Amy Tan has come out with a new book that she wrote and illustrated called The Backyard Bird Chronicles. This engaging read with beautifully drawn illustrations contains excerpts from Amy’s nine journals that she filled with observations. Only birds that entered her backyard airspace made it onto the pages.

Over five years fly by in The Backyard Bird Chronicles. The first entry starts on September 16, 2017 with a life-changing hummingbird encounter and it concludes on December 15, 2022 with a memorable observation. In between are funny, sad, and heartwarming stories about her feathered residents and visitors.

One of the takeaways from the book is how birds are as individualistic as people. Some birds are more aggressive or curious or shy. And sometimes in a fight, the winner is rather unexpected. In one journal entry, Amy is surprised to see a Pine Siskin win over a Lesser Goldfinch, proving that size does not always equate to dominance.

Moreover, Amy is certain that birds recognize her as the wingless food provider. The author stopped by Evanston last month to discuss her latest book, and she mentioned how birds would tap on the window if they saw her and the feeder was empty. It could be argued that they were simply fighting with their reflection, but if she moved, they would move with her. They also didn’t seem to mind her presence as she watched and sketched them, but in the book she mentions that once she donned binoculars, they seemed terrified. After looking at her reflection in a mirror, it occurred to her that she looked like an owl with the large binocular lenses.

This book also serves as a mini primer on the intelligence of animals determined to nab songbird meals. Amy was able to drive squirrels away by dousing seeds with hot pepper, as birds are not bothered by hot foods due to lacking capsaicin receptors. Squirrels, on the other hand, were chastened by the experience. Rats, however, were not so discerning and eventually left Amy’s backyard in another, more morbid, way.

But rodents were not the only nemeses–crows and scrub jays were not particularly welcomed at certain feeders intended for songbirds. There was also concern that these omnivorous corvids liked to lunch on the smaller birds. Unthwarted by the feeder design, crows were seen knocking against the food holder and spilling seeds out to gobble up later. Most eventually stopped visiting the backyard area after a fake dead crow was spotted (placed surreptitiously by the homeowner). The scrub jay is also a clever adversary. As an example, Amy tried several ways to deter jays from entering a homemade feeder purposefully designed to be jay-proof. In each case, the scrub jay managed to outsmart her.

When asked by an audience member in Evanston what her favorite bird is, Amy responded that it’s currently the Great Horned Owl because they are eating all the rats in her yard. In her book she describes the nocturnal raptors currently residing in her backyard – first a mother-son pair, then later only the son – and the thrill of having these birds around. These apex predators are not the only ones who enjoy rat tartare. One story recounts an encounter with a Red-shouldered Hawk. Chickadees sounded the alarm and finches began to leave in a hurry, but then they all realized that the raptor was too big to bother with a tiny songbird. Although the hawk surveyed the yard, it was likely looking for a meal with four legs. The songbirds relaxed, staying near the preoccupied hunter and probably using it for protection from Sharp-shinned Hawks.

Many more interesting stories, observations, and micro-dramas taking place in Sausalito, California fill the book, and they are paired with over a hundred drawings by Amy Tan that enrich the stories they accompany. The artist and writer is also a board member for the American Bird Conservancy, and her love and curiosity of avian wildlife clearly shines through each page. In a recent PBS NewsHour story about her, she says of birds, “They will always be a mystery.” The Backyard Bird Chronicles should be on every bird lover’s reading list.

Sources:

Tan, Amy. The Backyard Bird Chronicles. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2024.

Amy Tan turns her literary gaze on the world of birds | Season 2024 | PBS

Amy Tan @ Evanston on 6/11/24