‘I go to the Arctic for the summer’: Orono wildlife photographer’s book ‘Birds of Nunavut’ launches

A five-year venture has officially taken flight. An Orono naturalist and wildlife photographer’s book Birds of Nunavut has been released.

“Some people go to Florida for the winter. I go to the Arctic for the summer,” said Jim Richards, author of ‘Birds of Nunavut.’

Richards has been fascinated by nature and wildlife, in particular birds, since he was eight years old. His passion for birds led him to the North.

“I just got very curious about the life and the habits of high Arctic birds and how they survive in the extremely harsh environment,” said Richards.

The 76-year-old has researched Arctic birds for over 25 years, having made 14 trips to Nunavut to capture photos of them.

“I thought, ‘Well, I could go up there for one summer and knock these babies off and be done with it (laughter) and then 14 summers later, I still got some up there that I need,” said Richards.

At times, Richards waited in one spot for 18 hours to get the perfect shot.

Five years ago, he started compiling elements for a book.

“A lot of birdwatchers like to go out and see new birds. I do too up to a point but going to Nunavut was not a quest for new birds. There’s maybe only two or three birds up there that you couldn’t find in Ontario. So I was interested in the breeding of the birds once they hit the high Arctic,” said Richards.

This month, Birds of Nunavut was released. Richards couldn’t have done it alone. To cover almost 300 species and feature 800 photographs in the two volumes, Richards relied on about 50 other people.

Almost every province and territory has a reference book dedicated to birds in the area and now, Nunavut has one too.

“While change is happening here, it’s more noticeable and happening much quicker up in the Artic. Hopefully, it will disspell the notion that the Arctic is a frozen wasteland when in fact it’s really not. It’s a vibrant, dynamic area,” said Richards.

Richards has been going up to Nunavut since 1990. It has a special place in his heart. After raising over $100,000 to publish his book, he plans on giving back all the proceeds to the territory; going towards conservation and education.