I’d Rather Be Birding (Wardlaw Books)

June Osborne really would rather be birding than doing just about anything else, and in this charming book of personal reflections, she leads readers through backyards and river bottoms, far and near, savoring the colors, sounds, and playful busy-ness of American Robins, Hooded Orioles, Vermilion Flycatchers, Common Loons, Varied Thrushes, and a hundred other feathered friends. Osborne has introduced thousands of home owners to their common backyard birds. In her book’s opening chapter “Exploring the Backyard,” she features birds people are likely to see around their (mostly) Texas homes. She also introduces some birding tricks of the trade, such as “pishing” and birding by ear. “Travel Is for the Birds,” she shares her birding and nature experiences traveling to such places as Tierra del Fuego, Chile, and Costa Rica, as well as to Arizona and Minnesota in the United States. Her final chapter, “In Love with a River,” chronicles Osborne’s long “love affair” with the Frio River in the Texas Hill Country, where, in April, she is resident birder at Neal’s Lodges, a familiar birding site and stop of the Nature Quest festival held in the Hill Country every spring. Osborne writes with an intimate style that often involves her life journey as well as her bird encounters. While giving us a glimpse of one woman’s spiritual growth through her experiences with birds and nature, Osborne also conveys a wealth of information about birds, both familiar and exotic, and about the enjoyment one can have in getting to know them.