About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
The west coast region of Vancouver Island encompasses mountainous terrain, rainforest, mudflats, and ragged coastlines that bear the brunt of storms spawned by an immense ocean. Remote and inaccessible to birders until well into the twentieth century, the rugged beauty of this “wild west coast,” attracts visitors from far and wide. And it also boasts a distinctive avian population that has made it one of Canada’s premier bird-watching destinations.
The Birds of Vancouver Island’s West Coast is the essential guide to the region’s birds. It presents accounts of all of the species thus far recorded as occurring there – 360 in total – and updates the 231 species recorded up to 1978. Each account includes a brief introduction to the species and an overview of its total range. Key to the book’s detailed and authoritative accounts are first-hand observations and anecdotes recorded by the author over more than forty years. By far the most detailed and up-to-date account of the birds of this region, this book will inform, delight, and surprise amateur and professional birders alike.
Contributor Notes
Adrian Dorst has been an avid birder for 62 years, working as a field ornithologist on numerous occasions over the past 45 years. He was a co-author of Birds of Pacific Rim National Park in 1978 and since then has added several new species to the provincial bird list. As a wilderness photographer and environmental activist he has explored much of the west coast of Vancouver Island and until recently worked as a birding guide out of Tofino. His bestselling book, Clayoquot on the Wild Side, was published in 1990.
Editorial Reviews
In The Birds of Vancouver Island’s West Coast, Dorst makes his profoundly hard-earned knowledge gleaned over decades instantly available to anyone inclined to learn more. Accessible to casual birdwatchers on a weekend excursion to Tofino, and yet at 560 pages loaded with material of interest to the most hardcore birder, this book has much to offer.
— BC Booklook
Adrian Dorst is Tofino’s birding expert and with the release of his newest book, The Birds of Vancouver Island’s West Coast, he has cemented that title in place ... [This book] is a fantastic resource for photographers, birders and tourism guides alike.
— Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News
