Serendipity's Reviews > When Birds Are Near: Dispatches from Contemporary Writers

When Birds are Near is a collection of twenty-six essays, not just about birds but also about the people who watch them, care about them and connect with them. At their best these essays capture the magic of being a bird watcher, finally seeing that elusive species that you’ve spent all day searching for, the frustration of seeing habitats destroyed and people who don’t care, the wonder of connecting with another living thing. I’m a birder myself, although my birding is of the relatively tame and local variety. And yet I recognised myself in several of these essays, felt seen in several others, and wished I’d been present in still others.

I didn’t enjoy all the essays equally. Some were better written than others; some I just naturally connected with because they so perfectly capture my own experiences. That’s to be expected in a volume with many authors. But there is something in here for everyone whatever level of birding they’ve experienced or wish to experience - even if just vicariously. An account of protecting nesting birds in the backyard mixes with a tale of a risky expedition through druglord controlled territory in Mexico in search of a possibly extinct woodpecker.

I wish the book had a more attractive and vibrant cover, not to mention at least one illustration per essay. I was lucky enough to read this as an eARC (thanks @netgalley and @cornelluniversitypress). Hopefully the final published version will come complete with illustrations and a more appealing cover. The essays deserve it.

If you are a birder I think you’ll enjoy this book. If you have a birder in your life this will make an ideal gift for them. But read it yourself as well - it’ll help you understand their passion.
.
“I love the sense of wonder I feel as I watch them live out their lives...I love the cyclical nature of their lives...But most of all I love them because they make me feel alive in a way nothing else can.”