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lacyk_reads's review
3.0
I really liked what this book set out to do, and the intentions behind sharing the reasonable quirkiness of bird behavior are noble, I think: To share the joy that birds are able to bring to us and some understanding behind the mysterious choices of those little creatures. The anecdotes the author shared were moving and the encounters were uplifting, too. We could learn a lot about birds (and ourselves) if we slowed down to watch and listen.
I do feel like it was quite long-winded and could have been shorter and more engaging. It didn't hold my attention well.
That said, it's been a few months since I read it and I can say that certain stories have come back to me frequently, so it has stuck with me. I particularly enjoyed the concept of having a "sit spot". That makes perfect sense.
I do feel like it was quite long-winded and could have been shorter and more engaging. It didn't hold my attention well.
That said, it's been a few months since I read it and I can say that certain stories have come back to me frequently, so it has stuck with me. I particularly enjoyed the concept of having a "sit spot". That makes perfect sense.
sindri_inn_arsaeli's review against another edition
3.0
Excellent topic, knowledgeable author, but way longer than it needs to be. I will definitely be suggesting this book to people, but I will also definitely suggest skimming. Skim the introduction, make sure to hit chapter 7 which has the most informative diagrams, (this chapter covers flight patterns after perceived threats,) and then read the appendix. That has all of the hard information boiled down to what this book should have been- a booklet or series of articles. ALL of the rest is Jon Young telling you that, sure he still has more to learn from birds after 20 years or however long, but here's yet another story about how he seemed so smart to yet another unobservant fellow human.
The tone was very reverent at times, but Young's anecdotes more often came across as slightly preachy, and exceptionally self congratulatory. Boy was this guy proud of how he could put other humans in their place.
It also felt heavily like he tended to ignore non predator bird behavior. He discusses the "baseline" and briefly defines it, but gives only examples of predators being detected by noting changes from that baseline. What about seasonal information? I live by migrating songbirds, and as it is now mid October after a fairly warm fall, I can tell the birds are finally read to migrate because they take practice flights in great big cloud sized flocks from the trees. No mention of this behavior in the entire book.
This was a fine starting place, but should be no one's final say on nature watching.
The tone was very reverent at times, but Young's anecdotes more often came across as slightly preachy, and exceptionally self congratulatory. Boy was this guy proud of how he could put other humans in their place.
It also felt heavily like he tended to ignore non predator bird behavior. He discusses the "baseline" and briefly defines it, but gives only examples of predators being detected by noting changes from that baseline. What about seasonal information? I live by migrating songbirds, and as it is now mid October after a fairly warm fall, I can tell the birds are finally read to migrate because they take practice flights in great big cloud sized flocks from the trees. No mention of this behavior in the entire book.
This was a fine starting place, but should be no one's final say on nature watching.
cdelduca's review
4.0
At the very least, this book has inspired me to actually watch bird behavior and attempt to understand why it's acting the way it is, and what that can tell me about the surrounding wildlife. It also offered some very helpful advice for how to act in order to show the birds (and everything else) that you are a biped that will respect their boundaries by reacting to their body language in a way that shows them you understand.
blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review against another edition
3.0
In some ways very accessible; for example how he uses his own real-life experiences to illustrate most (all?) of the things he is trying to explain, and providing drawings to show the different movements birds may make. In other ways this book was out of my league because I'm so new to bird watching - I only know 3 or 4 of the birds he talked about!
Even for a newbie like me there was good stuff to absorb, especially about one's conduct when moving through an environment. N and I have often complained that Germany seems to have a dearth of birds and mammals in her woods, but now that I've read about the bird plow I can see the truth of the matter. After reading the book I now understand the concept of bird language, and using the Appendix's practical suggestions I've formed a plan on how to proceed from here. I think that after making some progress on identifying bird calls I'll come back to this book, and I expect I'll find much more of the author's advice and observations useful and meaningful.
Even for a newbie like me there was good stuff to absorb, especially about one's conduct when moving through an environment. N and I have often complained that Germany seems to have a dearth of birds and mammals in her woods, but now that I've read about the bird plow I can see the truth of the matter. After reading the book I now understand the concept of bird language, and using the Appendix's practical suggestions I've formed a plan on how to proceed from here. I think that after making some progress on identifying bird calls I'll come back to this book, and I expect I'll find much more of the author's advice and observations useful and meaningful.
mark_lm's review against another edition
3.0
I learned many things about bird language. The Zen-like aspects of the author's philosophy and teaching methods may shake your self-possession. Has an associated web site with bird calls, etc.
cdisposti's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0