Charles Fergus – författare

The Wingless Crow joins together thirty-three superb short essays on nature, science, country living, and self. They are written by a man who—watchful, inquisitive, at times prickly—is animated by delight, wonder, and love for the rural places and wildlife of Pennsylvania. Charles Fergus wrote these insightful pieces for his monthly column, "Thornapples," which ran in Pennsylvania Game News magazine from the late 1970s until the early 1990s. They are based on many hours spent hiking, skiing, botanizing, and observing wild creatures, as well as trips to libraries and hours spent with books, teasing out information about the objects of his interest. The writing is simple and vivid, rendered dramatic through the delivery of carefully chosen details. Fergus scrutinizes a captured dragonfly and sees "a bubble of a hide through which organs glimmer." He recalls a night in a tent when lightning shook the ground. He tells about topographic maps and deerflies and auctions and poisonous mushrooms and crows. Propelled by an unrelenting curiosity, a wry sense of humor, and the tough heart of a born curmudgeon, Fergus is astonished at how little he sees at first—and how much, with care and dedication, there is to see. Readers will delight in his observations of and insights into the everyday life, both human and wild, animating the wooded mountains and farmed valleys of the author's central Pennsylvania home.

Handy in-the-field identification guide. Features the "Foolproof Five." Includes a useful identification flowchart.

Natural history narratives for more than 300 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians found in Pennsylvania and throughout the northeastern United States-written in an engaging, straightforward style.

Common and uncommon tree species described in engaging detail. Covers trees found in small woodlots, deep forests, backyards, and reverting fields.

Make a Home for Wildlife helps you see your property in new ways and is the resource you need to take the sometimes daunting steps to improve the quality of your land.According to U.S. Forest Service, 250 million acres of woods and forests in the U.S. are privately held by 10 million individuals/families. Whether you live on a quarter-acre lot in the suburbs, own a 20-acre woodland retreat, run a farm of 100 acres, or belong to an outdoor club with hundreds or thousands of acres, you can make changes to the land, improvements that will turn your property into a better home for wildlife. Habitat projects can be simple or complex, short-term or spanning decades. Cost can be minimal, a few hours of your time spent doing pleasant work in the outdoors, or can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. And there is funding to help landowners make wildlife habitat.Focusing on the eastern US, from Canada to Florida and west to the Great Plains, this book describes basic habitat types—forest, shrublands, grasslands, and wetlands—and highlights over 150 select native and introduced trees, shrubs, and plants and explains how they are used or not by wildlife. The book includes 100+ profiles of prominent and interesting species of insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals with info on animals and their habitat needs. Large and small mammals, resident and migratory birds, and insects are covered. Fergus relates stories of landowners who have made habitat in different states and regions in different ways.

A beautifully written natural history of the more than seventy tree species that grow in New England. Includes detailed illustrations and range maps.

For fans of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series, a fabulous historical mystery series set in early America. “Deeply imagined and intricately plotted, A Stranger Here Below marries richly textured historical fiction with the urgency of a mystery novel. Fergus knows certain things, deep in the bone: horses, hunting, the folkways of rural places, and he weaves this wisdom into a stirring tale.” – Geraldine Brooks, author of March and People of the Book Set in 1835 in the Pennsylvania town of Adamant, Fergus’s first novel in a new mystery series introduces Sheriff Gideon Stoltz, who, as a young deputy, is thrust into his position by the death of the previous sheriff. Gideon faces his first real challenge as death rocks the small town again when the respected judge Hiram Biddle commits suicide. No one is more distraught than Gideon, whom the old judge had befriended as a mentor and hunting partner. Gideon is regarded with suspicion as an outsider: he’s new to town, and Pennsylvania Dutch in the back-country Scotch-Irish settlement. And he found the judge’s body. Making things even tougher is the way the judge’s death stirs up vivid memories of Gideon’s mother’s murder, the trauma that drove him west from his home in the settled Dutch country of eastern Pennsylvania. He had also discovered her body. At first Gideon simply wants to learn why Judge Biddle killed himself. But as he finds out more about the judge’s past, he realizes that his friend's suicide was spurred by much more than the man’s despair. Gideon’s quest soon becomes more complex as it takes him down a dangerous path into the past.A Stranger Here Below is so atmospheric, so compelling and convincing, that readers will taste the grit of the dirt roads, cringe at the unsanitary conditions and medical superstitions that inflame a flu epidemic, and marvel at the immensely arduous task of carrying out an investigation using the primitive tools of the early 1800s. Fergus leaves us breathlessly waiting for the next Gideon Stoltz mystery.

A Rough-Shooting Dog is the compelling account of a man and his best friend--an English springer spaniel named Jenny. The author chronicles the training and first hunting season of his beloved canine friend and hunting companion, taking the reader into the field in pursuit of woodcock, pheasant, and grouse--noting that the two are a team and must work closely together in order to be successful hunters. Fergus discusses the roughshoots: cattail slough, beaver pond, alder jungle, and old orchards--all the while teaching the reader a little about life.It is a book about the dramas, joys, and frustrations of hunting with a dog--and a reflection about land, wildlife, and the ways in which these facets of the natural world can be experienced fully through upland bird hunting. A Rough-Shooting Dog won't disappoint.

When award-winning outdoor and nature writer Charles Fergus decided to leave his longtime home in Pennsylvania, he wrote a memoir of his last season hunting upland birds—grouse, woodcock, and pheasant— in his favorite coverts, some of which he had visited every autumn for almost thirty years. His stories of memorable hunts and dogs, the loss of his beloved home ground, and enduring hunting friendships are gathered in A Hunter’s Book of Days, a new book from Countrysport Press.

** Set in 1836, Fergus's superior sequel. . .brings the period to life as he expertly melds setting and plot.Starred Publishers Weekly**For Fans of Madeline Miller and Geraldine Brooks, and Historical Mysteries Involving Witchcraft, Second Sight, and Amish, Mennonite, and Pennsylvania Dutch Communities. In this thrilling second in the Gideon Stoltz Mystery series that Booklist called ';An appealing debut that deserves a boost from enthusiastichand-sellers,' it's now 1836 in the fast-growing town of Adamant. The young PennsylvaniaDutch sheriff Gideon has a new case when a beautiful womansuspected of witchcraft and residing in a nearby German settlementis murdered. Suffering from a head injury after a fall off his horse, Gideon can't recall anything that happened at the time of the woman's death. As flashes of memory return, he realizes that not only did he know the victim, he was with her the night she died. As Gideon delves into the investigation, he must include himself in the list of suspects. When Gideon uncovers another dead body, he's launched on a path to discover the truth, no matter the outcome. Gideon's estranged wife, True, has her own reluctant methods of investigation. Gifted with unwelcome powers of second sight, True realizes that her husband's life is in dangerand puts her own life on the line to save him. Nighthawk'sWingunflinchingly examines the oppressed status of women in the 1830 and like the first in the series, it has ';an atmospheric setting and a strong sense of place' (Library Journal). Nighthawk'sWing beckons all readers who crave authenticity in early American historical novels, including those intrigued by witchcraft, spells, and visions. This compelling mystery glides along the edge between the gritty reality of the early 1800s and a parallel world of spirits and haunted souls.

"Richly textured historical fiction with the urgency of a mystery novel. Fergus knows certain things, deep in the bone: horses, hunting, the folkways of rural places, and he weaves this wisdom into a stirring tale.” – Geraldine Brooks, author of March and People of the Book and HorseLay This Body Down, the third Gideon Stoltz Mystery, takes place in 1837 during one of the most horrific periods in pre-Civil War America, when human beings were considered chattel and both northern and southern states grew rich from slave labor. A Pennsylvania sheriff like Gideon could choose to uphold the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 or defy that racist law at great peril. In this hard-hitting, action-packed novel, Gideon tries to protect a boy who has fled north from a Virginia plantation – and pays dearly for his principles. Written with the vivid, atmospheric prose that imbues the whole series, the life and times of an early American backwoods town and its hardscrabble citizens will grip readers as Gideon and his wife True solve a murder, bust a kidnapping ring, and help one unforgettable boy who courageously chooses freedom above all else.

Make a Home for Wildlife helps you see your property in new ways and is the resource you need to take the sometimes daunting steps to improve the quality of your land.According to U.S. Forest Service, 250 million acres of woods and forests in the United States are privately held by 10 million individuals/families. Whether you live on a quarter-acre lot in the suburbs, own a 20-acre woodland retreat, run a farm of 100 acres, or belong to an outdoor club with hundreds or thousands of acres, you can make changes to the land—improvements that will turn your property into a better home for wildlife. Habitat projects can be simple or complex, short-term or spanning decades. Cost can be minimal—a few hours of your time spent doing pleasant work in the outdoors—or can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. And there is funding to help landowners make wildlife habitat.Focusing on the eastern US from Canada to Florida and west to the Great Plains, this book describes basic habitat types—forest, shrublands, grasslands, and wetlands—and highlights over 150 select native and introduced trees, shrubs, and plants, explaining how they are used—or not—by wildlife. The book includes more than 100 profiles of prominent and interesting species of insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals with information on animals and their habitat needs. Large and small mammals, resident and migratory birds, and insects are covered. Fergus relates stories of landowners who have made habitat in different states and regions in different ways.