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Grass, Sky, Song: Promise and Peril in the World of Grassland Birds
Facing the demise of the very creatures that he has always depended on for his sense of home, Herriot sets out to discover why birds are disappearing and what, if anything, we can do to save them. He takes us out to local pastures where a few prairie songbirds sing and nest, as well as to the open rangeland where doomed populations of burrowing owls and greater sage-grouse cling to survival. In a narrative that is at once profound, intimate and informative, we meet passionate bird researchers and travel in the footsteps of 19th-century botanist John Macoun, the last naturalist to see the Great Plains in its pre-settlement grandeur.
In the spirit of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and Bruce Chatwin’s The Songlines, this arresting book fills the heart with wonder and reveals that any hope for the endangered wildness in North America’s heartland depends on people making the right choices—on farms, in legislatures and in board rooms, and even at the supermarket. Beautifully illustrated with the author’s own drawings, Grass, Sky, Song awakens our senses to the glory of all birds and calls for a renewed bond between culture and nature.
In the spirit of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and Bruce Chatwin’s The Songlines, this arresting book fills the heart with wonder and reveals that any hope for the endangered wildness in North America’s heartland depends on people making the right choices—on farms, in legislatures and in board rooms, and even at the supermarket. Beautifully illustrated with the author’s own drawings, Grass, Sky, Song awakens our senses to the glory of all birds and calls for a renewed bond between culture and nature.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 18, 2009
11 people are currently reading
215 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 4, 2020
Sadly giving this one 3 stars when I had really high hopes. The writing and art was great. I loved the excerpts of the birds and species profile, written in a more artistic and interesting way than you'd find in typical bird reference books. He definitely painted some amazing scenes through his writing of the magic of the grasslands from someone so familiar with the landscape. I just felt myself getting bored halfway through because it felt a little disjointed and like there wasn't really a story. I also really disagreed with a lot of his assessments of what's impacting grassland birds (First Nations people building casinos and people being too "lazy, overweight and self-indulgent" to buy grass-fed meat, really?) That kind of soured what was otherwise a beautiful book for me.
April 27, 2012
This is a great book about the decline of birds in the Canajun prairies but not a pessimistic hand-wringing type. He has a vision of how farmers, ranchers, and consumers can work together to restore the grasslands of North America, using education, cooperatives, and just plain volunteer work.
The language is often poetic, but not high-flown. He describes the life on the prairies very well.
The language is often poetic, but not high-flown. He describes the life on the prairies very well.
July 16, 2024
I originally grabbed this book because i was interviewing for a grassland birds technicians position out west, i was eager but blinded to how the grasslands and Prarires functioned and changed over time. But i dont think i was ready for the beauty this book provided, the poetry that is this under represented space. I recommend this book to anyone in the environmental field for its points on economics and agribusiness history and development, its sad but hopefull. And hey maybe ull learn about a few birds on the way
September 18, 2017
This book was a delight to read. Reading this book unexpectedly inspired me to move from a life-long, casual interest in birds to learning about specific birds in the field in earnest. I joined a birding group for the first time, bought binoculars, added a bird ID app to my phone, dusted off my bird ID books, started to keep a personal birding ID journal and attended group field trips. In the past year I learned far more about birds than my previous entire lifetime, several times over. It was like a new dimension had opened up in a world I thought I already knew.
Herriot's poetic and informative writing rekindled the fading embers of my passion for native prairie conservation into new flames of hope. I became a member of the American Prairie Reserve and learned about the ambitious vision of the project. I've bumped up the priority on a planned revisit to native prairie conservation areas like Grasslands National Park. And I'm able to see the flora and fauna of the native prairie I visit daily near my home with new, awestruck eyes.
I borrowed this book, but plan to purchase my own copy. It's a treasure that I will certainly read again. I'm looking forward to reading Herriot's other books.
Herriot's poetic and informative writing rekindled the fading embers of my passion for native prairie conservation into new flames of hope. I became a member of the American Prairie Reserve and learned about the ambitious vision of the project. I've bumped up the priority on a planned revisit to native prairie conservation areas like Grasslands National Park. And I'm able to see the flora and fauna of the native prairie I visit daily near my home with new, awestruck eyes.
I borrowed this book, but plan to purchase my own copy. It's a treasure that I will certainly read again. I'm looking forward to reading Herriot's other books.
April 11, 2016
Trevor Herriot has crafted a rare and special book. It is part historical exploration and part modern analysis of our relationship with grasslands of North America and how that has impacted wildlife, especially birds.
As he explores the historical settlement of the prairie in Canada, with a focus on his home province of Saskatchewan, Herriot moves also through the present moment where grassland birds are disappearing and his wife is fighting breast cancer. The link between these two tragedies could well be the massive amounts of toxins sprayed into the environment, including pesticides. Herriot is clear though that these are tough connections to make outside of a laboratory and the historical drama he unveils points to a series of decisions made by European settlers that have led us to our current situation.
What separates this book from others on the human impact on the environment is that Herriot spreads the blame around, including taking a healthy dose for himself and other environmentalists. His point is that as recipients of the benefits of cheap food and a western lifestyle we are also complicit in its problems, like the vanishing birds and cancer visited upon humans and we can also be part of the solution.
The writing goes from investigative journalism to poetic tributes to the wild creatures we share the earth with. These are two difficult areas to meld but the book goes from one to another seamlessly. It also manages to weave past and present, connecting one to the other using birds as his vehicle. Towards the end, there are even some tentative attempts at solutions. These are not set out as prescriptions but rather as shared thoughts with the hope that others will engage in the process of a return to wholeness. This collaborative addressing of environmental ills, without rancor, gives the book a special tone and place amongst others of this genre.
As he explores the historical settlement of the prairie in Canada, with a focus on his home province of Saskatchewan, Herriot moves also through the present moment where grassland birds are disappearing and his wife is fighting breast cancer. The link between these two tragedies could well be the massive amounts of toxins sprayed into the environment, including pesticides. Herriot is clear though that these are tough connections to make outside of a laboratory and the historical drama he unveils points to a series of decisions made by European settlers that have led us to our current situation.
What separates this book from others on the human impact on the environment is that Herriot spreads the blame around, including taking a healthy dose for himself and other environmentalists. His point is that as recipients of the benefits of cheap food and a western lifestyle we are also complicit in its problems, like the vanishing birds and cancer visited upon humans and we can also be part of the solution.
The writing goes from investigative journalism to poetic tributes to the wild creatures we share the earth with. These are two difficult areas to meld but the book goes from one to another seamlessly. It also manages to weave past and present, connecting one to the other using birds as his vehicle. Towards the end, there are even some tentative attempts at solutions. These are not set out as prescriptions but rather as shared thoughts with the hope that others will engage in the process of a return to wholeness. This collaborative addressing of environmental ills, without rancor, gives the book a special tone and place amongst others of this genre.
April 30, 2023
“Later, Don talked about a sense of transgression he felt at that moment, as though we were being clumsy and graceless with a mystery. He spoke of a kind of attention … a leaning toward the other without wanting to possess it or turn it into forms of knowledge, a way of listening that might over time deepen our sense of what it means to be in a place.”
A surprisingly meditative and poetic, wise, impassioned and yet grounded book on prairie birds — or rather, the loss of prairie birds and of their habitat. It is full of both despair and hope, and wrestles with everything from modern agricultural practices to the unrepairable destruction wreaked by colonialism, and our own complicity in all of this… and calls for a renewed relationship with the earth and its creatures.
There’s also a lot of love for birds.
A surprisingly meditative and poetic, wise, impassioned and yet grounded book on prairie birds — or rather, the loss of prairie birds and of their habitat. It is full of both despair and hope, and wrestles with everything from modern agricultural practices to the unrepairable destruction wreaked by colonialism, and our own complicity in all of this… and calls for a renewed relationship with the earth and its creatures.
There’s also a lot of love for birds.
August 23, 2016
A Canadian naturalist's ode to prairie birds, Grass, Sky, Song is both informative and lyrically written. The book is occasionally a bit of a bummer (i.e., "this field was once chock full of wonderful birds, but good luck finding a pigeon here now!" type of writing), but then it soars into larger connections or a sense of hope for the future. I especially liked the chapters about the effect of pesticides, not only on birds and the natural landscape but also on human health--both poetic and absolutely devastating. Definitely a recommended read to anyone who likes birds or nature writing.
April 7, 2019
Herriott presents a collection of 18 essays grouped into four parts about grassland birds in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, though his message is applicable throughout all the grasslands of North America. Following each essay, Herriott includes a short profile about of one of the species that featured prominently in the preceding essay. The book is extraordinarily discouraging, with barely a glimmer of hope because, almost without exception, each bird species is in steep decline. Despite the discouraging news, though, the book succeeds because it is honest, realistic, and well written. Herriott also ensures that the reader is aware of nearly every living person’s complicity in the decline of these birds and the destruction of the planet’s native ecosystems; perhaps the only people he spares are those who grow their own organic food and live “off the grid.” The book would have been enhanced with a map depicting the well-traveled topography around the author’s house as well as a second, larger-scale map of the areas the author visits throughout southern Saskatchewan.
September 24, 2020
An amazing account of grassland birds and conservation from an angle I don't normally get to hear about. I really enjoy the storytelling style of writing with each chapter but I wish that for a few of the chapters the accompanying stories were more consistent and tidied up. I absolutely loved how each chapter ends with a spotlight on a grassland species and the interesting facts that he puts with them.
December 5, 2019
Hang onto your hat! You're expecting a glazed over naturalist read.... You're underestimating a sleeping giant. This is an author we need to celebrate here in Canada. Perfectly executed scientific prose. Must read again and again.
May 12, 2020
Grass, Sky, Song
A poetic and scientific look at the plight of our grasslands in North America and what is being done to help or hurt these areas.
A poetic and scientific look at the plight of our grasslands in North America and what is being done to help or hurt these areas.
July 6, 2021
A depressing yet beautifully written and complicated account of grassland/prairie birds and the cause of their decline, reminding us of our responsibility as stewards of the earth.
June 18, 2024
Incredible
March 15, 2017
Was looking for a great book on native fescues and prairies grasses. Found instead a quasi spiritual book with highly political overtones. Skimmed in a short time.
November 1, 2009
Wonderful book if you care about birds and/or the environment here on the prairies. Required reading.
February 17, 2016
Beautifully written.
July 23, 2013
Gorgeous descriptions of the Saskatchewan prairie, and a thoughtful examination of the situation facing its birds.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews