Review by Kirkus Book Review
How and what to feed avian guests, with a gallery of common North American species. Getting feathered visitors to hold still is a perennial problem for budding bird-watchers, but bird feeders offer opportunities for observation. Earley provides helpful suggestions aplenty--from types of feeders, including specialized designs and homemade ones constructed of plastic bottles or craft materials, to popular seeds and other foods like suet, fruit, and, with a recipe, an appetizing peanut butter spread. The author acknowledges the squirrel problem and offers clever strategies for foiling these fiendishly ingenious foragers (such as spring-loaded feeders); he also notes ways to dissuade finches, starlings, and other more aggressive birds to give shyer species places on the perch. And, as a sort of stretch goal, Earley provides guidance on persuading bolder sorts to feed out of an observer's hand. All the birds depicted throughout chowing down in the close-up color photos are identified, and the common types posing in the appended gallery also come with lists of distinctive physical characteristics. Occasional naturalistic touches, like an image of a woodpecker eying a well-chewed animal carcass, underscore the message that birds are almost always quite able to find food on their own; still, Earley makes clear that backyard bird-watching is easy, fun, and educational. An engaging invitation to see nature in action right outside the window. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
