Birds ... are sensitive indicators of the environment, a sort of "ecological litmus paper," ... The observation and recording of bird populations over time lead inevitably to environmental awareness and can signal impending changes.

Birds, it must be admitted, are the most exciting and most deserving of the vertebrates; they are perhaps the best entre into the study of natural history, and a very good wedge into conservation awareness.

Conservation is not just an ideal that we read about; it works.

I consider myself to have been the bridge between the shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching. Before I came along, the primary way to observe birds was to shoot them and stuff them.

Butterflies may be better indicators of the health of our environment than birds.

The more you look, the more you will see.

Not all is doom and gloom. We are beginning to understand the natural world and are gaining a reverence for life - all life.