Alan M MacEachren
A Geo-Big Year: Pandemic Retirement is for the Birds. This book recounts a year-long birding quest across Pennsylvania in 2021. The quest was to see at least 67 bird species in each of the state’s 67 counties. During the quest year, the author (now Professor of Geography Emeritus from Penn State University) coped with the process of retiring after 42 years in academia and the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic posed for safe travel. The book chronicles the birding experiences and birds seen as well as the travel and retirement challenges. The story, told chronologically, is focused on the search for birds. It includes an account of what birds were seen (or not seen) in specific counties and specific sites within those counties. It also recounts the quest itself as it unfolded. Written by a Geographer, places visited are also highlighted. The narrative conveys the adventure of experiencing the mix of both popular and seldom visited places. These places were mostly rural and included state and county parks, game lands, wildlife refuges, trails, and forests across the state together with less attractive places (for humans) that still attract birds (such as cemeteries, retention ponds, and county dumps). The book includes 471 black and white figures, most of which are photo composites of birds seen and/or of the places visited. In total, the 471 figures consist of more than 600 photos of birds plus more than 300 other images (that include landscape scenes, signage, non-bird creatures seen, maps, and graphs). The book is intended for a wide audience. Aspects of the account should resonate with readers who: are or want to be birders; are retired or contemplating retirement; like to travel, particularly on back roads and to natural places that are off the beaten track; are academics thinking about work life balance; have tried (or thought about trying) camping after not doing any for a long time; have a bucket list to pursue; have experienced life changes or expect to have some soon; or have ever contemplated pursuing a birding big year or any other kind of year-long quest.
