The Intersection: Seventeen Years of Bird Processing on One Street Corner of the World

by Tom Cole

A book about one man's fine madness, The Intersection tells the story of the author's seventeen years of trips (1,063 trips in all) to the same street corner in Gilbert, Arizona, where he recorded 13,318 birds. The author programmed two quirky but powerful databases from the ground up to view the bird data he collected. Bird watchers of any kind should very much enjoy this painstaking and elaborate treatment of their special interest, and beginning to advanced birders will find the book far more than just a database report or regional bird guide. As the author writes, "I hope that some of these short observations, database notes, and essays will be valuable to beginners who want to learn more specifics about particular birds in the database. Mostly, though, I hope they will simply be interesting to birders and others who might enjoy reading about one person's experiences bird watching at Elliot and Cooper Roads and elsewhere."

274 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011