Author Mark Manske and his pet owl celebrate his book release

A sure way to draw a crowd at the mall on a Saturday morning, just put a live owl outside the front door and watch the crowd grow. That’s what author Mark Manske did at Bookburgh Books, bringing along his pet owl Morley, a Eurasian Eagle Owl, to entertain the crowd and help celebrate the release of his latest book, the fifth in his series of “Adventures with Stoney” novels that are based on his real-life experiences as a biology teacher and wildlife instructor.

Charles Loscalzo, the owner of the bookstore, says after the COVID outbreak, it’s nice to finally be able to host authors and events like this again.

Mark’s fifth book, titled “Gabboons Aloft,” tells a story of the characters tracking hawk migrations in a hot air balloon. He has two more books in the series ready to go in the coming months. Mark also loves to talk about his work at Adirondack Raptors, capturing and banding wild birds, and educating the public about how important birds of prey are to the environment. Mark was a public school teacher for 27 years, and still teaches at Paul Smith’s College.

Learn more about Mark and his work at https://www.adirondackraptors.org and https://www.adeventureswithstoney.com