A delightfully witty and also poignant book that is about far more than birds.

I enjoyed it, but you have to have some interest in birds.

“I get no greater joy than from walking around with my binoculars. I try to log as many hours as I can.”

Beautiful. I feel like I read this book at the perfect point in my life - felt kindred with Zarankin and her (quickly developed) condition of not being able to talk about anything other than birds.

One of the small pleasures I have discovered during this pandemic is watching and enjoying the birds at our newly installed backyard feeders. It always brings a smile to my face to look out and see the chickadees zooming about, the beautiful cardinal couple looking for fallen seeds, the bright male gold finches and their olive coloured female companions etc... I was thrilled when the woodpeckers finally discovered the suet feeder. The hummingbirds...just wow. My husband and I just yell out "hummingbird!" whenever one comes by.

I really liked Julia's Zarankin's memoir about the development of her new hobby of birding over a decade. I don't ever think I'll become a birder, but the book is more than about birds. It's about courage to change (she left her career to start another) and courage to do something that you'll never be the best at but to do it because it gives you joy. It's about learning new things, and learning to sit still and stay put for awhile.

I am so looking forward to this spring and migration season.

"I arrived on Stratton Island, Maine, with two rubber-coated dry bags that I'd borrowed, never imagining they'd actually come in handy. The contents of the waterproof bags included a tent that I didn't know how to assemble and an assortment of clothes that were missing all the essentials."

So begins Julia Zarankin's essay entitled "My Wild Side" about her stint with Audubon's Project Puffin. I say 'essay' with purpose because this book is really a collection of essays, some previously published. The fact that this book is a collection of essays would have changed my expectations about it, and perhaps increased my rating up to a 4.

There seems to be a formula to each chapter/essay: Ms Zarankin describes how inept she is (camping, piano, weight lifting, identifying bird song, etc), then provides an experience that shows how she tried and learned, and wraps up on a hopeful note - about incremental learning, for example.

I greatly enjoyed the last essay entitled "My Birding CV" which is witty and showcases Ms Zarankin's experience and appreciation of the many birds she has enjoyed over her years of birding.

Overall, I'd recommend this book.