INSPIRED by NATURE
Day columnist Robert Tougias explores birding in new book
Robert Tougias had written two books — “Birding Western Massachusetts” and “The Quest for the Eastern Cougar” — but he says, “What I really wanted all along was to express some feelings I have about nature, how it inspires me.”
In his latest book, he has done just that. Tougias, who writes a monthly column on birds for The Day, recently published “Birder on Berry Lane: Three Acres. Twelve Months. Thousands of Birds,” with illustrations by Mark Szantyr. The book is organized by month, following the birds that Tougias sees starting in January and cycling through December. He discusses the barred owl in January, the great crested flycatcher in June and the dark-eyed junco in October.
But Tougias also weaves into the book elements of memoir and eloquent passages about the joys and deeper meaning of birding and nature. An example: “Like music and art, birds are more than just scientific and ecological treasures; they are part of our cultural terrain and surroundings. They are the continuity of our experiences and the subtle source of our moods, memories, and sweet appreciation for different times and places.
“Birds are the conveyance of nature itself. They are the visible, audible expressions of the pulse of life that teems all around us. They are the essence of the perfect warm, sunny June day when nature is at its fullest. When you are aware of birds to the point of submersion, then you are in tune with not only their activities, antics, and comings and goings but also with the entire rhythm of the planet.
“My experience of birding here on Berry Lane is really a state of being. It’s a state of being that’s in peace and in harmony with the cycle of life, which you and I are part of. I look up at the clear, icy heavens in January and know that they are just a reflection of where I am and what I am. We are just a small part of the magnificence — a small but significant piece of it.”
Readers have taken notice; some have mentioned to him the descriptive writing and the passages where he gets a little lyrical or poetic.
Tougias says that he wanted to write the book in first person, present tense “so I could make the reader feel like they were right there with me every moment.”
Tougias has had indelible experiences seeing birds both at his Colchester home and in more far-flung locales.
“I first saw (barred owls) as a child, like 10 years old … Since then, I’ve had a lot of encounters with owls. Calling them in in the evening. I’ve had them swoop right down close to me, then over my head and perch there and rasp and scream and look at me,” he says.
One of the first times he saw an ovenbird, he recalls, “I was off trail in a northern hardwood forest in northern Vermont. I was right
up close. I could see this very unusual bird that walks like a pheasant, like a partridge — you know, the birds kind of hop around. It was so close I was able to see all the intricate little colorations of its plumage. The whole experience of seeing this unusual bird that builds a nest like a Dutch oven on the floor of the forest, being there in this remote area on a warm June day — that was memorable.”
Starting young
Neither of Tougias’ parents was interested in birding or nature; his father was fascinated by history, and his mother was into travel.
As a kid, Tougias recalls, “I found traveling through the woods and sneaking up on wildlife, fishing, catching turtles and frogs, all of that was just appealing, being out in beautiful surroundings — that’s a big part of it.”
He went on to study natural resources at the University of Massachusetts and to work for the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Throughout his life, he’s been an ardent birder. In “Birder on Berry Lane,” Tougias says that when he seems to be gardening or mowing the lawn, he’s actually bird- ing.
He writes, “My neighbors know by now that I’m a little different. They know not to think twice when during a conversation my eyes shift away from them and toward the bird feeder. They know I have birds on the brain. And it’s not like I can help it either. It started when I was too young to realize that noticing birds was to become a permanent way of life for me.”
Advice for new birders
During this pandemic, as people have been sheltering at home, many of them have taken more notice of the birds around their houses. With that in mind, we asked Tougias for advice for folks who are just getting into birding. He suggests taking 5 or 10 minutes every day and going outside, on a deck or porch, perhaps, to see what is around. Do you see a robin in the yard at that same time every day? Is it leaving and then coming back? Does it have a nest? All give an indication of what the bird is doing and a peek into his or her life.
When trying to identify a bird, it’s helpful to make note of the habitat where you see the bird; that can help narrow down what the species might be.
Tougias adds, “By getting in tune with birds around your yard or wherever you might be, it kind of puts you in sync with the rhythm of the seasons.”
New birders might also appreciate the appendix in “Birder on Berry Lane” that offers information on the common birds in the book — nest, nest location, eggs, species range, songs and so on. The male gray catbird’s song, for instance, “is squeaky and unmusical but pleasant nonetheless. Occasionally, catbirds mimic other birds, but rarely do they approach the skill of a mockingbird. They vary their primary song, sometimes a whutt, whutt call associated with mild danger, other times a titch titch titch call when there is a serious threat.”
An illustration of a Northern Waterthrush by Mark Szantyr from Robert Tougias’s book “Birder Berry Lane: Three Acres, Twelve Months, Thousands of Birds.”