My newest book was several years in the making. Now, it's finally here (and I believe it's also in both "bricks" and "clicks" bookstores everywhere). The title is Identifying and Feeding Birds, and it's just published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
As poet, guitar god, and nature lover Jerry Garcia once sang: "What a long, strange trip it's been." So true, so true. And yes, we've forgiven Jerry for pronouncing nuthatch as "nut-thatch" in the Grateful Dead song "Eyes of the World."
Back to the book: It's my attempt at delivering, in a fun-loving way, all the necessary info for attracting, feeding, and identifying backyard birds in North America. It's based upon my nearly 40 years of feeding birds—every minute of which I've enjoyed (even while making truly stupid mistakes). I'm hoping the reader can learn from my experience and leapfrog straight to doing bird feeding right with maximum enjoyment.
But you, my fellow book-reading consumers will decide if this particular book succeeds in its goal.
Identifying and Feeding Birds is the first book in a multi-title series I'm working on for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The second book, Hummingbirds and Butterflies, co-written with Connie Toops is currently in the publisher's Easy-Bake Oven and should be out in spring 2011.
As an aside, it's NEVER a good idea to put a Stretch Armstrong through your little sister's Easy-Bake Oven. See, this is the kind of beneficial advice you can get from me.
If you feed birds and want to do it better, or if you're just thinking about starting, here's a list of reasons to buy my new book:
1. People a lot smarter than I am think the book is pretty good.
2. Feeding birds is good for you. Ask your doctor.
3. My sister made me confess to the Stretch Armstrong/Easy-Bake Oven crime.
4. I debunk all the bird-feeding myths that have puzzled you for decades.
5. In the book I share my family's heirloom suet-dough recipe, which is lard-based.
6. You'll learn obscure facts, like the one about Jerry Garcia's nut-thatch mispronunciation.
7. It costs just $14.95, which is less than you'll spend in a single Starbucks visit.
8. I'm proud that it's part of the legendary Peterson Field Guide Series.
9. It contains revealing "Behind the Music" profiles of 125+ backyard bird species.
10. While you're at it, why not buy two?
Thank you for lending me your eyeballs over the past several years here at Bill of the Birds. I always endeavor to make your time here well spent (or to trick you into feeling that way). However, there may be occasional subliminal messages that slip through my fingers. These messages will encourage you to read more blog posts, to watch more birds, to go to birding festivals, to have more fun as a birder and human, and to buy my books. Sorry, but I cannot help myself.
Despite what this photo may indicate, my new book is NOT currently available in a backwards version.Did I mention that I have a new book out?