Current Book Projects
Birds of Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia
More than 600 lush, stunning photos grace this comprehensive handbook to the birdlife of the Mid-Atlantic region.
A Great Blue Heron wades in the shallows of the Potomac River, scanning for unsuspecting prey. Sunlight turns the water translucent as a small school of fish rises to the water’s surface. The heron strikes and moments later is swallowing its quarry—predation in action! This handsome Great Blue Heron is but one of the more than 400 bird species found in Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It shares the mid-Atlantic with kingfishers, eagles, mergansers, wood warblers, and many more.
Exploring backyard birds, birds of prey, and birds of the open ocean, Smithsonian ornithologist Bruce Beehler and premier nature photographer Middleton Evans have crafted a comprehensive volume unparalleled in its beauty and captivating storytelling. Birds of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia invites readers to experience the birds’ lives as they live them: where they nest, how they forage, their various behaviors, and the natural environments they need to survive.
Beehler offers practical advice on bird-watching, including how to find, attract, and even garden for birds, as well as the best places to see them in season. He also discusses the best birding apps, websites, and gear; provides advice on planning a birding field trip; and recommends ornithological institutions that will help you cultivate a lifelong birding hobby. Finally, Beehler challenges the reader to think about conservation efforts to preserve local bird populations.
With striking color photographs of more than 400 species, this book is a bonanza for nature lovers. A wealth of images immerse the reader in the world of these wonderful creatures. Marvel at the majesty of Ospreys, navigate the ocean with storm-petrels, and nest with Mourning Doves, all while learning about the richness of the birds’ lives, the complexities of their habits, and how we can help keep their populations vibrant and aloft for generations to come.
Publication Date
March 26, 2019
Trim size
9 x 11
Format
Hardcover or E-book
Pages
480
Illustration Description
684 color photos, 2 maps
Price
$52.95
Preview selected Page spreads from this book
Freebird
“Freebird is a celebration of North America’s stunning diversity of avian fauna, with striking photographs of birds living wild and free in vibrant habitats. Evans has a gift for capturing birds at peak moments of action, often framed in sublime settings for an overall painterly effect. Highlights include a grouping of blue-collar Harlequin Ducks soaked by a crashing wave at a New Jersey jetty; week-old Common Loon chicks resting on mom’s back in a sheltered Canadian lake cove; a Reddish Egret feuding with a pair of Roseate Spoonbills at a Texas rookery; and a flock of Royal Terns headed out to sea from a beach covered with California Sea Lions. The book covers not just the North America continent, but its wild perimeter, from the frozen polar regions down through Iceland and Greenland, the southern belt of Caribbean islands, across Mexico and a wide sweep out to the Hawaiian Islands. Artful compositions paired with truly graphic design and inspired writings combine for this most unique coffee table book.”
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Publication Date
Ships September 2027
Trim size
11” x 14.5”
Format
Hardcover
Pages
256
Illustration Description
400 color photographs
Mailer
Custom Carton Mailer
Price
Retail $75
Preview of some of the images included in this book
Bodhi eBooks for Kids
Bodhi the Lodge Dog enjoyed starring in his own coffee table book. But he yearned to be introduced to more children. Now the same joyful photographs that first made Bodhi a hit have joined forces with laugh-aloud storytelling to create irresistible read-aloud iBooks for children featuring everyone’s favorite yellow lab.
Out-of-Print Books
The Miracle Pond
You are invited to take a journey of discovery… nature at its finest moments, bedazzling with brilliant colors and bold patterns. The destination is not a distant land of fabled beauty, but an urban park rather unremarkable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, a treasure map begging to be deciphered. Patterson Park, celebrated as “Baltimore’s Best Back Yard,” is noted for its vibrant cultural life, but from a habitat standpoint it is rather sparse, except for a small pond area left to grow wild.
Over a 15 year period, noted Maryland photographer, Middleton Evans, made over 600 trips to this improbable nature sanctuary, and every day there was at least one surprise awaiting his camera. Highlights include Wood Ducklings resting on a log with mom, a comical Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar gazing with cartoonish eyes, and a Baltimore Oriole tending nestlings tucked away in a woven basket.
This book is currently out of print, but may return with enough public interest. If you would be interested in this title returning let us know!
Bodhi the All American Lodge Dog
Once upon a time, a family from western Maryland dreamed of opening a wilderness lodge where folks could relax in the glory of nature. Their friendly yellow lab, Bodhi, would become a legend, welcoming guests to Savage River Lodge with paws wide open. Bodhi loved having his picture taken and would star in his own calendar series. He actually saw it as his job to lift spirits by putting smiles on the faces of Lodge visitors and calendar recipients. The pristine wilderness and sylvan vistas of Garrett County make a delightful backdrop for Bodhi to ham it up for the camera. The joyous and loving spirit of Bodhi inspired this lavishly illustrated book, a soothing elixir of humor, nostalgia, fantasy and heart-warming stories.
This book is currently out of print, but may return with enough public interest. If you would be interested in this title returning let us know!
Maryland’s Great Outdoors
This comprehensive photographic book documents Maryland’s wild places, from the Atlantic beaches of Assateague to the Appalachian Mountains of our western counties.
Evans artistically renders a cornucopia of landscapes, flora, fauna and Marylanders enjoying nature. A mere 200 miles long, and at its narrowest, a scant two miles wide, this ninth smallest state is remarkably endowed with natural resources harbored amidst diverse habitats.
In addition to traditional Maryland scenery—a mass of snow geese taking wing, anglers doing battle with the striped bass, and woodlands ablaze with autumn’s palette—this collection offers a bounty of surprises. There is a whimsical orchid named the Lady’s Slipper, daredevil kayakers plunging over Great Falls of the Potomac, and a one-of-a-kind albino opossum saddled with maternal responsibilities. Maryland’s Great Outdoors is a treasure trove of evocative photographs complemented by an insightful narrative that fosters a greater appreciation of the natural world and its colorful characters
Maryland Great Outdoors is currently out of print although some used copies may be available from online booksellers.
Rhapsody in Blue
Traveling to the continent’s wild perimeter in search of glorious North American waterbirds…this was the adventure of a lifetime. Maryland photographer, Middleton Evans, made 38 trips over a five-year period to complete his “wish list” of alluring species, captivating behaviors and pristine habitats.
Rhapsody in Blue showcases more than 180 species of waterbirds which Evans encountered on trips to thirteen states and Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. A remarkable trip to Florida in 1998 inspired the project with ten days of daily surprises, including a Great Blue Heron grappling a plump muskrat.
Highlights include an unusually friendly King Eider, dancing Western Grebes, inquisitive Brown Boobies, a preening Roseate Spoonbill and huddling American Flamingo chicks. Yet nothing would eclipse climbing into a Bald Eagle nest on Middleton Island, Alaska!
An introduction describes how Middleton’s odyssey became a spiritual journey, punctuated by arduous hikes, frequent perils, joyous camaraderie and moments of sheer epiphany. A photography notes section at the end of Rhapsody details the inspirations and circumstances behind each of this special coffee table book’s 320 photographs.
