Adventure Reading: "Birds Art Life" at the Place Where the Ducks Gather

I've never considered myself a birdwatcher. Maybe it's because I don't own binoculars, keep any bird lists, or network with real birders to track down a sighting. But that doesn't change the fact that I love to watch birds.

My childhood home in California was backed up to undeveloped wetlands, so I spent countless hours hanging out at ponds.

My very first word was "duck", and when I was eight I kept a notebook about my favorite waterfowl that lived over the fence. I wrote their names, descriptions of their appearance and personality, and fictional tales in which they spoke and went on adventures. It was highly scientific.

When I was 14, my parents got a camera and I started photographing the birds.

Through a lens, I could see their beauty in a new light. Every time I watched a bird lift off, I felt a longing in my chest, deep and buoyant at the same time. What wouldn't I give to be able to do that?!

By this time I knew how to sit still and gain their trust without resorting to food. Mother ducks would allow their ducklings to climb over my outstretched legs, and I once held an hour-long conversation honking back and forth with a Canada Goose who sat at my side while waiting for his mate to return.

I was well on my way to becoming an eccentric nature lady, and I used birds as a way to explore my creativity.

The Place: The Duck Landing along the Sammamish River Trail, Redmond, WA

Distance: 2 miles roundtrip from my home
My Rating: 2.5/5

These days, watching birds is almost an unconscious action. At home, I often stare out the window at crows squabbling over trash or a northern flicker hammering away at a tree.

I also automatically keep an eye out for wildlife whenever I'm walking along the Sammamish River Trail, whether I'm out walking dogs or heading into town.

Just past the library, there's a little rocky landing where the mallards like to roost. Occasionally, a few buffleheads or mergansers join them, and it's not uncommon to see a great blue heron wading along the shore or a bald eagle soaring overhead.

It's a fine reading spot if you can get past the reek of duck poop and the frenzied quacking that occurs during fights. For the most part, watching the ducks paddle and dabble is relaxing, but since it's in a crowded area people frequently come by to feed the ducks and it throws everything into chaos.

Lately, I've also noticed how birds wing their way into the books I read. Some of my favorites are "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession" by Mark Obmascik and "Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird" by Andrew D. Blechman.

And then there's my latest read: "Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation" by Kyo Maclear. She spent a year following a musician around in Toronto as he watched birds.

In addition to having long subtitles, it turns out that all these books aren't actually about birds. They're more like studies of individual people and their relationships with nature.

The Book: "Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation" by Kyo Maclear

My Rating: 4/5
Goodreads: Birds Art Life
Pages: 208

Blurb:

A writer’s search for inspiration, beauty, and solace leads her to birds in this intimate and exuberant meditation on creativity and life—a field guide to things small and significant.

When it comes to birds, Kyo Maclear isn’t seeking the exotic. Rather she discovers joy in the seasonal birds that find their way into view in city parks and harbors, along eaves and on wires. In a world that values big and fast, Maclear looks to the small, the steady, the slow accumulations of knowledge, and the lulls that leave room for contemplation.

A distilled, crystal-like companion to H is for Hawk, Birds Art Life celebrates the particular madness of chasing after birds in the urban environment and explores what happens when the core lessons of birding are applied to other aspects of art and life. Moving with ease between the granular and the grand, peering into the inner landscape as much as the outer one, this is a deeply personal year-long inquiry into big themes: love, waiting, regrets, endings. If Birds Art Life was sprung from Maclear’s sense of disconnection, her passions faltering under the strain of daily existence, this book is ultimately about the value of reconnection—and how the act of seeking engagement and beauty in small ways can lead us to discover our most satisfying and meaningful lives.

This was the perfect book to read among urban nature.

Each chapter focuses on a month and a theme on which the author makes rambling meditations. Birds, and the act of watching birds, only help illustrate her points.

It doesn't sound like the most interesting book, but there's something magical when you feel like an author has plucked thoughts out of your mind and put them into words.

For instance, the section about Knowledge perfectly summarizes my feelings about books. It even captures part of the reason I practice Adventure Reading: "Books have given me great stores of happiness, but if I am honest with myself I can see they have also taken something away. I glimpsed the real world between paragraphs of novels. I traced words when I might have touched the ground."

The recurring theme of Smallness also resonated with me. I have never wanted the responsibility that would come with fame and fortune, even if I could use it for good. My primary goals are small - enjoying my little life and having a positive effect on the small number of people I encounter.

This "think-small" mindset runs contrary to American culture, so I thank Kyo for celebrating "the perverse audacity of someone aiming tiny". I love seeing how other people create meaning through their specific passions, and I enjoy finding my own meaning in small moments of observation and small acts of creation.

Maybe that's why I don't consider myself a birdwatcher - just like these books, my time watching birds isn't really about the birds. It's about understanding my place on this planet.

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Thanks for reading! I enjoyed digging up those photos from my early teens - I think I'm worse at nature photography than I used to be, probably because there's now always a part of me that's in a hurry. There were so many ideas that this book brought up that I had a hard time trying to synthesize what I wanted to say, so I hope this made some sort of sense in the end.
- Katie, @therovingreader

_{!steemitworldmap 47.681867 lat -122.132293 long Some small observations on birds and life. d3scr}

"Just a nice stroll through a park is enough. Walk everywhere in the city and you will find you don't need to traipse up Everest or schlep to Kalamazoo to go places."
-Kyo Maclear

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More "Adventure Reading"

• "Prince of Tides" on a Volcano
• "A Fire Upon the Deep" After I Fell Into Gem Lake
• "Bitter Fruit" at a Guatemalan Lakeside Oasis
• "Juntos" on the Indian's Nose
• "Moloka'i on Kauai's Pihea Trail
• "Light in August" On Cerro San Cristobal with a New Dog Friend
• "Winter" at an Incredibly Scenic Fire Lookout
• ”The Emperor’s Soul” and Abandoned Mines in Gothic Basin
• ”Trucking in English” at Marmot Pass
• Plus more to come each Friday!

P.S. I'm hosting a contest for anyone interested in trying Adventure Reading! There are only a couple days until the deadline, but I plan to hold it again and the participants would love your support.