Private Lives of Garden Birds

by Calvin Simonds, Anne Halpin

inscription in front

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Natural History, Nature

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1984

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simmonds' Private Lives of Garden Birds is a series of essays about the birds Simmonds sees all the time on his farm. He is a behavioral biologist, so he cannot be classed as an amateur, but he writes for amateurs, for people who just want to get to know their winged neighbors. In this, he reminded me quite a bit of John Crompton, who spent The Spider writing about spiders as his eccentric neighbors. Simmonds' prose is not so lavish, but the feeling of general neighborliness is the same.

It did take me a while to get used to the fact that each chapter in Private Lives of Garden Birds takes the form of a gentle essay, rather than being a straight, factual article on the bird named in the title. Up to half an essay on any given bird may be spent describing the walk it takes to reach the bird's place, musing on other birds seen in the same area, and generally taking a leisurely approach to the purported subject of the essay. For some reason, I was expecting a more clear-cut, efficient division of subject, so it took me a few essays to realize that, of course, this casual approach is part of Simmonds' point: The birds are his neighbors, and this is their neighborhood. He's not writing about the generic phoebe category, he's writing about the phoebe who lives on his farm, down near the bridge, above the river. After the first bit of disorientation, I relaxed and enjoyed strolling the farm with him.

There is plenty of detail on the birds' lives, as well as some lovely musings on crow grammar, some great bits of humor, an account of the first colonists' impression of the hummingbird ("their descriptions of them sound fantastic, like descriptions of unicorns or griffins"), an description of his and his human neighbor's differing views on blue jays, and other matters surrounding birds. The prose is relaxed and easy to follow.

Simmonds sticks to birds most of his readers likely also encounter, birds like phoebes, song sparrows, crows, hummingbirds, and other common varieties people all over the States are likely to see. That made the book all the more welcome; these birds are my neighbors, too, and it was nice to meet them in a slightly different setting and to learn more about their lives.

Highly recommended.

____

More or less an aside: I do have one complaint that is not unique to Simmonds, though the problem does show up in Private Lives of Garden Birds: A good many writers on organic gardening and on gardening for birds or bees or butterflies describe "gardens" that, to me, border on estates (or in Simmonds' case, farms), insisting on meadows, groves, and ponds. Simmonds, for example, suggests a "garden" with "tall trees that cast deep shadows...bushy thickets or dense evergreens...several different kinds[of shrub]...a place where the water stands in a pool, another place where it trickles..." I live in a city. I've perfectly nice city-sized front and back yards; there's plenty of room for me to try new varieties of tomato,to let herbs flower for the bugs, and to put in some native plants. There's even a lemon tree. Groves and thickets, however, are quite out of the question. So are out-of-the-way stands of thistle. I do wish more advocates for organic gardening and animal sanctuary would recognize this. Yes, I'm grateful for what they have done, but sometimes I'm left with the feeling that all the flowering plants in the world won't be enough if I can't include a swamp as well so why bother trying?

What I'm trying to say is: Could someone please write a book that keeps in mind the less-than-an acre gardener? The person who maybe only has a small patch of porch or windowsill?

Do you happen to know about any such book?

Also, at this point, I'm also thinking I'd like a few books that are even more local, some specifically West-Coast books that won't assure me that the yellow jackets will all die out in the first hard freeze, or that if I don't want house sparrows around, all I need to do is skip feeding them one winter and they'll leave. Not that I especially mind yellow jackets, and I'm really quite fond of sparrows, but the snowy weather won't be chasing either away from anything, not around here! Also, I suspect many of the local birds have slightly different behaviors, given the relatively mild weather. So, anyone know of any good West Coast writers?

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Note: This review was originally written and shared on my blog, Bookwyrme's Lair. Stop by and visit for lots more reviews, photos, and general musings on the good things in life.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book, even though about a third of it focussed on birds I don't have around. The writing is really lovely and I will definitely look at birds differently going forward. It seemed some of the essays were a little more polished than others. I wish I'd taken my time more with this book and focused on a chapter a day. But I do own my copy so I will likely come back to it from time to time especially when I want to remember what I read about a specific bird. It was especially fun to have a family of robins in the backyard to observe with a new understanding, during the period of reading this book. Thanks Saskatoon Symphony Book Sale - I never would have found this book otherwise.

My one issue, which at least one other reviewer has also pointed out, is the author seems to assume everyone who wants to watch birds in their "garden" is a nuclear reactor hating hippie with multiple acres of land (sorry, that's not a garden). Some of us live in cities and even (the horror) subdivisions and perhaps have differing views on how we should be generating clean energy yet still somehow come to be nature lovers all the same. Not that this was a huge distraction but every so often at an offhand mention of one of these things I would feel slightly uncomfortable as if I would not be considered a "real" nature lover by the author and his peers. Maybe I'm being too sensitive but I just came for the birds, man.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

back yard birder

This is written by a gardener/birder - avid to both (he calls himself a naturalist). From the North East, but a traveler as well he has selected a few species to talk about what HE knows about them. Very little science, written in the vernacular for easy reading, anyone can pick up this book. While I knew most of this, i enjoyed his writing and found a couple of oh! Moments which were fun. Beginner to intermediate. He does have a life balance i envy too.

[Kate Moore Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sweet read. It made me want to have a large, bird friendly garden in the future and pay closer attention to my bird neighbors on my walks until then. Simonds writes about birds because he loves them, not because he’s a scientist. And that’s a refreshing and relatable point of view to me.

[Mikey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of Bernd Heinrich's writing style- lots of facts and scientific info, liberally sprinkled with day-to-day personal observations and discoveries. Makes me want to start my own birding journal back up again.

[Jerry Wall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gardener with an education tells us about his experiences on his farm with common birds.
Well thought out, well said, and a good selection of common birds and their habits and mannerisms
Also advice for the beginning birder as to the conduct of watchers and notes to assist such watcher.

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely little read with lots of information about some common garden birds

[Sharon Donaghy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[John Geary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would actually rate this book higher than 3 stars - but not quite 4 stars; however there is no mechanism for giving it 3.5 stars.

It's very thoughtful, well written, the writer certainly knows his stuff about birds.

Each chapter is devoted to the author's ruminations on a specific species of bird. There are chapters in this book I really enjoyed and chapters I found not all that interesting.

I think how much I enjoyed each chapter comes down to how much I like that particular species of bird, how interesting I find it.

I really enjoyed the chapters on hummingbirds, crows, and red-winged blackbirds – those are all birds I really like or find fascinating.

Some of the others I've never even experienced or had any exposure to, so I didn't find the chapters all that interesting.

This is a book best enjoyed at leisure; you don't have to read it all at once – you can read a chapter or two and then put the book down for several days or even a week or two and then pick it up right where you left off in the next chapter.

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny and entertaining guide to some birds you probably see every day. Made me wish I had more time to sit in the yard and watch them! My only complaint about this book is the same as many other books about birds: try as I might, I cannot seem to hear syllables and word-sounds in bird song; the author clearly can, but you have to take his word for it if you don't have a "bird ear". I can tell the difference between chickadee, bluejay, and crow sounds, for instance, but no matter how closely I listen, I can't distinguish much more than tweets and trills and twitters. Regardless, this book gave me new insight into some of my favorites, especially crows.

[Janie O · Rating 4 out of 5]

By chance I picked up this book in a used book store, with it's out-of-date cover, opened it up and in reading the first page I was hooked! I just wish there were more books like this! I don't think I will ever hear birds and watch them without wondering what they are really saying, and what their seemingly meaningless behavior means! Plenty of chuckles waiting for you over their antics explained. Each chapter is an in depth look at a different species of birds the author noticed in his country setting. Highly recommend!

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting. It made me conscious of the fact I need to be more aware of the birds in my yard. To sit and watch them. Some of the chapters were on birds that aren’t really in the area, like the redwinged black bird. I wish there was a chapter on cardinals and finches. I was not excited about this book but I am glad I read it.

[Nancyv · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed being inside this writers head. This is a series of stories written by a keen observer of nature, with birds being the focus here. Getting to know my own backyard birds has recently become a passion of mine, and this book feeds that passion. If you're interested in your local birds and want a picture of how they move through the world, check out this book!
N

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a great deal from this book and enjoyed all the strange little facts that I picked up. However, I felt something was missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. The book was an enjoyable read and I will certainly refer to it in the future.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating introduction to the lives of birds we see every day.

[Morning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful insight

[David R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gardener's observations of several species of birds of western Massachusetts. Hardly comprehensive, nor rigorous, but charming.

[Katharine Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read and illustrations