Looks interesting to me and I know I want a copy!
Was contacted by a friend and told there was a great new book out. The book is, "Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens".
Hmmm, I thought... how did I miss this one? Went to go add it to our Garden Bookworm and found out it was already there-
http://davesgarden.com/products/gbw/c/2397/
The author's website-
http://bringingnaturehome.net/
I haven't read the book (don't even own it yet) but here's a quote from my friend who evidently has already bought a copy for himself,
Quoting:
I haven't read the whole book yet, but one paragraph really got my attention:
"... depends entirely on insects to access the energy stored in plants (Wilson 1987). Birds are a particularly good example of such organisms. If you count all of the terrestrial bird species in North America that rely on insects and other arthropods (typically, the spiders that eat insects) to feed their young, you would find that figure to be about 96 percent (Dickinson 1999) - in other words, nearly all of them."
What a compelling case to stop using pesticides to kill bugs!
Did a little bit more checking on the internet and found someone had photographed the inside of the dust cover of the book so I'm typing what I read,
Quoting:
With the accelerating pace of development and subsequent habitat destruction, the pressures on wildlife populations are greater than they have ever been in our nation's history. Fortunately there is still time to reverse this alarming trend, and gardeners have the power to make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity.
As this revelatory book eloquently explains, there is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. Indeed, most native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plant species disappear or are replaced by alien exotics, the insect disappear, thus impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. In many parts of the world, habitat destruction has been so extensive that local wildlife populations are in crisis and may well be headed toward extinction.
By favoring native plants, gardeners can provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds. This doesn't necessarily entail a drastic overhaul of existing gardens. The process can be gradual and can reflect both the gardener's preferences and local sensitivities. To help concerned gardeners, this clearly reasoned account includes helpful lists of native plants for different regional habitats.
Healthy local ecosystems are not only beautiful and fascinating; they are also essential to human well-being...
Timber Press has some media reviews at their site-
http://www.timberpress.com/media/getTitle.cfm/9780881928549
This book looks like just the type of book people in this forum and over in the Bird Watching Forum would probably really like!