Book Review: The Waterfowl Man of Sylvan Heights

"How crazy were the things he did on that expedition?  Why didn't he just take the flight back to Edmonton along with his birds after that incident?  How many times had he narrowly escaped serious injury or death?  He was too young to be scared too adventurous to be wise in those days.  But somehow, some way, he survived in the Arctic and may other dangerous situations throughout his life with birds."

The keeping of exotic waterfowl as a hobby has largely been in decline in recent years.  Many professional breeders of ducks, geese, and swans have responded by opening their facilities up to the public as specialized zoos.  Among the waterfowl collections in the United States, I would say that there are three that truly stand out - the Pinola Preserve in Louisiana (not open to the public), Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Connecticut, and Sylvan Heights Bird Park.  The later, located in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, was founded - and is still led today - by one of the world's leading aviculturists, Mike Lubbock.

Sylvan Heights volunteer Dale A. True recounts the story of Lubbock's life in The Waterfowl Man of Sylvan Heights: Mike Lubbock's worldwide quest to save waterfowl.  Despite the title, Sylvan Heights itself does not appear until almost the absolute end of the book.  Instead, it is a recounting of how Mike Lubbock, a rambunctious, restless young man from England became a crusader for wild waterfowl.  The narrative is framed through a series of expeditions Lubbock has taken to widely diverse habitats - from the Arctic Circle to Botswana's Okavango Delta - in order to capture birds (or, more commonly, collect their eggs) to bring into captivity for breeding programs.  Even more diverse than the habitats he traverses are the dangers he faces, from shipwrecks in the freezing waters of Tierra del Fuego to hungry crocodiles in Africa.  On top of all this this are the far more mundane - yet I'm sure in Lubbock's shoes more harrowing - threats, such as getting permits sorted out and keeping incubators functioning out in the wild.

More than just a series of adventure stories, The Waterfowl Man frames the quests into what they mean for waterfowl conservation.  In one chapter detailing Lubbock's fieldwork in Spain, True describes how Lubbock spear-headed the initiative to reintroduce (through captive breeding) two vanished duck species to the marshes of Spain.  Perhaps to remind his audiences of what is at stake if we are to fail in our responsibility to protect endangered species, True bookends his narrative with the tragic tale of the Atitlan grebe of Guatemala, a flightless waterbird that Lubbock hoped to save from extinction, but was unable to do because of a variety of factors, not least of all a civil war.  The habitat of this unique bird was lost completely; had grebes been established and bred in captivity, there at least would have been hope for reestablishing them elsewhere.

If I have one major issue with the book, it's the writing style - it's kind of drab.  Interspersed periodically with monologues from Mike Lubbock itself, the book reads like its the hurried notes of the man's field journal, placed in order and left at that.  I mean, the man had a crocodile jump out of the water and snatch a duck from his hand!  He swam ashore from a shipwreck that killed his traveling companion, using his incubation cooler as a life raft!  With material like that, I'd hope for a little more drama in the writing.  Also, you are left with a sense of Dale True's hero worship for Mike Lubbock, which permeates every page.  A few missteps are alluded to here and there (sometimes literally, like when he accidentally stepped on a rare torrent duck egg), but you're mostly left with the impression that Lubbock is absolutely perfect.  I think a little more humanizing, perhaps a little more exploration into the controversies involved in some of the actions, would have made for a more interesting read without detracting from its hero.

Still, True isn't trying to write the Great American Novel - he's trying to build interest in Sylvan Heights and waterfowl conservation, and in that he succeeds quite well.  When you put down The Waterfowl Man of Sylvan Heights, you are left with the impression of a man who has a passion for protecting wild things and would do anything for the birds.  Having met the Lubbocks and visited Sylvan Heights, I'd say that's a correct assessment.  You're also left with a new appreciation for a group of animals that many people pay scant attention to - and you are reminded of what a tragedy it would not only to overlook ducks, geese, and swans, but to loose them.

The Waterfowl Man at Sylvan Heights at Amazon.com