The Avian Ark, Tales froma
Wild-bird Hospital, by Kitt
Chubb, Western Producer
Prairie books, 157 pp., paper-
back

Barbara Black
BOOK REVIEW

IRD LOVERS will prab-

ably already be familiar

with Kit Chubb’s won-
derful stories from the
“Avian Ark,” her bird hospi-
tal in Ontario. The book is
now out in paperback and if
you are a bird or animal
lover, the tales of bird reha-
bilitation.in this collection

will delight you...
. Although. i am not one of
those binocular-wielding afi-
. cionados, |.do spend hours with

“my nase pressed against the

_ kitchen window, madly flipping

through Peterson’s bird guide try-
ing to identify the lithe winged
creatures that come to gobble up
bird seed. That is the extent af
my involvement with birds.

Kit Chubb has real hands-on
experience with birds. Birds in
sometimes desperate need of
medical attention come to her
rehab centre and receive the love
and attention they nead to be
released back into the wild.

Chubb admits that from child-
hood, “all flora and fauna have
always engrossed me.” This fasci-
nation, combined with a career
in nursing, proved to be the per-
fect combination for an avian
hospital. Borrowing from other
experts’ knowledge and from her
own experiments in care, Chubb
has gained considerable exper-
tise in the nursing of wild birds.

Chubb imparts a lot of back-
ground information on habitat
and behavior in her tales, but
never in a dry scientific manner,
always in the spirit of devotion.
She describes the environment
and conditions in which some
birds are found, tying this in with
the sometimes strange behaviors
the birds exhibit in the hospital.
The stories are so enjoyable one
catches Chubb‘s bug and wants
to learn more about each bird.

In “The Heron Family” Chubb
relates the difficulty of caring for
injured herons. But this does not

deter her. She sees great beauty
in the bird she calls “fragile” and
“vulnerable” with an “elegance
of proportion.” She watches her
heron patient through a one-way
window and writes: “Long of leg,
neck, and beak, he preens in
blissfut privacy. My seat creaks,
causing him to freeze and fix me
with a long suspicious stare of
such directness it is hard to
believe he cannot see me.”

In “Ducks and Geese,” a
goose with a frozen, broken wing
is allowed free rein to pact
around the Chubbs’ home. All
inhabitants make compromises.
Chubb writes, “A free-walking,
wary goose presented a number
of small problems to which we
found two solutions: one was
Bissell’s “Wall to Wall” solution
diluted 1:8, and the other was to
avoid making her nervous.” The
“Goosess,” as she is fondly
called, one day cliscovers a com-

anion in the mirror. Lonely in

er convalescence, she spends
days trying to remove the mirror
from the wall to access her goose
friend.

Some of the recoveries are
miraculous, others heart-break-
ingly unsuccessful. Many birds
cannot be rescued until they are
very close to death and come in
with only a slim chance of sur-
vival. But strange coalitions are
formed in the hospital. A.parent-

Greek and Italian fare featured

" Fre rom page 29

“ "$0 southern Mediterranean it.
“is, but strictly Italian it is not.

_/ Its wine:menu, for example,

“inctudes four selections, all of

"which are Greek..

‘Butts menu is larger and
more diverse than would be

"~ ‘expected at a small informal -

ttalian restaurant.
And it bears as many Greek

“influences as.it does Italian.
~ “Aside from the pastas, which
‘are’all $9.50 for a full dinner size
and $6.95 for luncheon size, La
" ‘Minore offers a good selection of

fresh seafood dishes ($11 to $13
‘for such’selections as Salmon

“, Alla Crem Bianco and Deep

*. Fried Prawns or the special

CL

Poseiden’s Platter for two —
$24.95, fora spread of
Mediterranean- “style salmon,
Kalamari, scallops, prawns and
tzatziki); ‘chicken ($12 to $13)

‘and even a pair of schnitzels

($10.25 and $11.95).

The restaurant also has a good
variety of salads ($3 to $6.50 for
Caesar, Greek, Tomato or |
Shrimp) and appetizers ($4 to
$6.50, including Tiger Prawns,
Scallops Alla Crem Bianco,
Kalamari and Spinach Pie).

Its kitchen does not aspire to
haute cuisine, but its production
is competent and occasionally
adventurous.

Our Camberetti al Forno, for
example, combined a dozen
sweet fresh prawns simmered in

PARK ROYAL

E

a mildly spicy white wine sauce
spiked with garlic, cayenne pep-
per and parsley.

Adding interest to the plate
were servings of rice and scal-
loned potatoes; detracting from
that interest was a melange of
boiled peas, carrots and cauli-
flower.

On the Friday night that Table
Hopping decided to visit La

‘Minore, the restaurant was all but

empty.

Still, the staff were bright and
hospitable and overall the food
served was hasic and well pre-
pared.

For a casual dinner in Upper
Lonsdale, you can’t ask for rnuch
more.

AS

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CINEMA. 1
SEPARATE ADMISSION FEATURE -

32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT
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Nightly 6:50pm; Sat. Only 2:50pm-Mature

THE PIANO

Best Actor Academy Award
Nightly 8:40pm; Sat/Sun. 4:40pm

Emily Murphy House benefit matinee 2:00pm Sunday “Secret Garden”

less greal horned ow! named
Oido is paired with a reluctant
adult male named Gonzales.
While the elder first appears
indifferent, the orphan “set out
after his quarry \ with puppy-like
anthusiasm.”

subjects.

No doubt because she is such
an astute observer of bird charac-
ter and behavior, she often man-
ages to capture them in interest-
ing and revealing poses.

It is no wonder this book is

endorsed by Farley Mowat.
Chubb has the same storytelling
abilities and a passion for her
subject that is positively infec-
tious.

The Avian Ark is very thought-
fully laid out, with a layout of the
hospital, a lossary, a metric con
version table, and the skillful
drawings Chubb has done of her

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