Subtitled Notes from the Field, this excellent book of nature observations was made during a sabbatical few months for this teaching professor. I enjoyed John Seibert Farnsworth’s previous book Coves of Departure: Field Notes from the Sea of Cortez – you see the theme. While much of that book was recorded at field stations along a coastline, NATURE BEYOND SOLITUDE brings us to an island inhabited by ecology observers, to Hawk Hill where hundreds of raptors are spotted during a morning – mist permitting – and forests. I would love to visit any of these centres of learning.

As shown in the title, Farnsworth concludes the era of the solitary man in the forest is over. Living off the land is a masculine conceit, it decries teamwork, it makes sharing observations too difficult and concentrates knowledge with one person rather than training many. While the author loves to sit quietly on a hillside and note the birds, such as woodpeckers storing acorns in a granary tree, he saw many more birds while in a ‘blind’ with a dozen keen spotters who were learning to identify which species of eagle, vulture or hawk they saw. Then the students shared meals, which they prepared themselves if few people were at the station and no provision was made. They created and carried out projects involving toting equipment up steep hillsides or assembling radiotracking arrays. They worked in tandem with teams who were there to net and band migrating birds, and in stations with no TVs, they attended classes eagerly and downloaded citizen science apps.

Locations visited are the Hastings Natural History Reservation, the Santa Cruz Island Reserve, the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, the North Cascades Institute's Environmental Learning Center. The professor was alternately seeking protection from sunburn, heavy rain, fog, insects, thorns, mud, snow, thirst and stiff knees. He tells us about America’s wonderful trees, birds, flowers, amphibians, butterflies, which he saw along the way.

The summing up of NATURE BEYOND SOLITUDE is that Farnsworth meets so many people who love nature and are keen to protect it for future generations. He ends by saying that maybe it’s time he hands over to them, to the new generation who love their country as much as he does. I hope he will continue writing his self-amused, easy to read notes for us, but he leaves me happy to know the natural world is valued and protected.  

Book Summary