A01=Carl Safina
Age Group_Uncategorized
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animal science
animal-human relationship
audubon society
Author_Carl Safina
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birds
birdwatching
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=WNCB
COP=United States
covid-19
Delivery_Pre-order
ecologist
ecology
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
Language_English
natural world
PA=Not yet available
philosophy
Price_€10 to €20
PS=Forthcoming
rescued birds
rewilding
screech owl
softlaunch
wildlife nonprofits
wildlife recovery
Product details
- ISBN 9781324086482
- Weight: 320g
- Dimensions: 140 x 211mm
- Publication Date: 12 Nov 2024
- Publisher: WW Norton & Co
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in a near-death baby owl, they expected that, like other wild orphans they’d rescued, she’d be a temporary presence. But Alfie’s feathers were not growing correctly, requiring prolonged care. As Alfie grew and gained strength, she became a part of the family, joining a menagerie of dogs and chickens and making a home for herself in the backyard. Carl and Patricia began to realise that the healing was mutual; Alfie had been braided into their world and was now pulling them into hers.
Alfie & Me is the story of the remarkable impact this little owl would have on their lives. The continuing bond of trust following her freedom—and her raising of her own wild brood—coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a year in which Carl and Patricia were forced to spend time at home without the normal obligations of work and travel. Witnessing all the fine details of their feathered friend’s life offered Carl and Patricia a view of existence from Alfie’s perspective.
One can travel the world and go nowhere; one can be stuck keeping the faith at home and discover a new world. Safina’s relationship with an owl made him want to better understand how people have viewed humanity’s relationship with nature across cultures and throughout history. Interwoven with Safina’s keen observations, insight and reflections, Alfie & Me is a work of profound beauties and magical timing harboured within one upended year.
Carl Safina is a Stony Brook University endowed professor and the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” fellowship. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Time, the Guardian, Audubon, and National Geographic. He lives in East Setauket, New York.
