OWLS OF THE EASTERN ICE

Author and narrator Jonathan Slaght gives listeners a unique and engaging look at life in Russia's remote Far East. The wildlife biologist documents his years of field research on the endangered Blakiston's fish owl, the world's largest and most aquatic owl species. Slaght battles floods, roadblocks, and more than a handful of comical locals while skiing, snowmobiling, trekking, and camping in some of the harshest winter conditions. After many tediously daunting years, Slaght identifies and tracks enough breeding owl pairs to formulate a conservation plan. Slaght's vocal performance is detrimentally similar to his writing--scientifically observational and free of emotional commentary. This memoir, with its emphasis on logistics, could have soared higher with a less clinical performance. J.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2020]