At the heart of Slaght's story are the fish owls themselves: cunning hunters, devoted parents, singers of eerie duets, and survivors in a harsh and shrinking habitat. This quest sends them on all-night monitoring missions in freezing tents, mad dashes across thawing rivers, and free-climbs up rotting trees to check nests for precious eggs.

And so, as Slaght and his devoted team set out to locate the owls, they aim to craft a conservation plan that helps ensure the species' survival. 4, 2020 An American scientist chronicles his travels through remote Russian landscapes to study the elusive and endangered Blakiston’s fish owl. They are easiest to find in winter, when their tracks mark the snowy banks of the rivers where they feed. OWLS OF THE EASTERN ICE A QUEST TO FIND AND SAVE THE WORLD'S LARGEST OWL by Jonathan C. That first sighting set his calling as a scientist.ĭespite a wingspan of six feet and a height of more than two feet, the Blakiston's fish owl is highly elusive. Soon he was on a five-year journey, searching for this enormous, enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of Eastern Russia. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers.

Slaght had a chance encounter with one of the most mysterious birds on Earth. When he was just a fledgling birdwatcher, Jonathan C. Preserving its habitats will secure the forest for future generations, both animal and human - but can this battle be won? Exhilarating and clear-sighted, Owls of the Eastern Ice is an impassioned reflection on our relationship with the natural world and on what it means to devote one's career to a single pursuit.A field scientist and conservationist tracks the elusive Blakiston's fish owl in the forbidding reaches of Eastern Russia. He has spent time with the Russians who struggle on in the harsh conditions of the taiga forest.Īnd he has observed how Russia's logging interests and evolving fortunes present new threats to the owl's survival. During months-long journeys covering thousands of miles, he has pursued it through its forbidding territory. This is the story of Slaght's quest to safeguard the elusive owl from extinction. A chance encounter with this huge, strange bird was to change wildlife researcher Jonathan C. It is also home to one of nature's rarest birds, the Blakiston's fish owl. If only every endangered species had a guardian angel as impassioned, courageous and pragmatic as Jonathan Slaght' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'Gripping' Dave Goulson, author of A Sting in the TalePrimorye, a remote forested region near to where Russia, China and North Korea meet in a tangle of barbed wire, is the only place where brown bears, tigers and leopards co-exist. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award A Finalist for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award'Remarkable. The Times Nature Book of the Year 2020 Winner of the PEN/E.O. A chance encounter with this huge, strange bird was to change wildlife researcher Jonathan C.

Jonathan slaght owls of the eastern ice