Dick Evans and Hannah Hindley at Reader's Books
Join Reader's Books in Sonoma at 6:00 p.m on Wednesday, February 4th as Hannah Hindley and Dick Evans discuss their book, In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area. This beautiful book of curated images interspersed with text explores the neighborhoods of San Francisco and their avian residents. Together, Hindley and Evans provide a vibrant and rich story of the tenacity of birds in a densely settled urban area. This event is free to the public.
In the Shadow of the Bridge at Mill Valley Public Library
Join Dick Evans and Hannah Hindley for an event at the Mill Valley Public Library, as they celebrate IN THE SHADOW OF THE BRIDGE. In partnership with our friends at Book Passage.
Debuts November 2025 — In the Shadow of the Bridge
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sumptuously Photographed Art Book Showcases the Wild Beauty and Biodiversity of the Birds of the Greater Bay Area
Photographer Dick Evans and award-winning writer Hannah Hindley explore the natural and social histories of Bay Area birds and the conservation dilemmas they face.
BERKELEY, CALIF. — More than half of all avian species in the United States can be found in the long shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is here that the 4,000-mile avian superhighway known as the Pacific Flyway, converges. Stretching from Alaska to Patagonia, this massive migratory channel is trafficked by over a billion birds every year, making the greater San Francisco Bay Area one of the most remarkably biodiverse regions for birds, and a destination for bird lovers the world over. In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area captures the pockets of wilderness that make these Bay Area cities a birder’s paradise and gives voice to the environmental dilemmas that imperil it.
Featuring over 200 full color photographs by Dick Evans and poetic prose by award-winning writer Hannah Hindley, In the Shadow of the Bridge details the enduring abundance of avian biodiversity of the San Francisco Bay bioregion. A stunning array of native bird species roost among the nutrient-rich waters of the Bay and the sprawling California Delta that feeds it, ecosystems which also attract millions more winged visitors along their migratory journeys every year. This estuary is the largest of the Pacific Coast—and also among the most modified in the nation, causing habitat loss for both local and migratory species. Over the last half century, diminishing terrain combined with other shifting climatic conditions has caused over 3 billion birds to disappear from these skies.
Divided into three sections, Evans and Hindley explore the histories, communities, and complex conservation issues that intersect to make the greater Bay Area a remarkable place for the study of birds, and a potent catalyst for their preservation and protection. Informed and guided by the expertise of Point Blue Conservation Science, a nonprofit leader in climate-smart conservation, Evans and Hindley’s survey of this biodiversity hotspot extends for hundreds of miles in every direction of the Golden Gate Bridge—northward to Russian River, inland to Sacramento, southward to Monterey, and oceanward to the remote Farallon islands, accessible only by conservation scientists. With awe and admiration, the authors delight in the splendor of these winged wonders as well as in the human capacity to care for them.
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Praise for In the Shadow of the Bridge
“A celebration not only of the wonderful and varied birds of the Bay Area but also of the collaborative efforts to study and protect them. Photographer Dick Evans and essayist Hannah Hindley have beautifully captured the wonder and mystery of birds, the fascinating research to better understand them, and the joy of birding itself.” —Wayne Klockner, Executive Director, American Birding Association
“In the Shadow of the Bridge is a spectacular book, capturing the dance of light and color that can only be seen on the feathers of a bird. The Bay Area is a truly astonishing place for birds, and this photographic compendium celebrates its diversity of species, habitats, and behaviors in crystalline detail. From the mundane to the extraordinary, every scene in this book tells a story of wild beauty, patience, and discovery.” —John P. Dumbacher, Curator of Ornithology and Mammalogy, Institute of Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences
“As graceful and impressive as the Golden Gate Bridge is, the natural world it spans is even more enchanting. This is the bay Dick Evans is drawn to and cannot turn away from. With his camera in hand, he seeks birds who grace air, sea and shore—from elegant Snowy Egrets to cartoonish Hooded Mergansers—as they thrive in a scene like no other. Dick’s passion for this place where ocean meets land is shared by Hannah Hindley whose words are as powerful as Dick’s photographs. Together they create a book, In the Shadow of the Bridge, that gives voice to a piece of California that nourishes an astonishing array of birds who deserve celebration.” —Chris Johns, Former Editor-in-Chief, National Geographic
“Anchored by Hannah Hindley’s liquid and radiant prose, the portfolio of Dick Evans attains something transcendent. His photography isn’t just about birds, it is about grace in evolution, its diversity, and its poetry.” —Obi Kaufmann, author of The California Field Atlas series
“In the Shadow of the Bridge beautifully weaves the lives of Bay Area birds into the region’s natural and urban landscapes, revealing how their presence shapes our sense of place. With lyrical prose and vivid observation, it celebrates the resilience, grace, and enduring connection between birds and the dynamic environment they inhabit.” —Glenn Phillips, Executive Director, Golden Gate Bird Alliance
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Kalie Caetano
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Dick Evans became interested in photography as a graduate student at Stanford University and continued his practice throughout a fifty-five-year career in the global metals industry that took him all over the world. San Francisco always remained home base, though, and he now lives in the city with his wife, Gretchen. Evans is the author of the photography books San Francisco and the Bay Area: The Haight-Ashbury Edition, The Mission (an Indie Book Award Finalist), and San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Hannah Hindley is a wilderness guide and the recipient of the Thomas Wood Award in Journalism, the Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award, and the Barry Lopez Prize in Nonfiction. She graduated from Harvard with degrees in English and evolutionary biology; she holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from University of Arizona. Her environmental essays can be found in Bay Nature, The Sun, Hakai, and more. Hannah writes about small creatures, big landscapes, and the scientists who love them.
