Bird Nerd Book Club

Starlings cause a lot of trouble. Labeled one of the world’s worst invasive bird species, they devastate farms, drive out native birds, and interfere with aircraft. Many birdwatchers openly despise starlings, or more politely, look down on them. Yet all the things that lead us to see starlings as pests are also signs of their extraordinary adaptability. Among the most successful birds on the planet, they are easy to overlook—and too easy to blame.

Blending natural history with science memoir, Bird on the Street traces how starlings illuminate the mechanisms of evolution and the relationship between humans and wildlife. Following starlings from the streets and skies into museums and laboratories, Julia M. Zichello invites readers into the daily practice of science: the small discoveries and frequent setbacks, moments of doubt as well as wonder. If we set aside our hostility and see starlings for what they are, Zichello argues, we gain new insight into not only evolution and ecology but also ourselves. Humans introduced starlings to new continents and then relentlessly transformed landscapes into ones perfectly suited to their success. Ultimately, this invasive species offers a mirror reflecting the human tendency to reshape the natural world.

At once scientifically rigorous and deeply personal, this book shows how the story of a familiar bird leads to a richer understanding of our ecological and emotional entanglements with nature. 

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Penny Harr brings award-winning wildlife ecologist and bestselling author Anne LaBastille to life in the first-ever biography, entitled Anne LaBastille.  She was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. Perhaps best known for her seminal wilderness book Woodswoman, recounting her years spent living in a remote Adirondacks cabin, and which inspired countless women to shun societal dictates and pursue their passions, LaBastille railed against bureaucracy and patriarchy to become a powerful figure in environmentalism. Anne was a powerful and polarizing woman who dedicated her life to preserving the natural world.

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

In Marina Richie's Feathered Forest, birds are our guides to a vertical world of ancient trees that spans both sides of the Cascade Mountains. Within centuries-old groves that are critical refugia in a time of climate crisis, these winged messengers show us a better way to steward our threatened landscapes. Just as a forest transitions upward from understory to midstory to overstory, so too does the trajectory of Richie’s life—from the protective cover of adolescence to the precarious yet light-filled canopy of adulthood.

Pre-order this title!

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Wenfei Tong's Bird Love looks at the extraordinary range of mating systems in the avian world, exploring all the stages from courtship and nest-building to protecting eggs and raising chicks. It delves into the reasons why some species, such as the wattled jacana, rely on males to do all the childcare, while others, such as cuckoos and honeyguides, dump their eggs in the nests of others to raise. For some birds, reciprocal promiscuity pays off: both male and female dunnocks will rear the most chicks by mating with as many partners as possible. For others, long-term monogamy is the only way to ensure their offspring survive.

The book explores the wide variety of ways birds make sure they find a mate in the first place, including how many male birds employ elaborate tactics to show how sexy they are. Gathering in leks to display to females, they dance, pose, or parade to sell their suitability as a mate. Other birds attract a partner with their building skills: female bowerbirds rate brains above beauty, so males construct elaborate bowers with twig avenues and cleared courtyards to impress them. 

Learn more about Wenfei Tong!

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Fans of L. M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, will enjoy Andrea Ezerins' When the Forest Dreams, a contemporary retelling of the beloved romance that follows a sheltered young woman’s quest for love in New York City—and her search for a rare and elusive bird in the deep Arkansas forest. 

What if the life you were meant to live was waiting just outside your door?

New York City, 2013. Emma Jablonski’s life is as dry as the day-old bread at her family’s bakery. Living with her parents and grandmother, she clings to the only escape she knows: a recurring dream that feels more real than her waking world. But when Emma’s eyes are open, she’s reminded of what’s out of reach—Jake, the enigmatic boy-next-door.

After a life-changing diagnosis forces her to face her fears, Emma decides it’s time to truly live—before it’s too late. With Jake and his vibrant friend Vee, she dives into a whirlwind of experiences: a fake engagement, dazzling parties, and an obsession with the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that may not even exist.

But as her daring adventure is coming to an end, Emma begins to embrace a future she never thought possible. Dreams and reality aren’t supposed to mix . . . are they?

Read more about Andrea Ezerins.

Check out my Goodreads review.

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Birdsong is the soundtrack to our world. We have tried to capture its fleeting, ephemeral beauty, and the feelings it inspires, for millennia.

Richard Smyth's A Sweet, Wild Note explores science, music, literature, landscape and the thousand different ways in which birdsong has moved us. A bright song on a lonely street can lift our mood, bringing comfort, wonder or joy. But can we learn to listen, really listen, to what the birds are saying? Or do they just tell us back our own tales?

More about Richard Smyth.

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Author and longtime volunteer surveyor Maria Mudd Ruth weaves together science, field observation, and community storytelling in this engaging exploration of one bird’s life. Drawing from over a decade of beachside study, she dives deep into the guillemot’s behaviors, quirky traits, and ecological relationships. Along the way, readers meet the passionate citizen scientists who have built a unique community around caring for and studying this vibrant bird.

Bridging the gap between field guide and memoir, The Bird with Flaming Red Feet invites readers to slow down, look closely, and reconnect with the wild places--and creatures--just outside their door. It’s a joyful call to observation, stewardship, and a deeper understanding of our coastal world.

Salish Sea Guillemot Network

Check out my GoodReads review.

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

An epic, fascinating history of the fight to save America's birds featuring heroes, martyrs, villains, and conflicted do-gooders.

James H. McCommons', The Feather Wars is an entertaining and expansive work of American history, an incredible story about how disparate characters—progressive politicians, free-thinking society belles, nature writers and artists, bird-loving U.S. presidents, gunmakers, business titans, and brave game wardens—came together to save hundreds of species of birds. Heroes, martyrs, villains, and conflicted do-gooders—the early bird conservation movement had them all. Together they transformed how Americans thought and cared about birds, forever altering the American landscape.

Check out my GoodReads review.

More about James: https://www.jamesmccommons.com/

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Women have been shaping the conservation movement in Texas since the nineteenth century, though their stories are rarely told. Women played an invaluable role in the establishment of parks, protection of wildlife, developing policies that value nature, and defending communities against pollution and destruction of habitat. Their efforts enriched and reinforced the natural heritage of Texas. Jennifer Bristol's Wild Women for Good: Stories of Conservation in Texas celebrates those who dared to step forward to make a difference and to tell the complex story of conservation in the Lone Star state.

Wild Women for Good spans a century and a half of conservationists—rural and urban—and the differences they made. Opening with the first conservation movement in Texas and the effort to stop the millenary industry’s slaughter of birds for their plumage, the book shows how early advocates broke down barriers and opened doors for other women to save and protect species, land, and water for future generations. 

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

*I am aware I uploaded the incorrect file initially.  The correct file has been posted, however it can take time for streaming services to update.*

How does a bird experience a city? A backyard? A park? As the world has become more urban, noisier from increased traffic, and brighter from streetlights and office buildings, it has also become more dangerous for countless species of birds.
 
In The Bird-Friendly City, Timothy Beatley, a longtime advocate for intertwining the built and natural environments, takes readers on a global tour of cities that are reinventing the status quo with birds in mind. Efforts span a fascinating breadth of approaches: public education, urban planning and design, habitat restoration, architecture, art, civil disobedience, and more. 

Also check out...

Biophilic Cities

The Promise of Bird-Friendly Cities

Support the show

Connect with me at...

GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at [email protected]
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB