Newly released in December 2009, the weighty 344-page coffee-table masterpiece, Waterbirds: Portraits and Anecdotes from Birding Adventures, unfolds the 40-year journey upon which Theodore Cross embarked midway through a life marked with political highpoints. He will make a special guest appearance to speak about his adventures and sign copies of his $100 volume on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 1 p.m. in the “Ding” Darling Education Center.

Father of islander Amanda Cross and a part-time island resident himself, Cross has marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., advised the Johnson and Nixon administrations on anti-poverty programs, wrote the influential book Black Capitalism among others, played a prominent role in President Obama’s election, and created Birders Unite -- a birding Web site that ranks legislators according to their record of bird protection support.

NPR’s All Things Considered called Cross’ collection of 179 images and countless anecdotes “spectacular.” The New York Times described it as “part visual encyclopedia, part memoir.”

Admission is free to Cross’ presentation, which is sponsored by the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge as part of its 2010 Thursday Afternoon Lecture Series. Seating is limited and available on a first-come basis. The schedule of upcoming lectures is listed below.

DDWS is a non-profit, friends-of-the-refuge organization that supports the Education Center, “Ding” Darling Days, and other educational programs at the refuge.

For more information, call 472-1100 ext. 241 or log on to www.dingdarlingsociety.org.