Do you remember those first few days of birding? When the chickadee and the sparrow were all new and you weren’t sure what field marks to look at? When your first tentative list of birds included the common species in your yard? How many mentors did you have to guide you—from the written page or in the field? How many people supported you by saying, “Yes that is a Song Sparrow. Now, if you just look over this way you will see the ….”
Well, what if your birding life began at the start of the pandemic? Who would have been your mentors? How much reliance would you have placed on the books, the videos, and on your own journals? That is the basis for the new book by Amy Tan, The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Tan has condensed her journals to form this exciting and endearing book about her...