The Birds of Hocking County, Ohio

Hocking County is one of the natural jewels of Ohio, favored as it is with impressive geological and biological diversity, and within that setting occurs one of the most diverse and accessible populations of birds to be found in the state.The Birds of Hocking County, Ohio provides an overview of the natural environments of the county and reviews the history of bird studies there and changes that have occurred in the bird life as the environment of the region has changed. A summary chapter identifies and describes the prime birding sites within the county, most of which are accessible to the public.The culmination of the book lies in its exhaustively complete and current annotated list of the 266 bird species that have been recorded in the county. A separate checklist is provided at the end of the book for personal record keeping.This valuable contribution will be appreciated by a wide range of users, from the casual bird observer to the serious student of Ohio’s ornithology. Bruce Peterjohn, author of The Birds of Ohio, has stated that The Birds of Hocking County, Ohio is “an authoritative reference for southeastern Ohio that adds considerable knowledge to an overlooked part of the state.”

The Birds of Hocking County , Ohio has been authored by three accomplished students of the natural history of the region. John T. Watts is the Resource Manager for the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system, an agency in which he has worked since 1986. Paul E. Knoop, Jr., now retired, worked with the National Audubon Society for 35 years, serving as teacher/naturalist, director, and education coordinator while based at the Aullwood Audubon Center north of Dayton, Ohio. Gary A. Coovert, also retired, spent much of a lifetime affiliated – first as a student and then, for 25 years, as an educator and curator of biology – with the Dayton Museum of Natural History in Dayton, Ohio. For the past 15 years, Gary has work with Crane Hollow State Nature Preserve in efforts to compile a comprehensive biological inventory of living taxa found on the property. It was while working on the taxonomic inventory of Crane Hollow birds that Gary and Paul Knoop compiled the first systematic list of birds occurring in Hocking County, and thereafter John Watts joined the collaboration to take the lead in preparing The Birds of Hocking County, Ohio.