Feather Brained: My Bumbling Quest to Become a Birder and Find a Rare Bird on My Own

by Bob Tarte

Overview

For much of his life, the closest Bob Tarte got to a nature walk was the stroll from parking lot to picnic table on family outings. But then a chance sighting of a dazzling rose-breasted grosbeak in wife-to-be Linda’s backyard prompts a fascination with birds, which he had never cared about before in the least. Soon he is obsessed with spotting more and more of them—the rarer the better—and embarks on a bumpy journey to improve his bumbling birding skills. Along the way, Tarte offers readers a droll look at the pleasures and pitfalls he encounters, introduces a colorful cast of fellow birders from across the country, and travels to some of the premier birding sites in the Midwest, including Point Pelee, Magee Marsh, Tawas Point State Park, and even Muskegon Wastewater System. This funny, heartfelt memoir will appeal to birders of all skill levels as well as to anyone who knows and loves a birder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780472119868
Publisher:	University of Michigan Press
Publication date:	04/13/2016
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	1,036,444
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Bob Tarte has published three memoirs—Enslaved by Ducks, Fowl Weather, and Kitty Cornered—about living in Lowell, Michigan, with his wife and a menagerie of pet ducks, turkeys, parrots, rabbits, cats, orphaned baby birds, and more.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Green Book and the Redhead 1

Chapter 2 Twice Bitten 17

Chapter 3 A Song Soothes Mr. Crabby 36

Chapter 4 A Duck Out of Water 51

Chapter 5 Close to Home 66

Chapter 6 The Adversary 83

Chapter 7 Not in My Backyard 101

Chapter 8 A Crash Course in Warblers 117

Chapter 9 Learning from Babies 134

Chapter 10 Anything Can Show Up Anywhere 148

Chapter 11 The Worm Turns 165

Chapter 12 Back to the Beginning 179

Chapter 13 The Redhead and the Redhead 192

Acknowledgments 199

About the Author 201

Feather Brained Book Club Discussion Questions 203

What People are Saying About This

Mark Obmascik

“Michigan may be known for cars and college football, but Bob Tarte’s joyful memoir proves the state also should be celebrated for its wild birds—and the terrific community of people who seek, watch, and protect them.
—Mark Obmascik, author of The Big Year

Greg Miller

“The learning curve for new birders can seem impossible. But once you get started, birding tempts your curiosity and draws you into its own world. Feather Brained is Bob Tarte’s encounter with the entirely new universe of birding, and his entertaining experiences and laughable humor make this book an easy, engrossing read.”
—Greg Miller, real life birder portrayed by Jack Black in the movie The Big Year

Editorial Reviews

"Feather Brained is lighthearted, informative, and filled with Bob's trademark humor."
—Nancy Horner, Bookfoolery

Bookfoolery - Nancy Horner

"Author Bob Tarte worried that his new book ‘Feather Brained: My Bumbling Quest to Become a Birder and Find a Rare Bird on My Own’ wouldn't appeal to anyone but ornithologists, but I'll let you in on a secret: ‘Feather Brained’ is really a love story disguised as a birding book...Readers will have their own love affair with words when they read Tarte’s beautifully transcendent passages describing his experiences...Five Stars."
—C.A. Wulff, Examiner.com

Examiner.com - CA Wulff

Michigan may be known for cars and college football, but Bob Tarte’s joyful memoir proves the state also should be celebrated for its wild birds—and the terrific community of people who seek, watch, and protect them.”
—Mark Obmascik, author of The Big Year



“Bob’s tone is self-deprecating, humorous, and totally winsome.”
—Nancy Pearl, NPR Morning Edition



“Tarte’s laughter-through-tears approach is therapeutic and inspirational.”
—Entertainment Weekly

From the Publisher