When Birds Are Near

Susan Fox Rogers is Visiting Associate Professor of Writing at Bard College. She is the author of My Reach and the editor of ten previous anthologies, most recently Antarctica.

In this dazzling literary collection, writers explore and celebrate their lives with and love for birds?detailing experiences from Alaska to Bermuda, South Dakota to Panama. In When Birds are Near, fresh new voices as well as seasoned authors offer tales of perseverance, adventure, and fun; whether taking us on a journey down Highway 1 to see a rare Condor, fighting the destruction of our grasslands, or simply watching the feeder from a kitchen window.But these essays are more than just field notes. They expand as the authors reflect on love, loss, and family, engaging a broad array of emotions from wonder to humor.As Rob Nixon writes in his essay, "Spotted Owls": "Sometimes the best bird experiences are defined less by a rare sighting than by a quality of presence, some sense of overall occasion that sets in motion memories of a particular landscape, a particular light, a particular choral effect, a particular hiking partner." Or, as poet Elizabeth Bradfield remarks, "We resonate with certain animals, I believe, because they are a physical embodiment of an answer we are seeking. A sense of ourselves in the world that is nearly inexpressible." When Birds are Near gives us the chance to walk alongside these avid appreciators of birds and reflect on our own interactions with our winged companions.

Introduction1. Nighthawks: Lake Perez2. Spotted Owls3. Birding in Traffic4. Buried Birds5. The Problem with Pretty Birds6. Red-headed Love Child7. Crane, Water, Change: A Migratory Essay8. The Black and White9. One Single Hummingbird10. Assault on the French Canal Bridge11. Wild Swans12. The Snowy Winter13. Koan14. This Is My Tribe15. In the Eyes of the Condor16. Little Brown Birds17. The Keepers of the Ghost Bird18. The Hour (or Two) before the Dawn19. Secret of Owls20. Guardian of the Garden21. Chasing the Ghost of the Imperial Woodpecker22. Extralimital23. Death and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak24. Birding on Bleaker Island25. Nest Watcher26. My Bird Problem