As I don't live in America, very little of the described wildlife is ordinary to me, apart from sparrows and starlings, which are introduced non-natives in these pages. The bald eagle gets a chapter, but shares pages with other birds like ospreys. Some stunning photos add weight to the narrative of simply driving from one conservation spot to another, on a day trip, to see what inhabits the local environment.

Guides take the author to look for night-glowing insects the size of rice grains. They explain to her how a patch of dappled woodland was bought and saved from development or logging, to preserve a yellow flower called trout lily. The photo shows this growing with the profusion of bluebells in England. More guides develop an interest in moths, or frogs and toads. And presto, the author later discovers that she has some of these in her backyard.

Chapters could be read out of sequence, but refer back to earlier pages so it makes more sense read as presented. However if you really need to look up the swamp alligators or cranes, there's plenty of info. The full colour photos, taken on the trips, are clear and helpful. To someone who doesn't necessarily know what American trees and birds and salamanders are like, there is a lot of work on a nature app or Google to be done. Still, this might inspire readers to go out and see what is in their locality as well.

Bibliography p. 227 - 244 arranged by chapter. I think a list of the nature apps used and recommended would also be helpful. They are mostly named in the text but for instance, the Cornell bird one is not good for someone who doesn't know what road they are on, such is my experience anyway. And whether the apps need you to be connected to a cell mast in the field, or you can take a photo and add it when you get to wi-fi. Not everyone can spend a fortune on phone usage.

I read an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

I enjoyed getting to read about the nature element of the Southeast. This does a great job in bringing the nature aspect and enjoyed the overall feel of this book. Georgann Eubanks wrote this well and was engaged with the whole feel of this book.