The Armchair Birder

Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds

By: John Yow

Narrated by: Kevin Young

While birding literature is filled with tales of expert observers spotting rare species in exotic locales, John Yow reminds us that the most fascinating birds can be the ones perched right outside our windows. In thirty-five engaging and sometimes irreverent vignettes, Yow reveals the fascinating lives of the birds we see nearly every day. Following the seasons, he covers forty-two species, discussing the improbable, unusual, and comical aspects of his subjects' lives. Yow offers his own observations, anecdotes, and stories as well as those of America's classic bird writers, such as John James Audubon, Arthur Bent, and Edward Forbush. This unique addition to bird literature combines the fascination of bird life with the pleasure of good reading.

©2011 John Yow (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Absolutely charming and fascinating listen!

I loved it. Fascinating to hear all about the habits and behavior of the everyday birds surrounding us. Great book

A pleasant listen

It was great to hear of his bird interactions and observations. Although living on the other side of the world and being unfamiliar with all the birds described, this didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book. It’s inspired me to get a bird book out to view whilst RE listening. Looking forward to the sequel - thanks.

If You Love Birds . . . Grab It!

I do love birds, having been a birder for close to 30 years. Just ask me any day if I want to go birding, and I will grab my binoculars and (now) my camera and we will be off. After you bird this long, you don't see many new ones, so you become more focused on their behavior--you can't help it. So this book seemed right up my alley and I jumped at getting it recently.

As I listened, I became convinced the author was narrating the book as no narrator could be that good at capturing an author's personality, but I was wrong. Narrator Kevin Young is THAT good. Most of the time, I felt I was sitting in an Adirondack chair on author John Yow's lawn or porch, sipping iced tea and listening to him enlighten me on his sightings and discussing his various local bird's behaviors and personalities.

The author does tell a bit about his own observations of his local birds, but he has done his research and quotes and uses much information from well-known bird enthusiasts such as John Audubon and others. He discusses mostly eastern birds, many of which do not frequent my area, but it doesn't really matter to me as some of them have western counterparts who are quite similar, I assumed.

This is a very easy and lighthearted listen which can be easily picked up at any point as you progress. With a great narrator and chock full of fun and sometimes surprising facts and anecdotes, it is a winner in my opinion.

Yow is the Bees Knees

"The Armchair Birder" is about a niche topic that is written so well, and with such charm and wit, it would captivate the most bird-indifferent imagination. For birders, especially the casual and recreational, Yow is the bee's knees.

The great thing about Yow’s book is that it’s all about familiar birds—what we see and hear about everyday, not the exotic: Bluejays, woodpeckers, mourning doves, eagles, wild turkeys, owls.

The anecdotes alone make for a memoir not soon forgotten. Yow talks about bird feelings and behaviors—you'll recognize some personalities from your own human family! It was as if the birds themselves were talking to Yow and sharing all their secrets.

Thoroughly enjoyed - inspired

I very much enjoyed the book. In fact, I am inspired to get a feeder for our small urban garden. We have many of the same species he discusses.
With all that, why 4 stars rather than 5? My only critique is that instead of numbered chapters, I'd like titles of each section to be whatever bird is discussed in each part so I can go directly to that part of the text as a handy later reference.