Birding to Change the World: A Memoir

by Trish O'Kane

In this uplifting memoir, a professor and activist shares what birds can teach us about life, social change, and protecting the environment.

Trish O’Kane is an accidental ornithologist. In her nearly two decades writing about justice as an investigative journalist, she'd never paid attention to nature. But then Hurricane Katrina destroyed her New Orleans home, sending her into an emotional tailspin.

Enter a scrappy cast of feathered characters—first a cardinal, urban parrots, and sparrows, then a catbird, owls, a bittern, and a woodcock—that cheered her up and showed her a new path. Inspired, O'Kane moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue an environmental studies PhD. There she became a full-on bird obsessive—logging hours in a stunningly biodiverse urban park, filling field notebooks with bird doings and dramas, and teaching ornithology to college students and middle-school kids.

When Warner Park—her daily birdwatching haven—was threatened with development, O’Kane and her neighbors mustered a mighty murmuration of nature lovers, young and old, to save the birds' homes. Through their efforts, she learned that once you get outside and look around, you're likely to fall in love with a furred or feathered creature—and find a flock of your own.

In Birding to Change the World, O'Kane details the astonishing science of bird life, from migration and parenting to the territorial defense strategies that influenced her own activism. A warm and compelling weave of science and social engagement, this is the story of an improbably band of bird lovers who saved their park. And it is a blueprint for muscular citizenship, powered by joy.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Nature, Birds, Animals, Science, Environment

Audible Audio

First published February 1, 2024

Reviews

[Candi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Birds as respite. Birds as refuge.”

That’s a true statement for me right now. I’ve been going on a lot of solitary walks, trying to clear my mind. I’ve always been slightly interested in birds. A mockingbird would sit every spring and summer on the peak of my house or one of the adjacent neighbors’ rooftops. I imagined this was the same bird each year and would always say hello upon his return. I’d laugh at his vocal antics. A robin would build a nest in the shrubbery by the front porch every year. I loved watching the little nestlings turn to fledglings and eventually take off. But now I’ve been really paying attention. I bring a pair of binoculars on my walks, just in case. I read about the Merlin app somewhere in a novel that had nothing to do with birding. I downloaded it because it sounded fun. Now I find myself opening it whenever I hear something unusual. It’s the perfect way to distract myself from everything else going on in the world and in my own life.

In any case, this book caught my interest and provided both entertainment and education. Author Trish O'Kane came to birding later in life. She was originally a peace activist and then an investigative human rights activist. A house sparrow and then a gray catbird got her hooked on birding. When I saw and heard my first catbird by actively trying to find one, I wanted to shout “There’s Trish’s gateway bird!” Of course, there wasn’t anyone around to actually hear me. It was fun to learn about her transition from one career to the next, although she found they weren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.

“The phrase ‘detective work’ is what hooked me. So birdwatching is like investigative journalism, I thought. You observe. You listen. You take good notes. You piece together clues.”

I’m not going to get into the details of this memoir, but I will say it was well-written and informative. I give Trish a lot of credit for the work she did in Nicaragua before she took on this new career. She also lost nearly everything to Hurricane Katrina before changing career paths and heading to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to obtain a Ph.D. in natural resources. She’s one strong and neat woman! Her activist efforts shifted to the natural world and involved parks and geese and birding and teaching both college and young people about these topics. I admire her work with the people of her community and the way she tied social justice work in with her nature activism. Here are three key lessons I took away from this that really made an impression on me:

“I’ve been particularly struck by the strategies birds use to fiercely defend their home territories. What if humans employed some of these same strategies to protect the places we love?”

“I remembered the counsel of my most important Jesuit mentor in Nicaragua: that if you want to make a difference in your community, you don’t do what you want to do – you do what the community needs you to do.”

“… I’d learned from catbirds that the idea of just doing nothing is bogus. We’re all managing wild animals by the way we live, by the landscapes we plant, and especially by the way we move around.”

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly one of the best books I've read in a long time.

I worked with Trish on this program, Birding to Change the World, and I've seen the way it changes lives and changes a community. Students of mine who would go to school and home and nowhere else have become stewards of their natural environment, and surprisingly knowledgeable about ecology. I saw shy and withdrawn students blossom, and I've seen the most wild raucous children stand still and take in the world around them. My community, my neighborhood, is better for having worked with Trish.

I was so lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from Trish, and I kept being surprised by how amazing of a book it is (I guess that's what happens when a journalist writes a book?), it's hard to put down. Memoirs aren't my typical genre of choice, but as much as this is a memoir, it's a science book, a history book, a roadmap for changing the world.

Perhaps the best review I can give this book is that it made me dig out the old pair of binoculars my grandpa gave me some 15 years ago and take them out of the case for the first time.

[Cathrine ☯️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
Give me your tired, your poor [in spirit], Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
Is the state of our world wearing you down? Perhaps hope is the thing with feathers that has flown out of reach?
This is for you, and me, and anyone needing a hefty dose of hands-on practical healing.
No need to be a bird lover to love this book but you just might become one when you’re done with it.
That tiny ember of faith in human-kindness and generosity banked up against the wall will be burning brightly after the pages of this memoir fan it back to life. It’s part of the solution for a very big problem—inspiring, uplifting food for your heart and soul, so easy to consume, and leaving you with the energy to consider possibilities.
Wonderfully narrated by Cheryl Smith.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took Trish’s class in Vermont in the spring of 2020 when Covid hit. Reading passages about a place and children I had never met but were part of the same program as I was felt so special and magical. It transported me to the short time I spent running through the woods with my co-explorers, and back to all of the magical special places I have loved in my life. Birders, activists, teachers, explorers read this book! As a class, birding to change the world actually did change my life and Trish’s writing reminded me of that :)

[Hannah Buschert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trish O’Kane’s Birding to Change the World is a memoir that takes us up from the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to the suburbs of Madison, Wisconsin, and beyond. O’Kane wasn’t a birder until post Katrina and dealing with her father’s illness and eventual death in which she finds mutual grounds with him through birds. She shares the healing power of birds with her students at Loyola University as they all comprehend the destruction to beloved New Orleans and a path forward.

An opportunity to further her education brings her to Madison in which she engages with nature, her community, and past activism to protect a local park from countless potential threats from fireworks to a goose slaughter to development.

O’Kane seamlessly moves between personal stories and scientific explanations to describe the environment, birds, and actions. Her career as a journalist shines through as she reports the story of conservation in Warner Park drawing you in to a love a place many of us have never been. Conservation can be daunting with stories of holes in the ozone or Ocean Garbage Patches, but this story is inspirational because saving our local parks and green spaces can be achievable and successful if we work together.

Thank you NetGalley and Ecco for providing me with this ARC.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant memoir. The author started her life as a journalist in Central America reporting on massacres. She worked for social justice in Alabama. After losing her New Orleans home during Katrina, she begins a Ph.d program at U of Wisconsin, Madison. Her memoir is her dissertation on social and environmental justice - birds provided solace, led her to understanding her neighborhood and the value of green spaces among many other things. A delight to read.

[tillie hellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was really fucking good holy shit. really depressing and sad (i literally teared up and cried multiple times) but also full of hope and examples of progress. really cool intersection of things and brilliant insights. i’d really recommend to anyone who likes science, birds, environmentalism, social justice, and good nonfiction!

[Jude Rizzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read. A memoir from someone who began as a human rights journalist and advocate in Central America then transitioning to an environmentalist teaching young people the importance of respecting all living creatures and their habitats. The author credits the impetus for that transition to a single bird. It sparked an environmental groundswell of support to save a habitat in danger of continued degradation. So well written in a way that keeps the reader wanting to learn more.

[midori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve become a birder over the last couple of years, which has led me to make a trip specifically to see puffins and another to watch sandhill crane nesting. It gives a feeling of connectedness with the land and nature in an incomparable way. It’s an antidote for anxiety and forces you to slow down and take in the detail of your surroundings. You grow to appreciate the natural world so much.

Trish’s memoir solidified this all for me and spoke to me in a personal way. It’s so heartfelt and such a testament to how birding connects us not just to nature, but to one another. It heightens our sense of environmental and social justice. I can say with certainty this is a book I will be returning to in the years to come.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slightly embarrassing to be so irritated by a book that claims to be about birds and social justice, but it's a bad book. Worst kind of tone deaf, self-aggrandizing Boomer memoir. Whether its her ongoing "trauma" arising from Hurricane Katrina (she was hundreds of miles from New Orleans), or condescending assumption that, like her, the reader will have staggered into adulthood without realizing that the history of slavery is more complex than "Gone With the Wind," or the occasional feeble hand-waving in the direction of "indigenous wisdom," there's something to cringe at on almost every page.

The largest part of the book is a dull account of her efforts on behalf of a municipal park in a Wisconsin college town. Fear not, you will never be asked to go more than a few pages without being reminded, generally apropos of nothing whatsoever, of her heroic years working with the Jesuits in Latin America, or her time with the Southern Poverty Law Center. Some talk about a children's program she helps start, which actually sounds great. A few clumsy sketches, hindered by her own bottomless self-regard, of local personalities who hang out in the park being disgruntled at one or another aspect of modern life. Surprisingly little discussion of actual birds, mostly house sparrows and Canada geese. At the end, she buggers off to the whitest state in the U.S., which sounds nice. Nothing promised by the title is ever delivered.

[cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A review in interesting quotes and facts:

1. "IN THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS, I'VE SPENT APPROXIMATELY 1,960 HOURS OUTSIDE WATCHING birds, filled thirty-three field notebooks with scribblings on their doings and dramas, helped raise baby chickadees, bluebirds, wrens, and swallows in tiny birdhouses, volunteered in a baby bird nursery at a wildlife rehabilitation hospital, and taught hundreds of college students and children about them at two major universities. Scientists criticize anthropomorphizing— the application of human attributes to animals. But during those 1,960 hours outside with birds, I've begun to turn anthropomorphizing on its head and think about which avian attributes, talents, and skills our species urgently needs. I've been particularly struck by the strategies birds use to fiercely defend their home territories. What if humans employed some of these same strategies to protect the places we love?

My favorite such strategy is called a murmuration, when silver-speckled black birds funnel across the sky by the hundreds, thousands, even millions. As if to the beat of a giant invisible baton, the black birds all tilt in the same direction, diving and pirouetting, arcing and falling in a massive choreography of beating wings.

The choreographer and performer is the European starling."

2. "Late-nineteenth-century bird lovers believed that house sparrows thrived by pushing at least seventy native birds out of their nesting areas. But Summers-Smith pointed out that during that same period in the United States, Americans radically transformed the landscape, converting fields and wetlands to cities and suburbs. The United States lost almost half its wetlands by the beginning of the twentieth cen-tury. Most native birds could not survive in the new concrete urban habitat, Summers-Smith argued. So the house sparrow simply did what it's always done—took advantage of the new ecological niche we created for it. Another reason the bird spread so fast is that not everyone hated it. In 1877, Colonel William Rhodes, the commissioner of agriculture and colonisation for Quebec, who is also credited with personally bringing house sparrows to Portland, Maine, wrote:

I imagine no live Yankee would wish now to be without the life and animation of the house sparrow in his great cities... I admit the bird is a little blackguard— fond of low society and full of fight, stealing, and love-making — but he is death on insects, fond of citizen life, and in every way suitable to be an inhabitant of the New World."

3. "Birdwatchers and ornithologists have heard the catbird mimic at least forty-four different bird species, along with crying babies, chainsaws, car horns, car alarms, and tree frogs.® But he's not just a mimic. The catbird is also a vocal acrobat, inventing his own songs and mixing them with mimicry to produce musical outbursts as long as ten minutes described as "improvised babble" or "avian jazz." He punctuates his vamping and riffing with a signature meowl, which the 1936 Birds of America called a "most unbird-like snarl."8

My favorite description of the catbird's song comes from Alexander V. Arlton's 1949 musical analysis of birdsong, Songs and Other Sounds of Birds: "There is a certain lawless freedom to the song of the Catbird which invests it with a characteristic essentially wild.""

4. "I knew absolutely nothing about ornithology, which was humbling and refreshing. I had to give up on the idea of expertise and cultivate what Buddhists call "beginner's mind." I had also never learned in a way that required all my senses, including a sense of wonder and love. I started hanging out every day in the tiny ornithology library, wishing I could inhale the shelves of books on birds from all over the world. I lingered in the stacks, fingering old leather volumes of Darwin's adventures, loving their dusty, rich smell. I carried piles of ancient books to my table and sat there for hours, leafing through drawings and photos of birds and letting weird new words roll off my tongue: marvelous terms like "zygodactyl," which meant birds like owls, parrots, and woodpeckers with two toes pointing forward and two backward, allowing them to climb trees and hang upside down; and "plumulaceous," such a fun word that sounded like the soft, downy feathers it described, which cover adorable bird babies and provide the insulation allowing avians to live on every continent; and my new favorite bird name, kookaburra, the carnivorous Australian bird with the crazy cackle used in 1930s Tarzan movies and The Wizard of Oz as a proxy for wild jungle sounds."

5. "The male cardinal reminded me of an Irishman, standing up to leave his pub at midnight, head held high and chest inflated as he sang his traditional a cappella goodbye song. As I watched the brilliant red bird, I thought about what it means to sing or do anything with your whole heart and soul. And I realized that in fact I wanted to do everything sing, speak, teach, garden, write, organize, love— with the full focus and joy with which this cardinal greeted the sun."

6. "What my park buddies and I were learning in Warner Park- that being outside during those years was healing us— has since been confirmed by public health studies. These studies began with a boy and a pine tree. Roger Ulrich, today one of the world's foremost experts on hospital design and the healing effects of nature, began his long and distinguished career as a sick boy in bed in Michigan. Continually plagued by strep infections that led to kidney disease, he realized that he felt better not in sterile, windowless medical buildings, but at home, staring out the window at his "friend," a stalwart pine?

In 1984, Ulrich published a pioneering hospital study showing that patients with even just a window view of a tree healed faster, required less medication, and suffered fewer complications.® Ulrich's initial study spawned more than a hundred studies on the potential links between nature and mental health.' Researchers have documented how trees and natural green spaces calm the parasympathetic nervous system, boost the immune system by reducing stress hormones, lower blood pressure, reduce glucose levels among diabetics, and relieve depression. Large medical studies controlled for income have documented that living near a green space like Warner Park can help people live longer and live healthier, with lower rates of obesity and diabetes. 10 In 2019, Danish researchers published the largest epidemiological study to date-tracking more than 940,000 Danes-documenting a link between access to green space and improved mental health over time. By comparing personal information from Denmark's massive national tracking system (addresses, medical records, and socioeconomic data spanning decades) and high-resolution satellite imagery showing green space in neighborhoods throughout the country, scientists showed that Danish children who grew up in greener neighborhoods had far fewer mental health problems, even years later, regardless of income level."

7. "As she said goodbye to her embalmed pet, Nightingale declared:

"Poor little beastie, it was odd how much I loved you."

Nearly 150 years later, researchers have documented how nature-based videos and music "significantly" reduce pain and anxiety in burn patients who watch or listen while their dressings are being changed, similar to the effect Athena had on that little girl! But there are very few studies examining the healing power of birds because it is difficult for scientists to parse out precisely which elements of living near a green space are the most beneficial. In 2017, a research team at the University of Exeter surveyed 270 people from a wide demographic range in three cities and found that in neighborhoods with more vegetation and greater numbers of birds, residents had lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.8 They concluded that people's mental health improved when watching "common" birds such as blackbirds, robins, and crows.

"Birds around the home, and nature in general, show great promise in preventative health care, making cities healthier, happier places to live," lead researcher Daniel Cox told the media." This is why English hospitals and clinics now partner with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to offer bird walks to recovering patients."

8." I'd been involved in many movements— for human rights, for peace, anti-apartheid, civil rights, gay rights-but had never done any environmental activism. As I watched the birds and wondered how to help them, I started thinking about how they defended their own territories in and around the park. One morning I heard a group of crows angrily cawing. I followed the noise and found about thirty crows perched in a pine tree cluster, all vociferously scolding a huge great horned owl, who was trying to hide under a top branch. After ten minutes of crow hell, the owl gave up and flew away.

I had just witnessed what ornithologists call "mobbing," one of many strategies avians employ to defend their homes and drive away predators. I witnessed it again when I climbed into a bush to examine a gray catbird's nest in my yard; only this time, I was the predator. The mother catbird gave a loud alarm call, and I was suddenly surrounded by twelve species of diminutive birds- including nuthatches, house inches, chickadees, goldfinches, and a downy woodpecker— all giving ne a piece of their avian minds. If you've ever wandered near a red-winged blackbird's nest in a marsh and had to shield your head and tun from the tiny enraged feathered dive bomber, you know what it is to be humbled by a creature that weighs 2.8 ounces."

9. "I'd been focusing the class on birds and environmental activism strategies to protect Warner Park. I'd provided some background on my neighborhood and the middle school's demographics, but it was a cursory course introduction-not a theme woven throughout the semester.

That day I realized that birding could be a powerful way to teach students about injustice and economic privilege. "

[Sammy Kutsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was deeply motivating and inspiring for me. I loved the writing style and there was so much to learn from the author. And I love love birds and it was so wonderful to read a book celebrating them and connecting them to other environmental and justice issues. I am so glad for the light this book shown on environmental injustice and the importance of urban parks. Just all around wonderful.

AND my most grateful thanks to Sydney, for sending me my copy, which I am sure I will revisit many times

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a native from NYC, I never saw many birds except for the ubiquitous pigeons. Now living upstate, I love to have coffee in the morning and watch the birds at the feeder. This is a wonderful memoir that doesn't preach , but inspires. Refreshing to read a memoir without name dropping. We all can do our part as Ms. O'Kane did to make the world a home for all creatures . Bird by bird, student by student.

[Amoorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik was aangetrokken tot de cover en begon dit boek te luisteren vorige winter. Het is zo mooi verteld, en linkt (klimaat)activisme met vogelspotten. Ik hou nu nog meer van vogels en zal proberen om ook mijn eigen activisme erdoor te laten inspireren.

[Laura Gardoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. Loved the environmental and community themes. Save the birds! Help the kids! Got me fired up.

[Rachel Drill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Trish was my professor and I was apart of one of her birding classes. She is so amazing and inspiring.

[Stockten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book about an educator's relationship to place and people in the context of her growing awareness of birds and other wildlife. However, the author used the word "Lilliputian" way too many times and I was getting very annoyed at how many eponymous adjectives she used. I rolled my eyes during the descriptions of so many nice scenes or subjects because I had to read the word "Kerouacian" or something silly like that.

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't need to know every word spoken at every public meeting she went to, but it seems like she did some good work out there.

Interestingly, O'Kane includes a footnote claiming that ornithologists use the term "Canada geese" even if it's just one goose. That's not true. I think maybe someone told her that ornithologists use the term "Canada" instead of "Canadian" when talking about this species, and she must have misunderstood. Colloquially, people call them Canadian geese, but ornithologists call them Canada geese (or one Canada goose). There is an internet myth going around that these geese were named after someone named John Canada, but that guy never existed. They are named for the country.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow, but worth the read. Lots of environmental issues discussed. I enjoyed learning more about birds, migration, city government, dissertations and this person’s experience.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this more than I thought I would. The author was able to link cause and effect of environmental and social justice issues quite well and in a compelling story format. it started out a little shaky with some very angsty guilt about being alive at the expense of nature but fortunately moved past that. And, many times, just when the author was about to go overboard with descriptives of this bird or that turtle, she pulled back just in time and moved on with the narrative.

[kabeju · Rating 5 out of 5]

cried some and let out some laughs. a beautiful memoir!

[Allie Kleber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you meet the right book at the right time, you know?

The title made me wince a little with skepticism, but this book isn't an empty manifesto or some kind of birding equivalent of "Eat, Pray, Love." It's the memoir of a woman who started her career as an investigative journalist in South America, found herself teaching college courses as a direct result of activism in a woman's prison, lost her home to Hurricane Katrina, and in her forties, embarked on a doctoral program and a new kind of activism, both in environmentalism (and specifically centered on birds). The mix of socio-political frustration and the peace and connection found in nature are both so very familiar, and her forays into local community action and nature education at several age levels are inspiring in a very down-to-earth, direct sort of way. It leaves me with the sense that there's work to do, and that very possibly, I can do some of it. I really needed that.

Also, that's it - friendship ended with fireworks. They're an ecological disaster. Gosh, I'm a fun sort of person to have at parties, aren't I? Anyway ...

(One very very small quibble, but it bugs me: damn it, Trish, pied-billed grebes aren't DUCKS. Ahem.)

[Brian Pupecki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept potential of personal metaphors ruined by the author taking it as a chance to scream her accomplishments and write about how right and just she is. Hearing her speak in person only made it worse for me.

[Jared LaRiviere · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads more like a communist love letter than a memoir. Outside of the period of time spent in the central America region (which should have been expanded upon more; it is a memoir afterall), there isn't a whole ton of substance here. The author also seems to be an extreme narcissist, the effort put into ensuring we knew her accomplishments sounds a lot like "clap for me and look at what I did." There were pockets of good (the birding program for children paired with college students) but most of this book was political in nature (again, makes sense for a portion to be as this a memoir and clearly part of the author's identity). A Marxist mentor even makes an appearance. This book doesn't live up to the hype and should be given away for free so as to better align with the author's political idealogy.

[Katie Carlson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that I’m against birds.. but it was difficult for me to get into this one. Who knew birds are so connected to hurricane Katrina and systemic racism. The sharp criticism of Madison and its people was also a bit of a turn off for me. I tried to listen to a little of the book to see if that would help me better connect with the author, it did not. In fact, I think it did the opposite. Birding may change the world, but it didn’t really have an effect on me, unfortunately.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great, honest memoir. She’s had such a unique life, and I loved the passion of the citizen activists working tirelessly for years to protect the birds and other creatures in Warner Park.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding journey into birding— life lists intersect at ecological activism. Add this one to the canon.

[Zora · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can we engage in local activism efforts in order to save threatened bird species? Well, Trish O’Kane, a journalist, professor, and author of Birding to Change the World, answers this question in her new memoir.

Birding to Change the World details O’Kane’s journey in becoming an accidental ornithologist after Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home. From this experience, she became more conscious about how birds and humans were impacted by this natural disaster. O’Kane realized many people from marginalized backgrounds were hit the hardest from Katrina, and the birds inhabiting these communities communicated through their movements and sounds that drastic change would occur. After O’Kane and her husband fled to a friend’s house for safety during Katrina, O’Kane became an observer of living things in her environment, including the birds. The birds provided her with peace and grounding as she dealt with the uncertainty of her life. These birds were her teachers and friends. Unaware at the time, O’Kane would soon discover her displacement from Louisiana, her background in political activism and her dad’s love for animals would shape her career as an environmental activist.

O’Kane moved from Louisiana to Madison, Wisconsin to pursue a PhD at the University of Wisconsin Madison. In Madison, her love for birding and activism deepened as she attended many city commission meetings to protect birds in a local park, Warner Park. Learning from many park users about how integral Warner Park has been in their lives, O’Kane launched a program in which college students mentored middle school students about birding and environmental activism. Even after O’Kane departed Madison for a teaching position at the University of Vermont, her program carried on and she replicated the program in Vermont. After several years, O’Kane visited Madison and found her work is continued by many people focused on creating a safe haven and refuge for the birds and bird lovers of Warner Park.

Throughout the book, O’Kane weaves her personal experiences with scientific knowledge of birds including descriptions of their physical characteristics, their behavior, etc. For example, O’Kane draws on many metaphors, such as comparing Wild Warner, the activism group dedicated to protecting wildlife at Warner Park, as a mixed species flock as every member of the group brings a different perspective on how to approach the issues facing the park. O’Kane also provides many beautiful illustrations of key birds, so readers, like I, can match the written descriptions of birds with an image. I appreciated that this memoir not only drew on O’Kane’s story, but also highlighted the individuals who shaped her current onlook on birding and activism. I recommend this book to any bird-lover, activist, scientist, park user, college student, and professor, as I believe each of us can learn a valuable lesson from O’Kane’s beautifully-crafted memoir.

Rating:
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir isn't a barnburner. It is highly educational, motivating, inspirational and moving.

O'Kane tracks her own life as a 'migratory' path similar to many bird populations - from Southern California, to New Orleans (living through the wrath and destruction of Hurricane Katrina, in which she lost her home), to Madison, WI and finally Burlington VT. From early beginnings as a non-birder writer, to observing nature in Warner Park, to birder, to activist, to educator. There is more to her story, but these are what I took as the through lines.

Early visits to Warner Park, Madison: "We were a silent tribe of quiet broken ones. We all had our various Katrinas. Warner Park was our medicine...being outside during those years was healing to us..."

On community-based activism to get things done: "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." - Alice Walker

Calming her nerves when giving first public comment to Park Commissioners by recalling the actions she observed of a Bittern camouflaged hunting in the wetland: "If you want people to think you're a cat tail, act like a cat tail."

Previous to this memoir I had an appreciation of birding gleaned from having three elite birders in my extended family, who have over the years patiently answered the many many questions put to them and shared their knowledge with many others through work in local societies, leading field trips, and blogging. They too have done much to promote and promulgate conservation of green spaces in their communities. Earlier this year my Uncle Hart, a force of nature for nature, sadly passed away yet left us with a wealth of educational information through his many 'Hart Beat' columns and incredibly beautiful photos. These columns are accessible on the St Lucie County Audubon Society website:
https://www.stlucieaudubon.org/hart-b...

Life reflects nature: "...I opened that tiny door, plucked out the three huddled chickadee runts one by one, and from the runway of my flattened palm they raised those new wings and zipped straight to their parents and siblings waiting on that maple branch. And this is what I get to do every semester for some of my students - help them fledge. I hold them in the palm of my hand for a second, look them in the eyes, and tell them, "You can do it." Then, I watch them take that first perfect flight."

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you start this book on page 78, it’s an amazing journey. I started at the beginning, and liked the bird stuff at the same time I deeply disliked the author. As another person who was living in New Orleans before Katrina, it was hard to stomach her depression after living in New Orleans for 5ish weeks before Katrina hit. Losing a house is a big deal, but no one she knew died, and she didn’t lose her whole community. Those first 78 pages detail all her emotional upheaval from 5 weeks in a new place, a semester back in her old town (Alabama), and one semester back in New Orleans, before she moved to Wisconsin. I agree that New Orleans was the saddest it’s ever been in the year following katrina, but I remember the feeling of hope that Mardi Gras gave me the following year, and she admits in this book that she doesn’t even understand why New Orleanians wanted it back! HOPE! TO CELEBRATE INSTEAD OF JUST CRY. She lived in NOLA for half a year and learned very little about its people.

If you start on page 78, she’s just moved to Madison and her story and bird knowledge are really interesting. All my stars are for that part. I am going to recommend this book to others, but talk trash about it to my NOLA people (who won’t read it anyway because they aren’t into birding).