Earlier this year, I received a PDF copy of Birdbrains: A Lyrical Guide to Washington State Birds from Raven Chronicles Press via Shannon O’Grady.
I have to admit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first opened it. I love books that bring together different pieces of a story, and this one immediately caught my attention because it isn’t simply a book about birds. It is a collection of poetry, stories, observations, artwork, and facts that encourages you to look a little closer at the birds we so often take for granted.
Birdbrains is a 314-page anthology featuring 107 species of birds from Washington State, along with other species from across the United States and around the world. It was edited by Washington State poet Susan Rich, with original pen-and-ink sumi-e paintings by artist Hiroko Seki and bird facts and notes from Stephanie Delaney.
But what really makes this book interesting is the collection of voices inside it.
Ninety-eight poets and writers contributed their work, including four Washington State Poets Laureate—Elizabeth Austen, Claudia Castro Luna, Kathleen Flenniken, and Derek Sheffield. The anthology also includes the work of three Pulitzer Prize winners: Rae Armantrout, Ted Kooser, and Diane Seuss.
That’s quite a group of writers coming together around something as seemingly simple as birds.
And maybe that is what I like about this book.
I have always enjoyed watching birds. I notice them in my own yard, and when I travel, I often find myself drawn to the lakes around me to see what I might find. Sometimes I go with a particular bird in mind, and other times I am simply there to see what happens to appear.
There is something about standing near a lake and watching the birds that makes you slow down.
You begin to notice things you might have otherwise missed—the way they move across the water, the sound of their calls, the way they interact with one another, or a bird sitting quietly at the edge of the lake. You start looking more closely, and before you know it, you have spent far more time observing than you intended.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself appreciating those moments more. Nowadays, I don’t feel quite as rushed to get past them. Maybe that’s one of the gifts of getting older. We become a little more willing to stop and pay attention.
Birdbrains reminded me of that.
I especially love that it isn’t just facts about what kind of bird you’re looking at. The poems and stories allow each writer to bring their own experience and imagination to the subject. Cindy Veach tells us about watching a bird swallow a snake, a moment that is both startling and fascinating. Major Jackson writes of the Red-tailed Hawk and its immortal patience, while Susan Landgraf introduces us to bilingual chickadees.
Each piece offers a different way of looking at the natural world.
And because I have always loved art and painting, I was especially delighted to come across “How to Paint a Pair of Western Bluebirds.” I love when a book gives me another way to see something, and the combination of poetry, observation, and Hiroko Seki’s beautiful artwork makes this anthology especially enjoyable for me.
There is something wonderful about seeing birds through both words and art.
I may notice a bird in my own yard or spot one while visiting the lakes around me, but a poem or a painting can encourage me to slow down and really look—to notice the color, the movement, the personality, and the small details I might otherwise miss.
It becomes a book you can explore rather than simply read.
And that is the kind of book I enjoy.
I like books that make me curious. Books that send me down a little rabbit hole. Books that make me think about something I may have seen a hundred times but never really stopped to consider.
For me, birds are a perfect example of that.
They are always around us, but how often do we actually stop to observe them?
A bird in the yard. A flock on a lake. A sound coming from the trees. These can be such ordinary parts of our day that we barely give them a second thought. But when we take the time to really observe, those ordinary moments can become something more.
Maybe that’s the bigger lesson I take from Birdbrains: observation matters.
Taking the time to really look at the world around us can open the door to curiosity, wonder, and even a story we might otherwise have missed.
That is one of the reasons I enjoy communicating with authors and publishers, too. Every once in a while, a book comes along that I probably wouldn’t have discovered on my own. Someone reaches out, shares their work, and suddenly I’ve been introduced to something new.
That happened with Birdbrains.
I may not live in Washington State, but birds certainly aren’t limited by state lines. I can look out my own window or head to one of the lakes around me, and there they are. And perhaps that is why this collection resonated with me.
Sometimes a book about birds turns out to be a book about paying attention.
And I think that’s a pretty good reminder of the importance of observation—and of slowing down long enough to see what has been there all along.
