Rare Bird: pursuing the mystery of the Marbled Murrelet (Ruth, Maria M. 2005. Rodale Inc. pp.298).
The Marbled Murrelet is a small seabird related to the puffins and auks. It is, in at least one respect, unique among seabirds in that it builds its nest in the tops of old-growth conifers. This has placed it dead center in the middle of the forest management debate right next to the Northern Spotted Owl. Unlike the Spotted Owl, the Marbled Murrelet is not instantly recognizable by the public. It lacks the flash of a falcon, the symbolism of a Bald Eagle or the obvious socio-economic importance of a Coho Salmon. It is non-descript, unassuming and has been largely misunderstood from the time when it was encountered by Captain Cook's surgeon William Anderson in 1778 until the 1970's when its habit of nesting in large conifers was finally demonstrated.
Maria Mudd Ruth attempts to change the Marbled Murrelet's public face by introducing us to the history and mystery of the species in Rare Bird: pursuing the mystery of the Marbled Murrelet. She made a personal connection while researching old-growth forests for another project. She found herself frustrated by how little information was available about murrelets. As she dug into the literature, her frustration turned to a fascination that eventually led her to move her family from Virginia to California where she began a four-year quest to learn everything she could about murrelets. Rare Bird is a layman's synthesis of what she discovered.
Other people's obsessions are never easy to understand or explain, and Rare Bird never really gets us into the author's head. She does not succeed in making her obsession our obsession. What we get instead is a travelogue, some of it back in time to the earliest recorded encounters with Marbled Murrelets, and much of it a present-day account of Marbled Murrelet research. Ms. Ruth spends time learning the protocols for inventorying murrelets, helps hunt for nests and takes a ride on a zodiac to catch and band murrelets at sea.
Ms Ruth is not a scientist, and this is both a strength and weakness. She lays out the historical record with a jargon free, light touch. She pieces together the threads of 18th, 19th and early 20th century murrelet history into a clear narrative that explains why the biology of Marbled Murrelets remained such a mystery for so long. But when she gets to the present and spends field time with biologists working on murrelets, her objectivity flags. She lays on the self-deprecation a little too thickly. The running themes about layered clothing and getting up before dawn become redundant and tiring.
Perhaps most aggravating is how Ms Ruth approaches the controversy surrounding the protection of Marbled Murrelet habitat. In a time when most objective research indicates that Marbled Murrelets are on a clear path to extinction and there is a full-frontal assault on the Endangered Species Act, it seems a bit surprising how timid Ms Ruth is in confronting issues of habitat protection. Her treatment of those opposed to old-growth forest protection is remarkably cursory. Given her efforts at finding murrelet researchers and making personal connections with them, it seems surprising that we are told mostly secondhand stories about angry loggers and illegal tree cutting. She visits a single biologist working for a small timber company, lets him state without challenge that there is no evidence that murrelets are endangered, that the destruction of old-growth forests is a consequence of our consumer culture and all our fault, then calls it good. We get neither a grown up discussion of the controversies or any real insight into why habitat protection is so complicated.
Those who have never heard of Marbled Murrelets or only know what they've read in the paper will probably enjoy this non-technical introduction to a bird unique to the world of seabirds and the Pacific Northwest. Those who are already acquainted with the species may welcome the synthesis, but find themselves wanting a deeper treatment. And those hoping to change minds with this book will probably be disappointed.
Posted by mbalame at October 5, 2005 11:41 PM