Here are four reasons why you should read "Better Living Through Birding" by Christian Cooper.
1. Christian Cooper’s joy is contagious. It leaps off the page and right into your bloodstream.
When he takes us along on walks into forests or marshlands or among the trees of the sprawling urban park where he does most of his birding, his delight in the songs of cardinals and sparrows and warblers abounds.
2. Someone you know needs this book. Cooper was the nerdy African-American, superhero-worshipping kid who was often ostracized.
“Birding served as a refuge to a boy who was an outsider; a boy who was Black and queer and nerdy," he writes. "In my life, it has been a window into the wondrous.”
3. On the same day that George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Christian Cooper was in Central Park early to catch glimpses of birds that were migrating back to the northeast after the winter.
When Amy Cooper (no relation) refused to leash her dog and then angrily called the police, alleging that Christian was threatening her -- he was not -- and the video of the incident exploded across social media.
In his memoir, Cooper draws an elegant connection between what happened on that morning in Central Park and the death of yet another Black man at the hands of the police and a difficult truth that many Americans still want to avoid.
“It’s not about Amy Cooper,” he writes. “What’s important is what her actions revealed: how deeply and widely racial bias runs in the US. Focusing on her is a distraction and lets too many people off the hook from the hard, ongoing examination of themselves.”
4. The memoir is replete with terrific birding tips, so even if you’re not all that interested in Cooper’s life, he’s got excellent and practical advice for spotting that tanager you’ve always wanted to see.
Let’s say you’ve heard the call of that Kirtland Warbler or Anna’s Hummingbird you’ve always wanted to see in their natural habitat. Cooper says listen closely to the call and focus on the unique sounds of the bird’s song.
Then, use your eyes to try to locate the bird. Without taking your eye off the bird, raise the binoculars to your eyes and home in on the bird. Breathe, observe and enjoy.
— Kerri Miller | MPR News
