One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives

by Bernd Heinrich, Rick Adamson (Narrator)

In One Wild Bird at a Time, Heinrich returns to his great love: close, day-to-day observations of individual wild birds. Heinrich's observations lead to fascinating questions - and sometimes startling discoveries. A great crested flycatcher bringing food to the young acts surreptitiously and is attacked by the mate. Why? A pair of northern flickers hammering their nest-hole into the side of Heinrich's cabin delivers the opportunity to observe the feeding competition between siblings and to make a related discovery about nest cleaning. One of a clutch of redstart warbler babies fledges out of the nest from 20 feet above the ground and lands on the grass below. It can't fly. What will happen next?

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Birds, Science, Animals, Audiobook, Natural History

6 pages, Audible Audio

First published April 12, 2016

About the author

Bernd Heinrich was born in Germany and moved to Wilton, Maine as a child. He studied at the University of Maine and UCLA and is Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Vermont.

He is the author of many books including Winter World, Ravens in Winter, Mind of the Raven, and Why We Run. Many of his books focus on the natural world just outside the cabin door.

Heinrich has won numerous awards for his writing and is a world class ultra-marathon runner.

He spends much of the year at a rustic cabin that he built himself in the woods near Weld, Maine.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is misnamed. The correct name should be One Wild Bird Species at a Time: Studies on One Aspect of an Individual Species' Behaviour. Now I've renamed it correctly and am no longer looking for portraits of individual birds, I'm interested in the details of behaviours I've never heard of before. It's gone up from a 3.5 star to a 4.5 one!

I was so pleased to find another Bernd Heinrich book. I like his scientific observation and analysis of birds that doesn't exclude the anecdotal or deny them individual personalities but never steps into the over-anthropomorphising of Rosamund Young's The Secret Life of Cows (She gives the cattle good lives on her organic farm, calls them all by name, talks of the cows giving advice and discussing things with each other, and then kills them for rich locavores to eat).

However, I'm not as into this book as his other ones. There are interesting insights and unusual observations. One of the more interesting was the hawks who built a nest of wood chips, very uncomfortable, and then when the baby chick hatched, lined it every single day with fresh green ferns not available in the immediate vicinity which meant that the hawks had exerted choice as to what to bring. He could never decide why though - the material wasn't insulating, wasn't soft, wasn't camouflaging, wasn't medicinal. So what was it? He thought it might be anti-bacterial as in a nice clean tablecloth to retard decomposition in the leftovers from a meal that will be finished later, but Heinrich didn't know if his hypothesis was right.

A chapter for each bird is not enough, I want to know more, so the book isn't as satisfying as his other ones, but it's still good. Birds do communicate with each other, of course, but I doubt they give each other advice on egg-laying any more than cows do advice on labour and birthing (except in Rosamund Young's head).

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a back yard bird watcher who keeps a nature journal, you might well take inspiration from Bernd Heinrich. He takes it a step further than most of us would, I suspect, because of his background as a biology professor. For instance, I don’t know how many people would be willing to thaw, count, and examine grouse scat in order to prove a theory!

The writing certainly reminded me that the author has an academic background. It is not as stiff as a professional paper, but neither is it as conversational as I would prefer for such a work. Having said that, it is inspirational in the level of observation and effort that Heinrich was willing to put into his record. A birder doesn’t have to travel to the far-flung places on the map in order to have a satisfactory birding life—looking deep into the world just outside the window has its rewards. His illustrations are admirable (much superior to anything in my field notebook) although certainly not up to field guide quality, encouraging to those of us who will never be professional artists.

I would imagine that this book would have a limited audience of those who are devoted birders or nature enthusiasts, but I think such people would find it a worthwhile read. Definitely an stimulus to me to spend more time in the outdoors and in the environments right around my own city and to take more time to watch each bird and its behaviour.

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bernd Heinrich is a professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Vermont. He writes as an academic, a biologist and a naturalist. He thinks as a scientist thinks, and his experiments and studies on birds demonstrate this. Statistics are duly recorded and logically analyzed. I would not recommend the book to everyone, yet I like the scientific approach and I like the man's curiosity. He observes individual species of birds and poses interesting questions. The more you know about the birds he discusses the more you will enjoy the book. The latest observations include those up to 2015. Much is based on what he personally has observed in Vermont and Maine, although other scientific findings are noted.

Each chapter focuses on a specific bird: woodpeckers, ravens and crows, starlings, owls, hawks, blue jays, chickadees, blue-headed vireos, red-breasted nuthatches, redpolls, ruffed grouse, great crested flycatchers, red-winged blackbirds, phoebes, evening grosbeaks and woodcocks. He points out interesting observations concerning species specific behavior patterns on topics such as bathing, nest site selection and building, communication, social cohesion, snow tunneling, parental instincts, territorial defense mechanisms, body movements (sky-dancing and body swaying) and loss of a mate. For me the most engaging was the chapter concerning a phoebe that lost his mate. One comes to feel such empathy for the phoebe.

He closes the book with an important message. He urges all of us to observe nature, see what is there before our eyes and pose questions.

The audiobook narration by Rick Adamson is simple to follow.

*****************

Books I can recommend by Bernd Heinrich:

*The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology 5 stars
*Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds 4 stars
*One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives 4 stars
*Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival 4 stars
*A Year in the Maine Woods 3 stars

I have listed them in order of my appreciation. I prefer those books that provide depth on fewer birds rather than many, and I always love a biography.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive. Precise and accurate detailing for minutia through counted observations of numerous species of birds within the author's Maine forest. He lives forest surrounded year round in a log wood-fired cottage.

This is trials, testing, physical scat or individual count charting in a specific and scientific method. But it also includes his delight, or his surprise, or his incredulous disbelief on occasion. He reveals little of himself, but of his age and his long ago childhood home in Germany. Many dawns or pre-dawns and then to sleep as soon as the sun sets. But always, always listening and writing notes. What sequence, what tones, when!

This is a book that requires patience and a strong interest in the naturalistic / biological life and sounds of birds. It is best read patiently, within slow pacing of a species or couple of chapters a day.

I can't imagine how you would begin to record this book in an audible version. And yet they seemed to have a CD set. Well if anyone could, this author would be the expert to get it done. There are frequent tone and call imitations. I might find an audible copy just to hear the sounds. Might I recognize more than the few I know?

Loving birds in their wild homes, I often see a few of the species he covered here in this collection. Some of them during their nesting and foraging for their clutches, but most of them on the wing. We see many more shore birds by a fresh water Midwestern lake than he does in his Maine forest. This book covers more songbird and North American forest species than swan, duck, geese or water varieties of lake area. Ravens, crows, blue jays, phoebe, woodcock, nuthatcher, owls, redwing blackbirds, chickadees are just a few in this incredible book. Most of these have heavy populations in most of North America. His different species of woodpeckers' chapters are 6 star.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for wild bird lovers.

[Cheryl]

Reminds me of The Armchair Birder: Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds but more adventurous. Heinrich, a professional naturalist and good scientist, gets out of the chair and chases around the Maine woods after the birds. He does his own field work, reading much less than Yow did.

His writing voice is academic, to me; I had trouble focusing instead of putting the book down for breaks, and I'm sure I'm going to forget most of what I just read pretty quickly... but that's apparently just me, as he's gotten plenty of praise from others.

This is pretty much just observations. No point, no agenda, just a sharing of the fascination. He brings his wild community to the pages for us, so we can vicariously experience it. And that's all there is to it.

His illustrations are very attractive. The book is relatively new, which is always a good thing in a science book. Bibliographic notes and scientific names included.

"After realizing the likely nonspecific but nonetheless meaningful social nature of the blue jay scream, I thought that now I might be less hesitant to call, e-mail, or send a letter or a hello, even when, as almost always, I had nothing important to say."

[jonah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outstanding book that let me glimpse into the realm of these fantastic feathered beings around us. Wow. The book left me groping for a chance to climb that tree, see that nest, and fall through the branches, seeing woodpeckers, crows, warblers, and who knows what. This book gave me a completely new view on the behaviors of these wild birds. Even though I have not observed many of them (I bird west coast), it gave me so much new information about them in a fabulous way. Heinrich writes with so much enthusiasm, which makes his novels so inspiring. I think a few of the chapters felt a little incomplete (chapters 6, 8, 16), but most of them were filled with intriguing knowledge. I felt sympathy and compassion during some chapters, but the overall effect of the book made me want to jump outside, grab my binoculars, and tromp through the woods. I love birdwatching, as it makes me learn new concepts and ideas about these feathered beings, and I don't think I will ever give up this hobby. Overall, another great book of Heinrich's. Hopefully, he will write more about birds in the near future! I recommend to any who are bird lovers and are enthusiastic about the natural world around us! Fall onto Heinrich's wild path, and open doors to hidden knowledge of these amazing creatures that are so everyday that we don't see what they truly mean. Fall into those deep depths of knowledge.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bernd Heinrich lives in a cabin in the Maine woods. It is from here that he is able to closely observe and report upon the wild birds around him. Heinrich does what all curious people do: he asks questions. Then he does what good scientists do: he watches, takes careful notes, and reports his findings.

If you have any interest in birds or nature, this is a lovely book to read.

[Melora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. Some chapters were better than others, but on the whole I enjoyed Heinrich's tales of his bird studies. Each chapter focuses on a particular sort of bird and on a certain aspect of that bird's behavior. There is a lot about nesting and raising babies, flock behavior, feeding, territoriality, etc. Heinrich's observations are spectacularly (okay, sometimes hilariously) specific. He counts daily bird poops in nests, tail bobs per minute, caterpillars carried per feeding trip, grams of fat under a bird's skin during its post mortem inspection (and number of pecks causing the death that resulted in a post mortem inspection), etc. He is obsessive. But engaging! His delight in nature is irresistible, and I appreciated the way he kept pointing out the way his observations of seemingly simple phenomena led to questions which he would initially pursue through looking at other people's research and then, often, continue to investigate through his own cleverly devised experiments. I listened to this as an audiobook read by Rick Adamson, and his reading was very pleasant.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going through the large audio book collection at the mid-Manhattan library, which seemed to mostly consist of schlocky thrillers and self-help books, I was surprised to come upon this quiet work of ornithology. I thought it might make a refreshing change of pace for my audio listening, my last book having been The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America which was two tales in one: the stress of not getting a world's fair built on time, and a horrifying true crime story -- neither one very pleasant to be caught up in.

This was indeed a refreshing palate cleanser. There's something soothing about the minute attention the author gives to the most mundane doing of wild birds, and at its best the book felt like a vicarious trip to a snowbound cabin in the Maine woods. I think though that I might have enjoyed it more as a book -- it would have passed faster, and I think I might have enjoyed seeing the author's own illustrations. As it was, my attention sometimes wandered, and I was inclined to agree with the author that counting grouse poop pellets in the dead of winter wasn't really "engrousing." I wanted to love it, but it didn't have me looking forward to my commute, so three stars it is.

[Bibliobites Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Heinrich book I’ve been waiting for. I
choose not to finish Ravens in Winter, and I did read Mind of the Raven, but it’s scholastic tone was not exactly what I was looking for. But Heinrich is an engaging writer when he’s writing for a “popular” audience, and this title is a perfect fit for a Charlotte Mason education - his focus on observation, wonder, recording/notebooking will be both familiar and inspiring. I love that Heinrich is quick to point out when he doesn’t know something, why or why not he agrees with a theory, and how his theory might be better or worse. It’s fun to think that a man in his 80s is still full of wonder for nature - and also still climbing trees 😳 Highly recommend for high schooler and their parents, or for essay reading.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heinrich’s commitment to moderately bothering some animals to see what happens practically always pays off.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was such a perfect fit for me, in my fledgling “birding” life and I was lucky to find it as an Audible Daily Deal.
Each of these chapters, most take place at the author's remote Maine cabin, are portrait's of a particular bird or a group of birds. The first one involves a family of northern flickers, that have taken up residence, inside the walls of his cabin.
We then move onto owls, woodcocks, phoebes, vireos and others.
There is some humor here, but Heinrich's deep passion and painstaking drive to observe and understand the lives of our feathered friends, is evident on every page. This may not be of interest to all readers but if you appreciate nature, the great outdoors and an intimate look at birds, give this wonderful book a try.
It looks like he has written many other books and I will be seeking these out, as well.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story recaps all the encounters with a variety of birds with scientist and author Bernd Heinrich over his lifetime. From the nesting of Northern flickers to the companionship with crows, Heinrich tells of his rememberable adventures with his day-to-day observations while living in his family cabin in Maine. There were times that I felt the story drifted but all in all this way a captivating and educational tale.

[Polo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written book on the portrayal of certain birds and their habits and peculiarities. I enjoy watching birds in my backyard and being connected to their migratory behaviors. The authors in-depth study of birds that he shared in this book will help me deepen my own observations and understanding. The book has stories that made me laugh out loud and others that brought moments of sadness.

The book is a pleasant mix of scientific study with keen observances. The one thing that I had mixed feelings about is how the author will peek into the nest and lift up birds while they are nesting to count their eggs. It seems intrusive to me, even though I know this is part of the scientific process.

I enjoyed the author's illustrative portraits of some of the birds he writes about in the book. I found myself perusing the internet to listen to bird calls and their songs depicted in each chapter. The book was a page-turner for me. If my work-life permitted I would have read this book in a few days.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of wonderful observant essays about individual birds.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting observations of birds but it bothers me that some of it was at the expense of stressing nesting birds.

[Susie]

i'm genuinely surprised no one ran interference at some point. if i ever become someone who pokes around birds on their nests or collects scat and sifts through it, please hold an intervention.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really lovely book to read as a bit of a distraction. I would’ve given it 4 stars because I love learning about anything to do with wildlife, and this was a fresh perspective on nature writing. But I was a little put off by the repeated interference of the author in the birds’ nests/taking birds home that he finds outside and keeping them as pets. At one point he even said he stuck his hands into a nest and took close up photos of the chicks with his camera and that “the birds didn’t mind”, and then explains, perplexed, that the birds had abandoned the nest the next day... I wonder why! In more than one story he also talks about birds getting angry with him and flying at him, wanting him to leave their nest, but he keeps testing them, clearly causing stress. I don’t really understand how somebody can love these creatures so much but feel so comfortable disrupting their lives. Still, an interesting read and a lovely insight to the more personal behaviours of individual birds, rather than scientific facts about a species.

[Meryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Very interesting book for bird lovers but there was a little too much bird disturbance and not enough disclaimers against that behavior. This guy treated the birds that came to his property as his property and helped himself to their eggs, or THEM as he pleased, changing their behavior, and stressing them. In many of the cases he discusses about nest abandonment it seems he is the most likely culprit and yet blames everything else. I get that the quest for science sometimes causes harm but there needs to be accountability and education so it is not repeated. Let birds be. There is plenty to discover by just watching!

[༺Kiki༻ · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked this book, you might also enjoy:

✱ Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival
✱ Summer World: A Season of Bounty
✱ A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful book to be reading at a challenging time. His intense focus on the world around him and his almost child-like fascination with bird behavior is inspiring. His narrative does not seem as self-absorbed as in some of his other books...or maybe I have adjusted to his style. He holds himself to a very high investigative standard, always questioning his theories and conclusions based on continuing observation.

[Vira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting reading!
I had to google almost every bird, since I'm not living in North America, not to speak about Maine. But it was fascinating to go with the author through his observations — one bird at a time. In the end, I understand that ornithologist living in a cabin in the woods knows and sees a lot of birds. But to unveil the truth behind some avian mystery one needs to focus — and this is what he's doing :)
Cool.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mostly fascinating but there are some spots I thought were dull. I was also disturbed when the author purposely interrupted multiple birds going about their business; e.g. peering into nests while the adult was sitting on eggs, going through nests to count eggs, etc. I understand this is likely how scientific research on birds is done, however it seemed invasive to me.

[Kristin Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heinrich's books are well written and informative. This one is very accessible for budding naturalists and bird lovers. Makes me long for the Maine woods.

[Susan Beecher · Rating 5 out of 5]

His books about nature, in this case, about different birds, are so fabulous. I highly recommend this book.

[Wendy Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mix of charming stories about birds. Some are a bit drier than others, but all present a scientific outlook on animal behavior and show off what curiosity can teach us about the world.

[K.A. Ashcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A stream of consciousness on observing birds sprinkled with facts and hypotheses. I'm not sure if I can explain more. I listened to this book, and it feels like it was only a dream—a pleasant one for sure. But I'm not sure if I hold on to a single fact. Except one where Bernd Heinrich hid a tube inside a nest to observe the cocktail the chicks got. Surprisingly many ants, bugs, and larva find themselves to feed the young. 

Actually, no, not a stream of consciousness, maybe more like an ode to birdwatching. I almost wanted to find a quiet corner to watch birds come and go like my father did. Bernd Heinrich stresses the importance of actual field observation to note the subjects' peculiarities and test the hypotheses scientists have. There was an example of how a chasing behavior was seen as an aggressive competition between males to ensure the best breeding grounds. This seemed odd against the background that the male birds flew together to the area and were seen sitting together. Such observations challenged the old assumptions.

A fantastic diary-like book for bird enthusiasts. 

Thank you for reading! Have an amazing day <3

[Julia Pav · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed most of this book. It’s a prime example of the dichotomous power of beauty and cruelty that nature holds. The author is a true scientist and academic at heart, which made it much easier to appreciate his nonfiction book. (I’m looking at you, pop science written by journalists.) Like true science, not all of his stories had a perfect explanation—or even an explanation at all.

I did appreciate how the storytelling was complemented by his nontraditional “experiments” and hypotheses. The data was certainly there, and thankfully not in an overwhelming way—even for someone who knows nothing about birds. However, I found it absolutely insane the pure amount of effort on the author’s part that brought forth these treasured observations. (Like, who counts and measures thousands of pieces bird scat for months on end? Or spends hundreds of hours up in a tree watching birds in the bitter cold? Scientists are a unique breed to say the least.)

Unfortunately I found weakness in the book towards the end. Maybe I was just tired of my favorite wild birds dying off in half the stories, but the last few chapters struggled to hold my attention. It felt like less storytelling and drama and more random, abrupt facts. Nonetheless I’m glad I read it. I hold more appreciation for our flying feathered friends than I did before. Now I want a bird feeder. My indoor cats will be so happy.

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t so much a polished work as a write-up of the author’s birdwatching notes. Accepted on those terms, it’s an interesting look at various wild birds he observed and wondered about. Each chapter stands alone. Some feel more complete than others, because in some cases the author's ability to gather information was quite limited.

3.5 stars.