Bike Birding Nantucket
	by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw

This book leads you on a series of birding bicycle rides around the Island of Nantucket. It assumes you are a beginning birder with a pair of binoculars, a bicycle, and a few hours to spare. Starting with easy trips close to downtown Nantucket and later with ones to the ends of the island, it takes someone new to Nantucket and nurses them along in a way to keep them from getting lost. Since most cycling is done in the warm months, the descriptions are aimed that way.           A good companion guide to this book is "Birding Nantucket" by Andrews and Blackshaw. Edith Andrews has been the author's lifetime mentor. That book will help you know if a bird mentioned in here could appear during the month in which you are riding. It is available in most bookstores on Nantucket.            Dr. George West's fine line drawings illuminate many of the pages and he provided valuable editorial assistance. George's impeccable academic credentials, along with 60 years of studying and drawing birds, made him an excellent partner. Here is an excerpt from the book along with one of George West's drawings:

As we move further down Easton Street going past Walsh St. and Harbor View Way, we go past the prestigious White Elephant Hotel on our right. Now we can look to the left and see a brushy low area, behind a split rail fence, with a sign that identifies it as Nantucket Conservation Foundation property. The water here is a little bit salty because occasionally high tides cause this spot to be flooded.
It's a good idea to dismount from your bike and walk it along the fence, scanning this grassy marsh for the green head of a Mallard poking up, or possibly a Green Heron fishing. It is also a good spot to find a Common Snipe or a Solitary Sandpiper, particularly early in the morning.
You may buy any of these books at these locations by clicking any of these links Mitchell's Book Corner, Nantucket Bookworks, or Geronimo's. Return to Birding Nantucket the Series