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The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds
Julie Zickefoose lives for the moment when a wild, free living bird that she has raised or rehabilitated comes back to visit her; their eyes meet and they share a spark of understanding. Her reward for the grueling work of rescuing birds—such as feeding baby hummingbirds every twenty minutes all day long—is her empathy with them and the satisfaction of knowing the world is a birdier and more beautiful place.
The Bluebird Effect is about the change that's set in motion by one single act, such as saving an injured bluebird—or a hummingbird, swift, or phoebe. Each of the twenty five chapters covers a different species, and many depict an individual bird, each with its own personality, habits, and quirks. And each chapter is illustrated with Zickefoose's stunning watercolor paintings and drawings. Not just individual tales about the trials and triumphs of raising birds, The Bluebird Effect mixes humor, natural history, and memoir to give readers an intimate story of a life lived among wild birds.
The Bluebird Effect is about the change that's set in motion by one single act, such as saving an injured bluebird—or a hummingbird, swift, or phoebe. Each of the twenty five chapters covers a different species, and many depict an individual bird, each with its own personality, habits, and quirks. And each chapter is illustrated with Zickefoose's stunning watercolor paintings and drawings. Not just individual tales about the trials and triumphs of raising birds, The Bluebird Effect mixes humor, natural history, and memoir to give readers an intimate story of a life lived among wild birds.
355 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
63 people are currently reading
1921 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
April 21, 2012
If you love birds, hie thee to a bookstore toot-sweet and bring home this masterpiece.
THE BLUEBIRD EFFECT deserves 30 stars. That's one star for every year Julie Zickefoose has devoted to observing, rehabilitating, painting, and writing about wild birds. Her warmth comes through on every page.
This is a book to be treasured and revisited, both for solace and for inspiration in your own efforts to connect with common birds. Julie's artwork is gorgeous, and so intimate. These are paintings and sketches of birds she has known personally and helped on their way to wild independence.
THE BLUEBIRD EFFECT was a balm for my battered spirit. I've never laughed and cried so much while reading a bird book. Julie has learned all kinds of strange things in her peregrinations, including "that the people who sunbathe nude in tern colonies are not the ones you'd necessarily want to see in dishabille."
She also shares a lot of fascinating truths that fly in the face of traditionally accepted birding wisdom. (Puns most certainly on purpose.)
I especially liked the Hummingbird Summer section. Julie was given four orphaned hummingbird nestlings to raise. They had to be fed so often that she couldn't leave them at home when she had to do errands. One day she had to take them with her, and you can't leave them in the car on a hot summer day, so she brought them in the grocery store with her. And of course, that's when two of them decided it was a good time to fledge! Fortunately, she had them in a covered carrier.
In the chapter on orchard orioles I learned a new word -- Zugunruhe -- which means "migratory restlessness." For 17 years Julie had an oriole named Ora Lee who had been rendered permanently flightless by a house cat. Every spring and fall, that old Zugunruhe would kick in, and Ora Lee's body knew it was time to migrate. She would flop around helplessly, trying to fly north or south, so Julie had to put her in a padded bathtub so she wouldn't injure herself during her "migration."
Even the carrion birds have something to teach us, even if it's only what we should avoid at the grocery store. When meat in her freezer gets too old, Julie puts it out for the turkey vultures and notes:
"For the record, even a turkey vulture won't eat a processed chicken nugget. I stopped buying them for my son when I saw the vultures picking around them."
She feels a special connection with turkey vultures, and has even been graced with two sightings a year apart of the same albino turkey vulture -- white with a charcoal-grey head and three black feathers on one wing.
Julie saves the last chapter for the one bird in her life who has never had the chance to be wild and free -- Charlie the chestnut-fronted macaw. Charlie's antics are hilarious. I cracked up at the way he would shout "Helloooo? Yeah!" every time she answered the phone.
But she recognizes her error in having bought him way back in 1989. Parrots can never be "pets" because they can never be domesticated. Even with the most dedicated owners, the parrots' lives amount to solitary confinement, yearning to fly free and be with their own kind. They self-mutilate to express frustration at being in captivity and longing for a mate.
Charlie gets the last laugh, though, with the zinger at the end of the book.
There are lots of other birds covered in the book, but I'll leave them for you to discover on your own. I will say, though, that I read the chapter on ivory-billed woodpeckers with heart pounding and tears in my eyes at the possibility that these magnificent birds may not, after all, be extinct.
Thank you, Julie Z., bird mama, for your years of service to our avian friends, and for creating this beautiful book. You are a heroine. You also have a really cool last name, which could itself be a bird call:
"Zick-zick-zick-zick-zick-e-FOO-se"
THE BLUEBIRD EFFECT deserves 30 stars. That's one star for every year Julie Zickefoose has devoted to observing, rehabilitating, painting, and writing about wild birds. Her warmth comes through on every page.
This is a book to be treasured and revisited, both for solace and for inspiration in your own efforts to connect with common birds. Julie's artwork is gorgeous, and so intimate. These are paintings and sketches of birds she has known personally and helped on their way to wild independence.
THE BLUEBIRD EFFECT was a balm for my battered spirit. I've never laughed and cried so much while reading a bird book. Julie has learned all kinds of strange things in her peregrinations, including "that the people who sunbathe nude in tern colonies are not the ones you'd necessarily want to see in dishabille."
She also shares a lot of fascinating truths that fly in the face of traditionally accepted birding wisdom. (Puns most certainly on purpose.)
I especially liked the Hummingbird Summer section. Julie was given four orphaned hummingbird nestlings to raise. They had to be fed so often that she couldn't leave them at home when she had to do errands. One day she had to take them with her, and you can't leave them in the car on a hot summer day, so she brought them in the grocery store with her. And of course, that's when two of them decided it was a good time to fledge! Fortunately, she had them in a covered carrier.
In the chapter on orchard orioles I learned a new word -- Zugunruhe -- which means "migratory restlessness." For 17 years Julie had an oriole named Ora Lee who had been rendered permanently flightless by a house cat. Every spring and fall, that old Zugunruhe would kick in, and Ora Lee's body knew it was time to migrate. She would flop around helplessly, trying to fly north or south, so Julie had to put her in a padded bathtub so she wouldn't injure herself during her "migration."
Even the carrion birds have something to teach us, even if it's only what we should avoid at the grocery store. When meat in her freezer gets too old, Julie puts it out for the turkey vultures and notes:
"For the record, even a turkey vulture won't eat a processed chicken nugget. I stopped buying them for my son when I saw the vultures picking around them."
She feels a special connection with turkey vultures, and has even been graced with two sightings a year apart of the same albino turkey vulture -- white with a charcoal-grey head and three black feathers on one wing.
Julie saves the last chapter for the one bird in her life who has never had the chance to be wild and free -- Charlie the chestnut-fronted macaw. Charlie's antics are hilarious. I cracked up at the way he would shout "Helloooo? Yeah!" every time she answered the phone.
But she recognizes her error in having bought him way back in 1989. Parrots can never be "pets" because they can never be domesticated. Even with the most dedicated owners, the parrots' lives amount to solitary confinement, yearning to fly free and be with their own kind. They self-mutilate to express frustration at being in captivity and longing for a mate.
Charlie gets the last laugh, though, with the zinger at the end of the book.
There are lots of other birds covered in the book, but I'll leave them for you to discover on your own. I will say, though, that I read the chapter on ivory-billed woodpeckers with heart pounding and tears in my eyes at the possibility that these magnificent birds may not, after all, be extinct.
Thank you, Julie Z., bird mama, for your years of service to our avian friends, and for creating this beautiful book. You are a heroine. You also have a really cool last name, which could itself be a bird call:
"Zick-zick-zick-zick-zick-e-FOO-se"
July 5, 2021
This is a lovely book not just for it's writing, but for the drawings in it. It's like a beautiful coffee table art book with birding articles surrounding the art. I'm one of those people that will actually write in and highlight a nonfiction reference book, but I couldn't bear to mark this one up. I highlighted the passages and images I wanted to revisit with sticky notes so the book would remain unmarred. That's very high praise from me. It's a charming book about a life long love of birds and nature. I was thinking about volunteering at my local wildlife rehab, but this is one of several books that convinced me I do not have the time in my life to do it justice. The amount of work that goes into raising baby birds until they are able to be set free is immense, but rewarding. The book is full of scientific facts and insights, but it's all told in a style that's totally approachable for anyone. The author's love for nature comes through every line as does her passion for birds. In between some very no nonsense talk are phrases that are closer to poetry than prose. It is simple a beautiful book.
September 18, 2016
Yay! My new favorite non-fiction book! Love the stories. Love the art work. Love the author so much I immediately subscribed to 2 years of the magazine she writes for! (Bird Watcher's Digest) A song bird rehabilitator, and an artist. wow.
June 6, 2012
Some of the chapters in this book hit me hard; I could've written them, although not so well. Gave me lots to think about.
January 27, 2013
The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds by Julie Zickerfoose is a jewel. There is a lot about this book that I admire.
A) The author's artwork! Zickefoose's sketches, illustrations and paintings of birds are remarkable. If it were just a book of art, we'd be richly rewarded.
B) Her writing style is personable, she leads with her heart, her stories flow like friends sitting around a front porch swapping their bird remembrances.
Zickefoose writes, "In the early 1980s, I spent six weeks in Newfoundland, and I hiked its cool, rocky paths on what passed for summer days—in the fifties, with a fine rain falling. The heady scent of balsam rose around me whenever the sun dared peer out. The wistful songs of white-throated sparrows—stronger now, not wavering, since the birds were on breeding grounds—seemed the perfect aural embodiment of the aroma of fir: sweet, elusive, nostalgic, and intoxicating."
And finally, C) The uncommon bonds. And this probably goes to the heart of what it is to be a birder. As an avocation, birding is a lifelong passion. A lifetime of garnering information, little clues. You can read all the books, attend classes and workshops but ultimately each birder spends long solitary hours in the field with heightened senses, pulling together the pieces, the sounds, the flashs of color, the awareness of surroundings, the Thoreauvian attentiveness, the sensitivity to the season.
As Zickefoose's writes, "Learning about birds, for me, like piecing together a puzzle that lasts a lifetime. I chase down their songs, one by one, spurning audio recordings in favor of hearing that song coming from an open bill. I pick up and store random fragments of information: bits of songs and calls, foraging and breeding behavior, flight style, bathing behavior. I piece them together in memory until I begin to see the bird take form. I may never be granted an entire image, but occasionally I have an interaction with an individual that grants an unusual and unexpected insight, a glimpse into the imponderable."
Birding is a lifetime of private epiphanies spent out-of-doors, far from the madding crowd. And what better place to be? Hours and hours and hours and a thousand a-ha moments.
In a word, birds are wondrous: they fly, sing and come in a Crayola Crayon boxful of colors. They can be found any and everywhere. Any day is a good day to go birding, a good day to refine your awareness, tweak your radar.
But, here is the extra verve Zickefoose brings to the table. As a licensed bird rehabilitator, a self-confessed "compulsive nurturer," her firsthand observances are far more intimate than ours can ever be. The birds we see in the bush, she has seen in her hand, often sick or wounded, at their most vulnerable. When they let down their guard.
Having nursed numerous individual birds back to health and raised many, many more nestlings to their fledging into the wild, Zickefoose has gotten to know individual personalities, create uncommon bonds. This is some of what she shares with us: her 15 year relationship with a broken savannah sparrow that refused to give up his wildness; a limp-winged orchard oriole that still longed to migrate throwing itself against the bars of its cage; a white turkey vulture totem; and a one-on-one bond with a wild ruffed grouse that followed her like a spaniel on her walks through the woods, plus there's her long hours of being an avian mama: her playing parent to orphan teenie-weenie-weenie hummingbirds and chimney swifts. (Is this even humanly possible?)
"I live for the moment," writes Zickefoose, "when my gaze meet's a bird's—that exchange of awareness of the 'who' in each of us, the spark of understanding leaping from the bright bead of its eye to mine."
This is why I admire this book so. Because of the life that Zickerfoose has lived, she's talked-the-talk and walked-the-walk and—thank goodness—through the pages of this book, shared the stories. Bravo!
A) The author's artwork! Zickefoose's sketches, illustrations and paintings of birds are remarkable. If it were just a book of art, we'd be richly rewarded.
B) Her writing style is personable, she leads with her heart, her stories flow like friends sitting around a front porch swapping their bird remembrances.
Zickefoose writes, "In the early 1980s, I spent six weeks in Newfoundland, and I hiked its cool, rocky paths on what passed for summer days—in the fifties, with a fine rain falling. The heady scent of balsam rose around me whenever the sun dared peer out. The wistful songs of white-throated sparrows—stronger now, not wavering, since the birds were on breeding grounds—seemed the perfect aural embodiment of the aroma of fir: sweet, elusive, nostalgic, and intoxicating."
And finally, C) The uncommon bonds. And this probably goes to the heart of what it is to be a birder. As an avocation, birding is a lifelong passion. A lifetime of garnering information, little clues. You can read all the books, attend classes and workshops but ultimately each birder spends long solitary hours in the field with heightened senses, pulling together the pieces, the sounds, the flashs of color, the awareness of surroundings, the Thoreauvian attentiveness, the sensitivity to the season.
As Zickefoose's writes, "Learning about birds, for me, like piecing together a puzzle that lasts a lifetime. I chase down their songs, one by one, spurning audio recordings in favor of hearing that song coming from an open bill. I pick up and store random fragments of information: bits of songs and calls, foraging and breeding behavior, flight style, bathing behavior. I piece them together in memory until I begin to see the bird take form. I may never be granted an entire image, but occasionally I have an interaction with an individual that grants an unusual and unexpected insight, a glimpse into the imponderable."
Birding is a lifetime of private epiphanies spent out-of-doors, far from the madding crowd. And what better place to be? Hours and hours and hours and a thousand a-ha moments.
In a word, birds are wondrous: they fly, sing and come in a Crayola Crayon boxful of colors. They can be found any and everywhere. Any day is a good day to go birding, a good day to refine your awareness, tweak your radar.
But, here is the extra verve Zickefoose brings to the table. As a licensed bird rehabilitator, a self-confessed "compulsive nurturer," her firsthand observances are far more intimate than ours can ever be. The birds we see in the bush, she has seen in her hand, often sick or wounded, at their most vulnerable. When they let down their guard.
Having nursed numerous individual birds back to health and raised many, many more nestlings to their fledging into the wild, Zickefoose has gotten to know individual personalities, create uncommon bonds. This is some of what she shares with us: her 15 year relationship with a broken savannah sparrow that refused to give up his wildness; a limp-winged orchard oriole that still longed to migrate throwing itself against the bars of its cage; a white turkey vulture totem; and a one-on-one bond with a wild ruffed grouse that followed her like a spaniel on her walks through the woods, plus there's her long hours of being an avian mama: her playing parent to orphan teenie-weenie-weenie hummingbirds and chimney swifts. (Is this even humanly possible?)
"I live for the moment," writes Zickefoose, "when my gaze meet's a bird's—that exchange of awareness of the 'who' in each of us, the spark of understanding leaping from the bright bead of its eye to mine."
This is why I admire this book so. Because of the life that Zickerfoose has lived, she's talked-the-talk and walked-the-walk and—thank goodness—through the pages of this book, shared the stories. Bravo!
January 29, 2012
What I absolutely love about this book is that it is written like a personal and heartfelt journal about the author's experiences with birds that she has rehabilitated and/or had other personal experiences with. This book has interesting facts about the birds along with details on their individual personalities. This isn't the standard and straightlaced ornithology book.
The author had long dreamed of being an Ornithologist, but couldn't get into the college she had dreamed of because of her math scores on the SAT. She turns this failure into a success as she gets to take an even more hands on approach working with birds, getting to the real and the personal side of birds. She describes her emotional bonds with the birds and documents how each of her birds is different in their personalities. I found it very touching and something most anyone would relate to.
This is really a beautiful book from the cover art throughout. It contains gorgeous drawings that the author drew of her inspirations, the birds in her care. It also includes interesting side notes that she kept on most of her willing subjects.
If you love birds or love reading about them. I'd highly suggest getting this book. This book is one I will treasure in my library for a long, long time.
The author had long dreamed of being an Ornithologist, but couldn't get into the college she had dreamed of because of her math scores on the SAT. She turns this failure into a success as she gets to take an even more hands on approach working with birds, getting to the real and the personal side of birds. She describes her emotional bonds with the birds and documents how each of her birds is different in their personalities. I found it very touching and something most anyone would relate to.
This is really a beautiful book from the cover art throughout. It contains gorgeous drawings that the author drew of her inspirations, the birds in her care. It also includes interesting side notes that she kept on most of her willing subjects.
If you love birds or love reading about them. I'd highly suggest getting this book. This book is one I will treasure in my library for a long, long time.
June 1, 2017
Wow.
Spectacular.
Zickfoose is a naturalist and ornithologist who paints the complex and intelligent world of birds. Primarily focusing on songbirds, Zickfoose aims to educate the reader on the complex mechanisms, from built to calls, of various species in the form of her mesmerizing paintings and hooking stories.
Each bird that receives a spotlight has its entire biology, physiology, and psychology interwoven in short stores told by Zickfoose. She educates the reader not only on the bird itself but also on the effects caused by humans and the effects these birds had on her as a naturalist.
It's an outstanding books that needs to be read in a slow burn so that the words and lives of each bird really sinks into the reader. Zickfoose has also included many debates surrounding the issues these birds are having from things like loss of habitat, to hunting laws, to overfeeding.
It's a definite must read for any bird lover. Even if you're not, it's an important book that needs to be read because songbirds, like many other animals, are slowly disappearing. The constant chirping that you hear in the morning as you slip away from a night of dreams may soon be filled with silence.
Spectacular.
Zickfoose is a naturalist and ornithologist who paints the complex and intelligent world of birds. Primarily focusing on songbirds, Zickfoose aims to educate the reader on the complex mechanisms, from built to calls, of various species in the form of her mesmerizing paintings and hooking stories.
Each bird that receives a spotlight has its entire biology, physiology, and psychology interwoven in short stores told by Zickfoose. She educates the reader not only on the bird itself but also on the effects caused by humans and the effects these birds had on her as a naturalist.
It's an outstanding books that needs to be read in a slow burn so that the words and lives of each bird really sinks into the reader. Zickfoose has also included many debates surrounding the issues these birds are having from things like loss of habitat, to hunting laws, to overfeeding.
It's a definite must read for any bird lover. Even if you're not, it's an important book that needs to be read because songbirds, like many other animals, are slowly disappearing. The constant chirping that you hear in the morning as you slip away from a night of dreams may soon be filled with silence.
May 11, 2012
I love Love LOVED it!! She is absolutely brilliant!
June 23, 2021
Wow. As I was reading, over the last several days, a few essays at a time, I kept lifting my head and wanting to share all the tidbits, anecdotes, facts, and humor. Instead I just told the folks 'you have to read this book.'
I learned *so* much. And I've read other books in this sub-genre before. And I love the artwork.
I think one of the things that makes this special is that Julie/Zick is honest about mistakes she's made. She's not all about aspiration or whatever, she's showing how it's tremendously hard work to do the best birdseed supplier, the best rehabilitator, the most thoughtful anti-hunting advocate, the best adoptive 'parent' to a bird one can be... and it leads not only to many moments of joy and memories of exultation, but a lot of grief, too.
I like the organization of the book a lot. Each season has a preponderance of 'types' of stories. For example, at about the time I was starting to feel a tiny bit burnt out on tales of feeding mealworms to nestlings and then losing them anyway, a new season started.
Ah... I can't do the book justice. If you're interested, read it. Savor it. Share it.
I learned *so* much. And I've read other books in this sub-genre before. And I love the artwork.
I think one of the things that makes this special is that Julie/Zick is honest about mistakes she's made. She's not all about aspiration or whatever, she's showing how it's tremendously hard work to do the best birdseed supplier, the best rehabilitator, the most thoughtful anti-hunting advocate, the best adoptive 'parent' to a bird one can be... and it leads not only to many moments of joy and memories of exultation, but a lot of grief, too.
I like the organization of the book a lot. Each season has a preponderance of 'types' of stories. For example, at about the time I was starting to feel a tiny bit burnt out on tales of feeding mealworms to nestlings and then losing them anyway, a new season started.
Ah... I can't do the book justice. If you're interested, read it. Savor it. Share it.
April 4, 2012
A few years ago I started to notice a lot more birds in the city. A friend said it was due to a decrease in pesticide use, and maybe that's true. Whatever the reason, the pigeons, crows, sparrows, and starlings now have plenty of company. Behind the brownstones and buildings there are always a few trees, and from the room where I work, on the third floor in the back, and in the city's parks, I have seen blue jays, robins, cardinals, woodpeckers, catbirds, mockingbirds, warblers, wrens, finches, red winged blackbirds, even a Say's Phoebe, a waxwing, and a brown thrasher. I've seen hawks, gulls, cranes, an eagle.
I enjoy it.
Julie Zickefoose goes further; she's not only a bird watcher, she studies them, draws them, and nurses the injured and orphaned to adulthood and release into the wild. Her illustrations and paintings reflect hours of close observation and are full of life and personality. I particularly like the quick life sketches.
And the stories--a delight. She both models and teaches with her words.
I also admire her ability to admit some of her prejudices and think about alternate views. Hunting cranes? what a strange idea, yet she gives the hunters their day in court. She does seem to have an an entirely negative view of cats, though, which I don't quite get, particularly since she encourages her own dog to kill chipmunks because they eat birds. I have no special love for rodents either, but they are part of the local ecology just as the birds are, and, as she admits, her bird feeder also both alters that ecological balance and attracts more bird predators, including hawks, snakes, squirrels, and yes, cats (who also kill rodents).
But mostly Zickefoose focuses on the birds themselves, and the wonder and delight that accompanies her interactions with each of their lives.
The last chapter, an homage to her pet macaw, is particularly moving, as the author confronts the issues of both mutual attachment and just what ownership means.
I enjoy it.
Julie Zickefoose goes further; she's not only a bird watcher, she studies them, draws them, and nurses the injured and orphaned to adulthood and release into the wild. Her illustrations and paintings reflect hours of close observation and are full of life and personality. I particularly like the quick life sketches.
And the stories--a delight. She both models and teaches with her words.
I also admire her ability to admit some of her prejudices and think about alternate views. Hunting cranes? what a strange idea, yet she gives the hunters their day in court. She does seem to have an an entirely negative view of cats, though, which I don't quite get, particularly since she encourages her own dog to kill chipmunks because they eat birds. I have no special love for rodents either, but they are part of the local ecology just as the birds are, and, as she admits, her bird feeder also both alters that ecological balance and attracts more bird predators, including hawks, snakes, squirrels, and yes, cats (who also kill rodents).
But mostly Zickefoose focuses on the birds themselves, and the wonder and delight that accompanies her interactions with each of their lives.
The last chapter, an homage to her pet macaw, is particularly moving, as the author confronts the issues of both mutual attachment and just what ownership means.
January 18, 2016
This is a beautiful book by naturalist, artist and songbird rehabilitator, Julie Zickefoose. Anyone who has stood rapt in awe of birds in flight and there natural grace and beauty will appreciate this book.
Julie tells the reader her stories about rehabilitating and raising birds, from hummingbirds to chickadees, to phoebes to grosbeaks. Zickefoose lets the reader know about the personality of each bird and the care required in raising them and each chapter is given the added bonus of her illustrations which are quite lovely.
I was amazed at her dedication in raising a group of hummingbirds which take constant care and feeding. Often while raising birds she takes them to the store with her because they cannot be left alone. She calls herself their mommy and for good reason.
I must thank her for sharing these wonderful stories with me.
Julie tells the reader her stories about rehabilitating and raising birds, from hummingbirds to chickadees, to phoebes to grosbeaks. Zickefoose lets the reader know about the personality of each bird and the care required in raising them and each chapter is given the added bonus of her illustrations which are quite lovely.
I was amazed at her dedication in raising a group of hummingbirds which take constant care and feeding. Often while raising birds she takes them to the store with her because they cannot be left alone. She calls herself their mommy and for good reason.
I must thank her for sharing these wonderful stories with me.
January 13, 2019
Julie Zickefoose is someone I greatly admire and I consider her a hero, especially where birds are concerned. This book is fascinating and each story is touching and filled with so much heart. Julie's own sketches and watercolor paintings, which can be found all throughout the book, are stunning. I would love to have a book of just her artwork alone! I loved every story. Not a single one was ever dull or boring. The stories about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Sandhill Cranes, and Julie's own Chestnut-Fronted Macaw "Charlie" stand out to me the most. I read this wonderful book on my Kindle but I'll be purchasing a physical copy of it to add to my bookshelf, right beside my other bird books.
If you love birds, if you feed birds, if you enjoy birds in any way....I can't recommend this book enough! 💖🐦💖
If you love birds, if you feed birds, if you enjoy birds in any way....I can't recommend this book enough! 💖🐦💖
August 1, 2019
Julie Zickefoose describes herself as being a writer, artist, naturalist. This too simplistic a description--yet a good starting place. Zickefoose also rehabilitates birds. She learns as she goes. She writes of the very thing I become increasingly aware of: The information is textook limited. Example: Information about fledgling birds. Zickefoose has learned that fledgling birds continue to rely on their parents--or foster parents--for varying lemgths of time after official fleging. Watching bird parents on her sanctuary, she sees bird parents helping fledged children by providing supplemental good or by providing supplemental shelter. Not in the nest. In the tree. Nests smell and attract the attention of predators. As a foster parent, Zickefoose finds that her fledgling return for food either by sitting on her window sill in the mornings or waiting for her to come out to her garden. Zickefoose continues to provide shelter for as long as the fledged birds need. Sometimes they go put for the day andreturnat night. Then eventually they return no more. It depends on the nature of the specific bird and on the nature of species, both. Something else not addressed in textbooks.
Along with this and more warm and fuzzy information, Zickefoose wonders at the supplemental feeding of birds. Bird feeders affect the territory, the migration of birds. She decides that she will feed the birds anyway.
I read this book in April in honor of EarthDay (April 22). Someone else who is a bird lover may give this book 4 Stars. As a more general reader, I got bored by the length if book. The art helped a great deal. While art is notat the level of Audubon, the love is apparent--soft pastels and more emotive. Zickefoose paints from the heart.
Along with this and more warm and fuzzy information, Zickefoose wonders at the supplemental feeding of birds. Bird feeders affect the territory, the migration of birds. She decides that she will feed the birds anyway.
I read this book in April in honor of EarthDay (April 22). Someone else who is a bird lover may give this book 4 Stars. As a more general reader, I got bored by the length if book. The art helped a great deal. While art is notat the level of Audubon, the love is apparent--soft pastels and more emotive. Zickefoose paints from the heart.
February 7, 2022
The author grew up with parents who enjoyed watching birds and helping them. As an adult she has regularly helped rehabilitate injured and raise orphaned wild birds, and this book contains stories of all the different types of birds she has helped. She is also an artist, so while helping them, she has drawn them at different stages (often as they grow), so many of her illustrations and paintings, with notes alongside, are included.
I really liked this. I do enjoy watching birds myself, but what a lot of work and effort it takes to raise the babies! The author also touches on habitat destruction, hunting, outdoor cats and other threats to wild birds, as well. The illustrations were beautiful, and I have to admit, although I prefer reading on my old Kobo Touch (black & white), the Kobo doesn’t always recognize DRM-free for library books, anymore, so I often end up reading on my tablet via Libby. The colour was really nice for the beautiful illustrations and paintings in this book.
I really liked this. I do enjoy watching birds myself, but what a lot of work and effort it takes to raise the babies! The author also touches on habitat destruction, hunting, outdoor cats and other threats to wild birds, as well. The illustrations were beautiful, and I have to admit, although I prefer reading on my old Kobo Touch (black & white), the Kobo doesn’t always recognize DRM-free for library books, anymore, so I often end up reading on my tablet via Libby. The colour was really nice for the beautiful illustrations and paintings in this book.
November 20, 2012
Fantastic book by an artist naturalist who loves birds and birding! It is not a collection of bird facts but rather the author's experiences of beneficial effects for birds and humans as she treats them as a licensed avian rehabilitator. You will come away with a whole new appreciation of a variety of our fine feathered friends. Julie's stories and absolutely beautiful sketches and drawings of her feathered friends are so, so refreshing! We have taken her advise from the book and also from having her visit and talk to our PEO group, and we have more birds at our feeders! And, I will always be looking for an Ivory Billed Woodpecker :)! Don't miss this book even if you just read it a chapter at a time along with your other "reads"!
November 20, 2012
I enjoyed this book, although it ran on a little too long. The writer is not an objective scientist; many of her observations are a little too anthropomorphized. Still, she has touching stories to tell, and the artwork is beautiful. I enjoyed reading about her personal interactions with a variety of birds.
December 24, 2015
This is a collection of sweet anecdotes about birds, many of which were rescued/rehabilitated by the author. Overall, I did enjoy this, although it lacked a certain "something" to make it stand out as a must-read book. The illustrations make it a "keeper" for my shelves, though. A nice book for bird lovers.
April 7, 2017
A beautiful book about the author's relationship with the songbirds she has rescued, rehabilitated, kept as pets and observed. It is heartwarming, engaging and raises important questions regarding the relationship between humans and birds. A keepsake, especially for the beautiful sketches.
April 29, 2012
I loved this book! It had the perfect balance of anecdotal and scientific observations. It was thoroughly absorbing and I highly recommend it!
July 7, 2019
This is a beautiful book with lovely sketches and paintings of birds that the author has interacted with over the years. It is written in a conversational manner so that I felt like I was chatting with a friend who loves nature and is as fascinated with birds as I am. The first 3/4 of the book is especially delightful as she tells stories of birds she has rehabbed and interacted with over a period of time. The last part of the book, while absolutely necessary, was harder to read. Extinction of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the classification of Sandhill Cranes as a game bird, hunting mourning doves, these were hard for me to read but a part of reality that birds and those who love them must acknowledge. A very good read.
April 8, 2020
Though I would not consider myself a "birder," I do enjoy and admire the many species of birds. This book had been on my "wish list" for three years or more, so I finally decided it was time to give it a try. I admit that I was half expecting it to be a very in-depth, sleep-inducing book. But to my surprise and delight, no part of it bored me. On the contrary: I looked forward to relaxing each evening with another sweet tale or two in Julie's fascinating world. I tried to read just two chapters a night to make it last longer, but was always reluctant to put it down.
The thing about this book that amazed me was the way the writer could capture the trust of a bird when it was helpless, knowing what it needed and how to ensure that it could be returned to a functional life.
In addition to being a writer of non-fiction and a biologist licensed in wildlife rehabilitation, Julie Zickefoose is a fine artist--as can be seen in her illustrations. I don't know of many people with such diverse talents.
The thing about this book that amazed me was the way the writer could capture the trust of a bird when it was helpless, knowing what it needed and how to ensure that it could be returned to a functional life.
In addition to being a writer of non-fiction and a biologist licensed in wildlife rehabilitation, Julie Zickefoose is a fine artist--as can be seen in her illustrations. I don't know of many people with such diverse talents.
May 5, 2024
This was an absolutely divine adventure.
February 18, 2013
I loved this book so much that I was actually sad when it ended. Total nerd alert here, this is for nature lovers, bird lovers, and anyone who enjoys reading naturalist non-fiction. I will never look at the birds in my backyard the same again. The author is a wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in wild birds. Each chapter highlights a different species of bird that she has had experience with, and also has heartwarming stories related to each, highlighted by some serious ornithological info. I loved it. I loved learning about the rare birds in her area of Ohio, and gaining a better understanding of more common birds like mourning doves.
She is also an activist who lobbies on behalf of birds and bird lovers everywhere when it comes to hunting certain species. The book is so well written, so factual, and yet so heartwarming. I cannot recommend this highly enough for anyone who wants to learn more about the world that exists right in their backyard.
She is also an activist who lobbies on behalf of birds and bird lovers everywhere when it comes to hunting certain species. The book is so well written, so factual, and yet so heartwarming. I cannot recommend this highly enough for anyone who wants to learn more about the world that exists right in their backyard.
June 28, 2012
Magical, beautiful, easy to coast through a chapter at a time overa morning cup of coffee. Julie tells tales of rehabilitating birds over her 20 plus year career as a naturalist living in CT and then OH with her family.
Her stunning pencil and watercolor drawings throughout the book are just lovely and really capture the essence of the birds she studies. There are amazing revelations about birds throughout that opens our eyes to many things we would never know.
Especially love the story of the 4 hummingbird babies and the gaggle of chimney swifts that she raises and releases. Makes you want to be her, if just for one day.
Her stunning pencil and watercolor drawings throughout the book are just lovely and really capture the essence of the birds she studies. There are amazing revelations about birds throughout that opens our eyes to many things we would never know.
Especially love the story of the 4 hummingbird babies and the gaggle of chimney swifts that she raises and releases. Makes you want to be her, if just for one day.
July 23, 2012
Absolutely delightful! Field. Notes and drawings/paintings and journal entries. A naturalist described her integrations with various birds throughout her life's work. Whether it's tending broken wings, rehabilitating or raising homeless little ones or just those she encounters in her backyard with her feeders or tending the birdhouse trails. Her work is delightful and inspiring.
April 20, 2014
Zickefoose weaves together beautiful drawings and watercolors with reflections and naturalist notes on seasons and her relationships with a variety of commonly known birds. Twitchers/birders will find this a delightful read. Those seeking to improve their attention in and to the world in which we live can learn much from Zickefoose. Enjoyable.
March 16, 2016
This is a great book for bird lovers and even bird likers ( like me). The author's passion for this species shines through, her anecdotes about the feathered friends she encounters, magical, and the drawings/paintings lovely. My only quibble was not being able to read her handwriting in the margins. I didn't want to miss a thing.
April 11, 2016
This book is beautifully written! If you are a bird lover, or liker, I'm fairly confident that this book will be right up your alley. Sitting outside on two beautiful April days, I found myself engrossed in this book, and even realized that several birds were chatting with each other. Welcome spring reading!
September 8, 2013
This book is beautiful and will tug at the hearts of bird watchers and nature lovers alike. A lovely collection of stories about Julie Zickefoose's interactions with birds, it made me both laugh and cry, and I learned so much!
June 19, 2015
I loved this book. Every chapter was a treat, a blend of heartfelt story and science. Not only is the author Julie Zickefoose a great naturalist and artist, she's an excellent writer. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the world of nature.
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