HAVE BOOK WILL TRAVEL!

Book Review: “Raptors of Mexico & Central America” (Many found in N.America)

AmericanPressTravelNews-March 18th, PSL, FL. Bob and Barb “Checking Out the Sweet Bird of Paradise” in a book review. The book title is Raptors of Mexico and Central America, and it is published by the Princeton University Press (www.press.princeton.edu). Accolades by those that know Raptors are all over the place. One in particular is from Sergio Seipke, Raptours: “Accurate, comprehensive, and authoritative” were his comments. The clan of the “Raptors are among the most challenging birds to identify in the field due to their bewildering variability of plumage, flight silhouettes, and behavior patterns. Raptor of Mexico and Central America, Raptor photographer William S. Clark and renowned bird artist, N. John S. Schmitt, is the first illustrated guide to the regions 69 species of raptors, including vagrants. It features 32 stunning color plates and 213 color photos, and a distribution map for each regularly occurring species. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, age-related plumages, status and distribution, subspecies, molts, habitats, behaviors, potential confusion species, and more”, according to Andrew DeSio at the Princeton Press. If your a birder, this is your guide!! This 272-page paper book has 32-color plates, 213-color photos, 3-line illustrations, 64-maps, It will be published April 26th, 2017. go: press.princeton.edu

I/we have always loved and admired the wild and free raptors that fly over my TN. farm. I am absolutely loving this book! Many of these raptors are also found in N.America, many are not! The book is a treasure house of knowledge!

What is An Estuary? In Port Charlotte Waters Near the Bay are Called Estuarian

AmericanPressTravelNews-Feb. 25th-Port Charlotte, FL-Bob and Barb “Stopping to Smell the Roses and the Gulf of Mexico.” The waters of Charlotte Harbor are called an “Estuary.” Quiet waters that provide habitat for unknown number of creatures. So many sea birds, crustaceans, fish, mammals, a million kind of invertebrates, water plants make their home and living in estuaries. The only dangers estuaries in the short-run face is man. When indigenous native Americans were the only human inhabitants, estuaries were relatively safe-havens for most living things, water quality and plants. Estuaries were balanced by these peoples not appreciably changing water-quality, they took what they could eat and use and left these habitats relatively untouched they lived and let live in the lands and waters. In early articles and books written in the 1800’s, the description of the amount of shore-birds, fish, crustaceans reaching to unimaginable numbers and varieties that today with the amount of human so-called modern encroachment and amending of the channels, shorelines and water depths as in dredging, the wholesale netting and trapping, of crustacean and fish stocks, fuel and oils in the waters, boat propellers gouging out runs through the underwater fabric of the estuary and so many more intrusions and disruptions of the natural flows of these natural places.