What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World. John Young. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 241 pp. $22
Here is a must-have summer reading guide to becoming a more attuned observer in the natural environment. It’s not just about listening to bird songs — it’s about paying attention to and using less conspicuous chirps, caws and other alarms birds use, as well as the positions in which they choose to perch — to pick up on the presence of other animals or happenings. It’s about how to enter the scene yourself, without causing a rucus, and how to sit still and watch the drama evolve.
Young’s academic training, his mentoring with various tracking experts and four decades of observing nature prepared him to share his expertise in teaching classes, and distilling some practical lessons in this book. With the help of audio recordings available on line (click here for a sample), recognizing calls of various birds like the cardinal, Carolina wren and song sparrow is easy.
Noting that we humans seem to have stopped hearing the network of communication around us in nature, Young re-introduces an awareness of “deep bird language” with easy-to-follow steps. Settle yourself under a tree in your yard with this book, and find out just how much a little birdy can tell you. You can enter another world, without moving an inch, by decoding the web of sounds you usually ignore. Once you figure it out, share it with a child — school is out for the summer, but the outdoor classroom is always in session.
To visit Jon Young’s Web-site, click here: JonYoung.org
For more of Inside/Out & About, click here.
