Salt Marsh Diary: A Year on the Connecticut Coast

by Mark Seth Lender

NPR contributor and nature writer Mark Seth Lender chronicles the daily life of a salt marsh near his home Mark Seth Lender’s home is on the edge of a salt marsh. From his front porch and back yard he is witness to an astonishing array of wildlife, but nothing he sees is more beautiful and inspiring than the birds that fill the air, perch on trees and wade in shallow water. His reports on the sighting of birds like great horned owls, little blue herons and snowy egrets are featured in the segment “Salt Marsh Diary” heard on NPR’s Living on Earth. For the first time, he has chronicled the marsh’s life in a book penned from his perch. With the soul of a poet and the precision of a naturalist, Lender transports the reader to the edge of his salt marsh and makes us both see and hear kingfishers, terns, bluebirds, egrets and other wonders that fill the sky above us.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 29, 2011

About the author

Mark Seth Lender is a nature writer and photographer. His syndicated column,Salt Marsh Diary, reaches 100,000 Connecticut households. He is also a contributor to the nationally distributed Public Radio International program Living on Earth. He lives in Connecticut."

Reviews

[Hapzydeco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic. Suggestion - read this lovely little book throughout the year as a new season approaches. A great gift for the right person - preferably a naturalist or a birder.

[Scott]

Enjoyed reading the vignettes, especially about the different birds he saw throughout the year.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of birds. Some very poetic stuff though

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of radio-spot-length observations of the natural world of the Connecticut shoreline, focusing on bird life. Though I'm not usually given to this sort of thing, the anthropomorphism in "Everybody Eats," in which Lender imagines a bird feeder as a roadside diner, is well done. "How Ducks Dive" is also quite nice.

[Valerie Pettis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a little gem, and a wonderful window into the the author, Mark Seth Lender's observations of the New England Salt Marshes. The book has short, witty and sometimes poignant essays on the nature world (mostly birds). And you don't have to be a nerdy bird lover to enjoy it.

[Robyn V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Lender's unique style of writing. Some of his chapters offered a very different take on naturalist writing, he's very talented to say the least.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Lender's writing is close to poetry. Each season has several observations of the inhabitants of a Connecticut salt marsh. It was a fun read.

[De Aufiero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, yeah. It's poetic and all that, but far too anthropomorphic for me.

[Shanlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book...

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relaxing and relatively quick read. Lender's writing comes across more as elaborate prose poetry, so I would come into it from that perspective in order to get more out of it.