The United States Department of Defense has more than four hundred military bases across the country. They are used to house and train personnel, keep watch of enemies, support allies, and . . . protect America's plant and animal species. The Sikes Act of 1960 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 require military bases to collaborate with federal land management agencies to protect the endangered or at-risk species within their borders. On Eglin Air Force Base, scientists and soldiers work together to study and manage endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, and reticulated flatwoods salamanders. Discover the unique challenges endangered species face and the work the military is doing to protect them.
This whimsical and intriguing picture book explores the different roles of fatherhood in the animal kingdom. Readers will learn about various animal dads and their many different parenting skills: baby-sitting - an emperor penguin dad watches over the eggs for nine weeks while the mother searches for food; hunting - a wolf dad leads the pack on hunting trips and brings meat for new pups to eat; giving birth - a seahorse mother's eggs hatch inside the dad's special belly pouch. Sneed Collard's concise, clear text and award-winning artist Steve Jenkins's informative cut-paper collages reveal unique tasks that animal dads perform in raising their offspring.
Nature's creatures can be ferocious! Lions and sharks leave many animals running scared. But some predators may be hunting beneath your feet or above your head--and you don't know they're there. Meet some of the most successful predators on Earth: little killers.
These small creatures can have a big impact. They change ecosystems, control pests, and even take down much larger prey. Tiny predators use adaptations including poisons, strong jaws, and social groups hunt. From pteropods to driver ants, author Sneed B. Collard III shines a light on the lives of these voracious killers with jaw-dropping facts paired with incredible close-up photographs.
--Noah Strycker, Audubon
What makes this big-year book different is the father-son bonding element . . . the picture of a teenager that emerges has the ring of truth. A proficient storyteller, Collard writes with style about their travels together . . .--Kirkus Reviews
From the killer bee-infested border region of southeast Arizona to the sultry islands of the Galapagos, Warblers & Woodpeckers recounts the quest of a father and his thirteen-year-old son to see as many birds as possible in a single year. With a measured blend of humor, natural history, and adventure, this tale takes readers to great birding hotspots of America and beyond, both to experience their incredible avian wealth and to experience the focused, often eccentric, world of ornithological travel. Along the way, readers share the ups and downs of the relationship between a father and his teenage son.
Writer Sneed Collard and his son Braden set out to establish their own personal Big Year bird species count record. In Warblers & Wood peckers, Sneed shares the excitement, challenges, perils, and insights that come with crisscrossing the country in search of some of Earth's most remarkable creatures. It's a father-and-son tale, in which the adventure is in the journey and the surprising discoveries and encounters with our wondrous feathered friends. Sneed brings a fast-paced yet generous voice to the attempt, and readers of all stripes will appreciate the way backyard birders can create their own Big Year.