Authors to sign illustrated coffee-table tome at city glass art shop Sunday

A limited-edition coffee table book packed with illustrations of the birds of Solano County will be the subject of a book signing Sunday at Lindsay Art Glass.

The book is “Breeding Birds of Solano County,” a comprehensive guide to the natural history of all nesting birds found here, said Cheryl Harris, past president of the Napa-Solano Audubon Society, which has released the volume.

Only 500 copies of the book will be sold, at $55 each, and sales will be handled exclusively by the Napa-Solano Audubon Society, Harris said.

More than 150 species of birds are covered and illustrated in photographs taken by volunteers.

“This groundbreaking work is the result of the tireless efforts of more than 75 citizen science volunteers organized and trained by the experienced Breeding Bird Atlas Survey team of Murray Berner, Robin Leong and Mike Rippey,” Harris said.

Berner and Rippey are the principal authors of the book, she said. “But it’s been a cooperative effort.”

It took a decade to assemble the book, she said, including six years spent by volunteers in the field studying birds and photographing them. Another two years were devoted to sorting through the photographs and preparing the text after the pictures were delivered, Harris said.

The book was sent to Italy for assembly and printing, and returned to Solano County by ship, Harris said. It contains full-color range maps that illustrate the types of habitats the birds use when they nest.

“It shows why the woodlands are important and what nests there,” she said. It does the same for grasslands and other habitats that people may not realize exist as they drive past them on roads and highways. The book has wonderful vegetation maps.”

The book also details changes in nesting habits through the years, she said. “It talks about specific birds. Some are newly breeding in Solano County that have not bred here before. Others have been breeding all over the place, and now there are only one or two sites,” she said.

Local chapters of Audubon often produce such books, Harris said, and each is expected to be updated every 10 years. In some cases a chapter may tackle the birds of an entire state. But when the state is the size of California, local chapters can produce books about their own counties, as Napa-Solano Audubon Society has done with this book.

For those intending to participate in the Benicia Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 15, the book accompanied by a bird field guide that can help people become more familiar with the types of birds they might see that day, Harris said.

Those participating in the bird count may go out in groups of four and five, so novices can help provide “a lot of eyes” necessary to spot the birds. “If I’m looking north, I can’t see behind me,” she said.

Those less familiar with birds may be able to spot a hawk; the more expert counters are able to identify the species, she said.

Like the bird count, the book is the product of what Harris called citizen science activities.

“Our breeding bird atlas is the result of citizen science activities — people recognizing breeding activity, bird count volunteers following procedures and providing information,” she said.

Sunday’s book signing also is the public debut of “Breeding Birds of Solano County,” Harris said, and Lindsay Art Glass was chosen for the public introduction because the studio’s owner, David Lindsay, has collaborated with an Audubon member and Benicia resident, Sue Johnson, in making lamps for her Berkeley studio.

The book signing will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. Sunday at Lindsay Art Glass, 109 East F St. Berner and some of the photographers will participate in the book signing and will be available to talk about their experiences as they contributed to its publication.

Those interested may visit the Napa Solano Audubon Society website, www.napasolanoaudubon.com.