Naturalist explores his family’s journey

Readers of naturalist literature know Bernd Heinrich for his books about ravens, geese, owls, insects and the biological underpinnings of ultraendurance (he’s an ultramarathoner) for human beings. His newest book, “The Snoring Bird: My Family’s Journey Through a Century of Biology,” combines all of the above with the unifying story of Heinrich’s larger-than-life father – army pilot, naturalist, expeditionist, entymologist and lover of many, many women, some of whom shared the same house and raised one another’s children. The younger Heinrich is a biologist at the University of Vermont and a part-time resident of Maine, where his immigrant family settled after fleeing Poland and Germany in the 1950s. The familywide naturalist expertise aided the Heinrichs’ survival in the jungles of Africa as well as at the forest cabin in Europe where the family hid and where Heinrich developed a love for nature. Heinrich will speak about the adventures of his life and work at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition of his father’s work: “Gerd Heinrich: 20th Century Biologist and Museum Collector.” For information, call 238-4250. Heinrich will also present a public talk “The Natural History of Hot- and Cold-Blooded Insects,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden. For information, call 989-2591.