LEARNING THE BIRDS A Midlife Adventure

Rosemary Benson's melodic and expressive voice is perfect for these introspective essays about bird-watching, finding community, and striving for love. Susan Fox Rogers, a professor, is embarrassed when she can't identify a birdcall to her nature-writing students--and so begins her journey of learning about birds. She buys practical pants and good binoculars and becomes acquainted with life lists, good birds, eBird, and all sorts of past ornithologists ranging from pioneering women to murderer Nathan Leopold. Rogers becomes romantically involved with a serious birder who seems more interested in sparrows than her. Benson seamlessly matches her tone with Rogers's wide-ranging subjects, conveying her self-effacing humor, concern at habitat loss, joy in a beautiful bird, and resigned sadness when her relationship fails. A.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]