Baby Birds: An Artist Looks into the Nest

by Julie Zickefoose

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in bird nests, or what happens after a fledgling leaves the nest, come along on Julie’s sensitive exploration of often-uncharted ornithological ground.

This beautiful book is as much an art book as it is a natural history, something readers have come to expect from Julie Zickefoose. More than 400 watercolor paintings show the breathtakingly swift development of seventeen different species of wild birds. Sixteen of those species nest on Julie's wildlife sanctuary, so she knows the birds intimately, and writes about them with authority. To create the bulk of this extraordinary work, Julie would borrow a wild nestling, draw it, then return it to its nest every day until it fledged. Some were orphans she raised by hand, giving the ultimate insider’s glimpse into their lives. In sparkling prose, Julie shares a lifetime of insight about bird breeding biology, growth, and cognition.   As an artist and wildlife rehabilitator, Julie possesses a unique skill set that includes sketching and painting rapidly from life as well as handling delicate hatchlings. She is uniquely positioned to create such an opus, and in fact, nothing like it has ever been attempted. Julie has many fans, and she will gain many more with this unparalleled work.

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Art, Animals, Nature, Science, Biology

333 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2016

Reviews

[Holly R W · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations of birds in the book are beautiful. It's Spring now where I live. Every year, I look forward to watching the birds make nests and hopefully, see the baby birds emerge. The artist shows the baby birds as they hatch from their eggs and grow. She also adds her own written observations of the wild life shown. This is a good book for those of us who love nature and being outdoors.

Update May 18, 2019: To my delight, I saw a mother rabbit and her 3 newly born bunnies in the flower bed right outside of our home. The bunnies are tiny. They hid underneath her. It looked to me like mama rabbit was nursing her babies. Our dog Ace watched with me from inside our home. It was he who had alerted me to their presence with his whimpering. I hope to see them again.

Update May 27, 2019: I have not seen the rabbit family. Perhaps, the dog has scared them away with his large size. This is probably for the best.

[Hapzydeco · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these amazing baby-bird stories, wildlife artist Julie Zickefosse chronicles seventeen species in words and watercolors. The reader will relive her experiences and marvel at her tenacity in caring for helpless babes.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone in the US who loves watching the birds in their backyard, this book is for you. The chronicle from nesting through fledging (and beyond) for each species is beautifully written. And the art!!!! Even the most everyday species are made enchanting in these watercolor images. Any one who thinks the Carolina Wren is a Plain Jane will change their mind in a hurry. Don't get the digital version - this is a book to hold and keep forever.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. I definitely need to buy this. I have checked it out from the library twice now and I am having difficulty returning it!

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, much like a coffee table book. It’s a nature journal of daily observations as the author and artist documents the daily lives of baby birds from day one to fledgling. It’s a delightful book for any bird watcher or nature lover.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, as always. Julie Zickefoose is my favorite author/authority on birds.

[Amy T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a unique book! This author is an artist and a songbird expert, who went to great lengths to paint the daily development of several species of nestlings. She did things like perform minor surgery on these tiny birds and zap their (temporarily emptied) nests in the microwave to kill mites. I’m definitely more of a “let nature take its course” person, so reading about her all-in approach was fascinating. I also enjoyed learning more about the peculiarities of each species.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. A complete day by day diary of how these young babes progress!

[Jan Mardis · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most amazing books about baby birds. I had to go out and order my own copy since I have fallen in love with my bluebirds.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is truly one of a kind. Zickefoose painstakingly took years to chronicle the development of 17 different birds, from the time they hatched in the nest until they fledged. Sixteen of these birds were studied by her taking a new hatchling from a nest in her own yard each day and drawing the baby bird to show its development. The only baby bird that she did not handle was the hummingbird - too fragile - she worked from photos. The watercolor illustrations are just breathtaking. The text that accompanies the beautiful illustrations for each bird was a pleasure to read. One would think that the narrative would be almost identical for each nestling, but Zickefoose provides insight as only she can do, allowing the reader to learn about each type of bird and how one differs from the other in so many ways beyond their feathers' coloring.

This is the kind of book that artists and art teachers could use with students to introduce a long-term study project showing development or progress. Parents, grandparents and teachers would find this book to be a great item to share with children to stimulate their powers of observation as well as to learn about the birds in the neighborhood. Top notch. Highly recommended.

I asked our public library to purchase this book, and when I read it, I had to purchase my own copy. Then I bought another copy to give to an artist friend. The book is that impressive.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Bird Club Book Club is reading this book, and as always Julie Zickefoose is terrific. Her artistic skills, scientific knowledge, and intuition combine into a beautiful and well written book. I learned a lot about baby birds of various species, and came away convinced that I could never raise orphaned ones. Houghton Mifflin did a beautiful job of putting this book together. A terrific read!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fascinating to me, a bird lover with an interest in the science of nature. The drawings are exquisite. The text is highly readable with some technical bird terms that can be figured out in context or looked up. She has a sense of humor and a sense of wonder and respect for her subjects. Lovely all around.

[Kimberly Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book - even recommended by Roger Tory Peterson - if you are interested in birds and the progression of newly hatched eggs into the birds you see in your backyard.

It is beautifully illustrated, and the writing is charming and surprising.

Read this to your children, or nieces, or young people - it will starts them of a life-time of bird appreciation.

[Katrina Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I’m sad that it’s over! Julie’s illustrations are gorgeous and detailed and her observations are meticulous. You can tell she loves birds and knows a great deal about them. I learned a lot about the regular visitors to my backyard feeder that I didn’t know before. I highly recommend it.

[Kristin R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read this cover to cover, but if you are a birder of any level, I think you'd enjoy this book. The author and artist did the most beautiful drawings and paintings of baby birds. The text is journal entries from day 1 to the day they leave the nest. She notes the daily progress, which is amazing, in her text and art.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie’s paintings of just born baby birds through fledging and adulthood are just amazing! The information and knowledge she has and shares is so interesting and helpful as I observe these birds in my backyard.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book! Julie Zickefoose draws different bird species as they grow from birth until they fledge. The paintings are as wonderful and the book informs the reader about these birds you already know and love. What a joyful work of art.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. Her paintings are amazing and the information that she provides along with them makes for an enlightening read.

[Debra Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite, fascinating, useful and entertaining. As beautifully written as it is illustrated.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for nature. Tons of information in baby birds and more and the illustrations are gorgeous.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful view of baby birds from egg to fledgling. I do hope there’s a sequel. Highly recommended.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning about, and watching how baby birds grow-up is amazing. I had no idea that it was such a rapid process fraught with so much danger. There is a certain amount of repetition from bird to bird but some truly astounding differences as well. A beautiful book for anyone who loves birds.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very special book. The author and artist, who is also a bird lover and wildlife rehabilitator, spent 13 years looking at and painting baby birds, documenting their growth and evolution every day from the day they hatched until they fledged. She details 17 species, many of whom she hand raised, and illustrates her observations with beautiful watercolor paintings.
This is an absolutely fascinating and unparalleled look at the early daily lives of these species. Most highly recommended!

[Jennifer Kuehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savored this book throughout the breeding season, rereading the chapters on young birds I see in my yard again. Really delightful since author is a great storyteller and I enjoyed seeing the development of each species. Disappointed that some of the annotations around her paintings of baby birds day-by-day weren't legible, however.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

{September 18, 2018}
This is a beautiful book with amazing paintings! We were all enthralled with it for a lengthy amount of time. We really only paged through it and enjoyed the pictures; one day I'd like to move through it slowly and read all the text. For now, though, we loved seeing the amazing transformations birds make, from egg to adult!

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book with fascinating looks into the nests of a number of different birds, illustrated with life-sized watercolor paintings. Zickefoose has amazing attention to detail and is full of enthusiasm and information about her subjects.

[Rebecca]

This book was beautiful. I took my time with it because I wanted to savor every species account. The artwork is stunning, and the writing matches. I highly recommend for anyone who appreciates nature, birds and art.

[CathyMW · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork was lovely, but what I enjoyed most were the author's stories about her interactions with the birds. They were really quite fascinating. My only complaint is that some of the words on the paintings were faint and hard to read.

[Danielle Mccoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully drawn book with interesting stories of following a bird family for the summer.

[Marcy Graybill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked it out mostly for the drawings. It was a nice book to look at, but I'm not a birder and didn't find it as interesting as I hoped.