Essays of memorable, astonishing-and in some instances, life-changing-encounters with wild animals. A reminder that nature's wondrous wild surrounds us all the time, wherever we live, if we'll only open our senses and pay attention.

Introduction/Author¿s NoteI. Meeting the NeighborsThe Songs of Robins Stretch Across Time and SpaceThe Hidden Lives of Hares and ShrewsLiving with Moose Through the Seasons and Across the YearsWatching BelugasPoint Woronzof¿s Spectacle of SwallowsSquirrelly BehaviorLeaving the NestRavens in WinterRedpoll Serenade: Celebrating the End of WinterOf Bears and Bird SeedListening to OwlII. Along City and Highway FringesA Gathering of SwansCalled to a Primeval Presence: Anchorage¿s Sandhill CranesNesting GoshawksArctic Terns, the World¿s Greatest Long-Distance FlyersCampbell Creek¿s SilversOn the Trail, Finding LynxValley of the EaglesIII. Backcountry EncountersIn the Company of BearsCrossing Paths with PorcupineLooking into Wild EyesSeeking Caribou, Touching the Arctic Refuge¿s Coastal PlainFourteen Ways of Viewing Alaskäs Wild, White SheepMeeting a Legend: WolverinePaddling with PorpoisesWilderness Music: Sharing a Valley with Howling WolvesIV. Oddities, Surprises, and DilemmasA Gift of HalibutLeonard Peyton¿s Redpoll ProjectOtter Catastrophe¿Nice¿ Weather Gets Seals HotMystery of Alaskäs Deformed-Bill ChickadeesAn Overlooked Marvel: In Search of Anchorage¿s Wood FrogsOf Waxwings and Goshawks and Standing Up to PowerA Tale of Two Wolverines and One Beloved Dog