Customer Reviews

How to Be a (Bad) Birdwatcher

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have a little trouble getting my title;you'll surely know what it means if you read this gem of a book.I have been an avid birder for close to 20 years.In that time I have compiled a list of nearly 600 species in North America,met and birded with hundreds of other birders,made numerous friends,travelled far and wide, as well as locally,joined several bird clubs,served on executives,read hundreds of 'bird books';and own around 1000 books dealing with every aspect of birdwatching.With all that;I am pleased to call myself a 'Bad Birdwatcher';even though I had never heard the term before.
What makes this book so good is that it does an excellent job of telling what birding is all about,the many ways one can partake in it,and what attracts so many to it.In other words,if you want to see what birding really is or want to give a friend a book to find out for themselves,what this birding you do is all about;then you won't find a better book .
The author is an experienced birder from Britain,and quite a bit of what he talks about is birding in Britain.Don't let that disuade you as he covers a lot of other countries and everything he says is applicable to any country as well as very good for a rank amateur to the most seasoned 'expert'.
He also talks about something I don't believe I've ever seen covered.He explains the reason for this interest in birds and not other animals,insects,and other species.That's not to say that some people get interested in butterflies,mammals,etc.;but birdwatching outstrips them all.
"Anyone who has ever gazed up at the sky or stared out of the window,knows something about birds.In this funny,inspiring eye-opening book Simon Barnes paints a riviting picture of how birdwatching has framed his life and can help all of us to a better understanding of our place on this planet."
A great addition to the numerous bird books,but one that is different and has something to offer for everyone;be they already a birder or just interested.

I can't say enough good things about this book. Lovely, lovely lovely; charming and thoughtfully written. And I've been inspired to be a bad birdwatcher myself, purchasing a pair of "bins" and a local bird guidebook and going out to see what I could see. And I saw much, including my first-ever tiny indigo bunting! I may be hooked. I've already bought several copies of this book for friends. Wonderful.

Having once worked as a professonal naturalist and now working as an editor in the outdoor publications field, I loved this book. It brought me back to the excitement of being outside and just enjoying nature. Obviously the book is about birds on the surface, but it is much more than that, a delightful, fun book about the joy of nature that I enjoyed reading. I love Barnes writing style -- it kept me going throughout the whole book.

A terrific, funny romp through the process of learning to effortlessly enjoy what is right in front of us anyway, by an author who is great company--you won't want the trip to end. A book to share and re-read when you are in a bad mood someday.One of my favorite reads recently.

I am also a seasoned birder and have traveled extensively and seen many species of birds worldwide. Upon reading this I realized I have been a "Bad Birdwatcher" all of my life - I just did not know it!

I did relate on many levels to what the author was trying to convey. But, while this book did have several inspiring moments, my biggest gripe is not in the content, but in the way the author sometimes relates that content.

The first half (and some parts of the second half) of the book seem to be filled with many obvious (to me, anyways) observations about humans and wildlife, and also one analogy after another - which came off as if the author felt like he had to condescend to another level to explain his thoughts to the reader. Example: When explaining about first learning how to identify birds, he likens familiar birds vs. new birds to watching your hometown soccer team vs. another team. Getting up in the middle of the night to use the loo vs. doing the same thing at a friend's house. Picking up your mother from the train station vs. having someone else pick up your mother with only a picture in hand. Speaking English vs. learning a foreign language. OK, enough!!! We get it!!! The author does this type of comparison in several chapters, and it gets quite monotonous and annoying rather quickly.

Still, you do get the idea that the author is very excited about sharing all of these birding bits with others (although part of me thinks the reason he drags on so with the analogies so much is to fatten up this otherwise short book), and there were some excellent laugh-out-loud moments. He also touches on migration, breeding, foraging techniques, habitats, evolution, and what we can do to prevent birds and other types of wildlife from becoming threatened or extinct (without becoming all "gloom and doom" - which I appreciated); these are all very important aspects of understanding birds and birders, not to mention the world in which we live.

Overall, this person cared enough to want to share his stories of how he became interested in birds and wildlife, and that's it's not such a foreign and inaccessible thing to the rest of us. Once you get used to his poor over-use of analogy and the occasional condescending tone, you see that he does mean well and has a lot to say.

This is a very charming book. The author uses simple idea to pull you up short. takes some very simple ideas and pulls you up short - the reason people wathc birds is that they are available (try looking for a wild mammal to watch ... now look for a bird. You get the point). As the book progresses it begins to reveal, almost as if by accident, the real reason for bird watching. The fascination of habits and diversity, certainly, but this also includes the joy of simply looking and the even greater joy of sharing it. A quietly inspiring book with a lot of laughs as well.

Bird watching is one of the simplest, cheapest and entertaining pastimes an amateur natural history buff could enjoy; and nobody should be overwhelmed by the fact that there are 10,000 species of different birds to watch. Writers from Woody Allen to poet John Keats are liberally quoted in avid birdwatcher Simon Barnes' How to Be A (Bad) Birdwatcher, a guide which follows the author's bird-watching adventures around the world. Bird enthusiasts and armchair viewers alike will find much to appreciate in his lively observations.

So I finally got around to reading How to be a (Bad) Birdwatcher, and I found this book to be an absolute treasure. Simon Barnes does an excellent job of capturing the joy and wonder associated with the simple act of just looking, being aware, of the birds that are just outside our windows.

But as much as I appreciated this book, it wasn't written for me - I own a pair of binoculars, a field guide, and I can name just about any bird that I'm likely to see within the part of the country in which I live. No; this book would have been more appropriate for me a few years ago, when I set up my first bird feeder and began to watch, and before I could tell the difference between a nuthatch and a grosbeak.

And in writing this book, Barnes is trying to attract people to a "revolutionary" way of thinking about nature: an intimate concern for the welfare of the environment. It's what E.O. Wilson refers to as "Biophilia." Afterall, if there were more birdwatchers out there, environmentalism might have a higher political priority. Maybe. Or maybe just more people would enjoy something simple and wonderful.

Anyone who has ever lifted their eyes to watch a hawk circle or a seagull soar will appreciate this book. It is a refreshing approach to bird watching: Just watch them and enjoy them. Too many birdwatchers suck the life out of what should be a serene and zen experience by chasing birds to add to their lists. Barnes makes the point that the birds are there for everyone, regardless of their level of expertise or knowledge of birds. Just get outside and start noticing. As Barnes points out it could change your life and your relationship with nature.

I secretly suspect that people who like to watch birds are basically just nice people. Thats how the author comes across as a person. But what makes this a wonderful books is the really personal, up-close, warm writing. A must read, even if you have not considered watching birds.