The Birding Life: A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield

When I first saw the description of The Birding Life: A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield, I was intrigued. The author describes it as “an effort to capture not just the experience of bird watching in all its insouciance, diversity, and surprise, but also to show how devotees of the species reveal the depths of their passion in their homes and haunts”. Wait…”in their homes and haunts”? Is this going to be a birder’s Better Homes and Gardens? Causing further concern is the fact that this is the latest in a series of similar books from this authorial team (the others are about dogs, hunting and fishing, angling, and gardening). They may be well practiced at this kind of book, but will (presumably) non-birders be able to capture the experience of birding?

The Birding Life starts strongly with a prologue that jumps right into the midst of the birding scene, recounting the author’s experiences on a field trip during the Potholes and Prairie Birding Festival in North Dakota (one I’ve got to get to someday!). I must admit that Sheehan (the writer of the book’s text), even though we come to confirm that he is not a birder, does a good job capturing the excitement and “looniness” (his term, obviously chosen for the play on words, honestly isn’t that far off) of birding.

Similarly, interspersed throughout the book are “field trips” to Central Park, High Island, and Magee Marsh. These are short tours through the location that describe what birds you may see and why they are so important to birds (and birders). This pains me to admit, but I’ve never been to any of these hotspots (I’ve driven through High Island in early April, before all the migrants arrived, but that doesn’t count). Even so, I didn’t learn much from these field trips, but, like the prologue, I still enjoyed reading them.

The majority of The Birding Life, however, does not deal directly with birds and birding. Rather, it focuses on people. Part one – “Birders in Birdland” – starts with an introduction to a few “iconic figures” of bird watching. Included, naturally, are Alexander Wilson, Audubon, and Roger Tory Peterson, along with two of the most well-known modern birders: Kenn Kaufman and David Allen Sibley. From there we go on to visit Maine’s Hog Island, along with the homes of birders you may know, like Bill Thompson III and Julie Zickefoose, and those you may not, such as a thirteen-year-old Manhattan birder who has quite an impressive bird-book-filled bookshelf. The chapters are on the brief side, offering just a quick introduction or tour.

How many teenagers have a field guide to Borneo?

I found this first section to be very interesting and the people featured easy to relate to, as they seemed to interact with birds in the same way that I do, namely by finding, identifying, and learning more about them.

The remaining two-thirds of the book brings us into the homes and workplaces of bird-lovers. I use that term deliberately as, contrary to the first part, most of the people profiled here do not seem to be birders (in the normal sense of the word). They are all interested in birds, some perhaps even passionately, others more influenced by birds, such as the artist who creates sculptures using real bird nests. Apparently, the main way they express that interest is by collecting, and decorating their homes with, avian-themed art and objects, from paintings to sculpture, pillows to wallpaper.

Clearly, the manner in which these people choose to express their interest in birds is no less valid than that of a hardcore birder. Still, this section was not nearly as interesting to me as the first. Some of the art on display, especially the more true-to-life representations and the waterfowl and shorebird decoys, were appealing to me. But most of it wasn’t. There were still some bright spots, though. The look inside Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History was enlightening. Charlie Harper, one of my favorite bird artists, was featured. And the chapter on the man who builds tree houses designed like bird nests was absolutely fascinating.

An example from the first part of the book. You can't see them well in this picture, but I love those carvings.

From the second part. Not my style.

You can tell when a non-birder writes about birds and birding. That is the case here, although it is not as egregious as many instances. I feel Sheehan does justice to birding, although he just scratches the surface of what birding can entail. His unfamiliarity with his target audience does reveal itself from time to time, especially when the topics of parrot ownership and nest collecting are broached without any mention of the moral, environmental, and legal implications. But overall, I found the writing to be pleasantly engaging; even the parts that did not interest me didn’t feel like a slog to get through.

One thing’s for sure – this large, coffee-table book looks great. It is attractively designed and brimming with photographs, many of which fill an entire page. There are some great shots of birds, but most pictures show birders birding, or the interior of homes.

Recommendation

The Birding Life: A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield explores some of the ways in which people appreciate and relate to birds. It is an attractive, well-written book, and what it does, it does very well. However, I don’t think it will appeal to everyone interested in birds. If, like me, the first part of this book sounds more relevant to you, I would recommend checking it out if you are also interested in bird-centric art and other objects. Instead, if the second part is more your cup of tea, or if you’re curious about the various ways people express their passion about birds, I would unreservedly recommend The Birding Life.