Diary of a Left-Handed Birdwatcher

“Leonard Nathan captures a unique dimension that defines why some of us take such pleasure in watching birds. . . . Birders should derive both pleasure and insight from this book.” —John C. Kricher

Why do birdwatchers travel to distant locales, and wait long, uncomfortable hours, in the hopes of catching a brief glance of a much sought-after bird? In Diary of a Left-Handed Birdwatcher, award-winning writer Leonard Nathan takes us on a lively journey into the practical and imaginative realm of birdwatchers. Drawing from his experience as a member of a birdwatching group, his own dream landscapes, conversations with his ornithologist friend, and the words of poets through time, Nathan muses on the nature of his shared pursuit.

On the trail of the elusive Snow Bunting, Nathan writes: “I also dream, obsessively, of a white bird, a bird made of ice and light. It’s always ahead of me, always disappearing behind a snowy hill, rising again, leading me to what I know is the North Pole and into a bleak, blank whiteness, so desolate that nothing can live there.”

With considerable charm and wit, Nathan reveals the complexity of the adventure of birdwatching, and the true essence of any quest: the triumph of kinship, the defiance of discomfort, and the indefinable beauty of realization.