From Register Staff

International field guide author and artist Hermann Heinzel will be in Napa and the greater Bay Area through April 24 for activities surrounding the publication of his newest book, “Birds of Napa County” published by Heyday Books in Berkeley.

More than 100 birds are depicted in their environment in this field guide, which also includes a locator map and checklist, and fits in a pocket. “From grebes, herons, loons and ducks to creepers, owls, flycatchers and sparrows … this is more than just a convenient bird guide, it reveals a world beyond the vineyards, an affirmation that there is both a beauty and a magic to the forests and rolling hills of Napa,” the back cover of the book reads.

Heinzel, who was born in Poland in 1939, lives in southwestern France. “My father was German, my mother Polish,” Heinzel wrote in an autobiographical note. “After the liberation in 1945, we moved to Westphalia where I was brought up on a farm and attended the local school in a forest. I started my first book on birds at the age of 8. The war left my parents destitute and we had no books at home except for the Bible. Paper was scarce so I used the border of a newspaper.”

At 17, he entered the Flemish University of Ghent to study biology. He also worked at the Alexander Koenig Museum in Bonn, Germany, under the well known ornithologist professors Dr. Niethammer and Dr. E. Wolters and attended art school in Cologne.

To pay his expenses as a student, he painted plates for bird magazines in Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands; he also wrote numerous articles. “I began working with Collins Publishers at that time, first on the ‘Readers Digest Book on Birds,’ published in several countries,” he wrote. “In 1970, I illustrated the highly successful ‘Birds of Britain & Europe,’ which has been translated into 15 European languages and is still in print. Also for Collins I illustrated ‘Seabirds of the World,’ ‘The Birds of the Bahamas,’ ‘A Hand Guide to European Birds for Beginners’ and a book on Indian birds.”

Heinzel has appeared regularly on French television to discuss local bird life and has made two films with Jaques Mitsch. The French state has awarded him the Chevallier de Merite for his work as a guide in the mountains, particularly with children.

“I have traveled widely to many countries, always working on birds, including ‘Birds of the Galapagos,’ a book on Australian birds which was not published,” he wrote.

Luckily for Napans, “Birds of Napa County” was published.

‘Birds of Napa County’ activitiesSunday, April 15,

4 p.m.

Hermann Heinzel presentation

Carolyn Parr Nature Center, Westwood Hills Park,

3107 Browns Valley Road, Napa

Free. Info, 255-6465.

Saturday, April 21,

11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Napa-Solano Audubon Society celebrates Earth Day with Hermann Heinzel in the early afternoon at Napa Valley College Soccer Fields. Free. Info, 227-9997.

Saturday, April 21,

3-6 p.m.

Talk and reception

Napa Valley Museum, 55 Presidents Circle, Yountville

$5 members, $10 non-members;

Info, reservations, 944-0500.

Monday, April 23,

9 a.m.

A morning bird walk in the Napa cemetery with Hermann Heinzel.

Meet at Copperfield’s Books, Bel Aire Plaza.

Free with purchase of “Birds of Napa County.” Info, 252-8002.

 

Monday, April 23,

2:30 p.m.

The Sonoma Land Trust presents an afternoon with Hermann Heinzel,

For directions and space availability, contact Reta at 526-6930, ext. 105.

Wednesday, April 25,

7 p.m.

An evening with Hermann Heinzel, Crissy Field Center, 603 Mason St., Presidio, San Francisco

Free. Info, (415) 331-0730.

 

Tuesday, April 26,

7 p.m.

Hermann Heinzel lecture and book signing.

Richardson Bay Audubon Center, 376 Greenwood Beach Road, Tiburon

Free. Info (415) 388-2524.