When Birds Are Near: Dispatches from Contemporary Writers

In this dazzling literary collection, writers explore and celebrate their lives with and love for birds—detailing experiences from Alaska to Bermuda, South Dakota to Panama. In When Birds are Near, fresh new voices as well as seasoned authors offer tales of perseverance, adventure, and fun; whether taking us on a journey down Highway 1 to see a rare Condor, fighting the destruction of our grasslands, or simply watching the feeder from a kitchen window. But these essays are more than just field notes. They expand as the authors reflect on love, loss, and family, engaging a broad array of emotions from wonder to humor. As Rob Nixon writes in his essay, "Spotted Owls": "Sometimes the best bird experiences are defined less by a rare sighting than by a quality of presence, some sense of overall occasion that sets in motion memories of a particular landscape, a particular light, a particular choral effect, a particular hiking partner." Or, as poet Elizabeth Bradfield remarks, "We resonate with certain animals, I believe, because they are a physical embodiment of an answer we are seeking. A sense of ourselves in the world that is nearly inexpressible." When Birds are Near gives us the chance to walk alongside these avid appreciators of birds and reflect on our own interactions with our winged companions.