Book review: The Backyard Bird Chronicles

There was quite a bit of hype surrounding this new book, given that it was written by Amy Tan, a leading contemporary writer and author of The Joy Luck Club.

It is a diary of her observations as a novice birder. As with any diary, some entries are fascinating, some are meandering, some are very mundane. More often than not, Tan’s observations from the window to her backyard are mildly interesting.

The illustrations are the most exciting feature of the book, and they are lovely. They are realistic, and the colors Tan uses are vivid and sometimes surprising.

I appreciate that Tan portrays the beauty of “common” backyard birds as well as more eye-catching species. She even creates tributes to female hummingbirds, to make up for all the praise given to their more vivid male counterparts.

I found Tan’s description of Fiona Gillogly, a young woman she describes as her mentor, pretty interesting. I was hoping Tan would write more about her. I did find that Gillogly posted pictures from her own nature journal on her website; they are astoundingly detailed and inspiring!

All in all, The Backyard Bird Chronicles was a decent read on my lunch break. Thanks to my local library, I read it for free. Even as a huge lover of birds, I can’t really imagine buying this book unless I were a super hardcore follower of Amy Tan. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I don’t see it as one of those books you’d want to keep on your shelf forever.

Quotes

Do birds recognize individuals of their own kind in the same vicinity? What details do they see that we humans don’t? Do they recognize their adult progeny or nest-mates? Do they recognize one-season mates? Do they recognize me? Maybe I should first ask why they would need to remember another bird or human?

I am still in the newbie stage, often wrong, often surprised, often puzzled. I know too little to know what’s ordinary. But I have heard experienced birders call the Lesser Goldfinch a “trash bird” because it is so common and numerous. I heard others call a House Sparrow a “junk” bird, an invasive, like the European Starling. I understand the antipathy. Invasive birds usurp habitat and resources. But I can’t help but feel discomfort. The rhetoric is often the same as the racist ones I hear about Chinese people.
I am still new to birding, and so every bird is a good bird to see, even the ones I see all the time, I am happy they’ve come, that they’ve chosen my yard to visit for a few minutes or the day or every day for many weeks or months. I especially love the birds that are here every day of the year, like the titmouse and chickadee. I hope I never cease to be amazed.